LAX meet up, shuttle/transport share or best info please......

March 14, 2010. Flying in from Canada to LA, may need some guidance??/

Any people traveling on the cruise departure date like us...and wish to meet up with some new cruisers...and maybe share a cab, limo, van, or shuttle to the ports....please let us know....also, what are some of the options you know about, what are you taking ?

Write back soon.thanks...

Super Shuttle or Prime Shuttle will cost you about $17 per person each way to the World Cruise Center (San Pedro) Los Angeles port. It is a shared van ride and makes stops along the way. Plan on an hour's ride or less depending on the number of stops and traffic.

If you are arriving a day prior to your cruise, they will take you to your hotel upon request.

Yeah, 2010,

I would plan on just taking a shuttle to the port...It wouldn't be easy to try to find fellow passengers at LAX and coordinate your travel...much easier to take the shuttle...

I'm guessing, by your post that you are flying in the day of the cruise? IF that's changeable, I would really recommend flying in the day before...Flying cross-country, collecting luggage, catching a shuttle and checking in can be exhausting...and you risk flight delays and such...I have always found it is much less stressful and more enjoyable, when flying several hours to a port, to do it at least a day before, have a leisurely evening in the embarkation port and a good night's sleep...It enables you to catch up on sleep, get accustomed to time zone changes and to avoid stress that comes with delays...

Remember that LAX is a BIG airport and it often takes a long time to actually deplane, find one's luggage and find the shuttle...and then, it's 20 miles to the pier and you never know if you'll hit traffic...

There are a couple of good hotels in the San Pedro area and some good restaurants...and the hotels will shuttle you to the pier in the morning...

Good luck...

If you are looking to meet up with some fellow cruisers, check out the Splendor roll call for your cruise date:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=942510

Bruin Steve and PatriciaF.

Thank you for your posts/replies.

Unfortunately, we are a tight-schedule and that is inevitable (as my son is away fro the beginning of the march-break - shared-parenting situation) and I only get him....that morning of the flight...so we have to fly in/get on that boat - all in one shot.

Now you can wee why a search for a shuttle or pothers to share that is on our minds....the less stress and cost....helps everyone, right?

Wish us luck.

To close we are not on the Monarch...I may want to mention we are on the Mariner of the Seas.....(if anyone else reads this and this pertains to you) and you are arriving that morning between 10 am and 11 am...say hi, asap.

Any other feedback/tips - let us know..thanks.

Bruin Steve and PatriciaF.

 

Thank you for your posts/replies.

 

Unfortunately, we are a tight-schedule and that is inevitable (as my son is away fro the beginning of the march-break - shared-parenting situation) and I only get him....that morning of the flight...so we have to fly in/get on that boat - all in one shot.

 

Now you can wee why a search for a shuttle or pothers to share that is on our minds....the less stress and cost....helps everyone, right?

 

Wish us luck.

 

To close we are not on the Monarch...I may want to mention we are on the Mariner of the Seas.....(if anyone else reads this and this pertains to you) and you are arriving that morning between 10 am and 11 am...say hi, asap.

 

Any other feedback/tips - let us know..thanks.

I think the above person must have thought you were going on a Carnival ship. You should probably check out your roll call anyway (look in the rollcall section for RC) if you haven't yet. But as Steve says, it probably isn't practical to try to meet up with fellow cruisers on the way to the ship from the airport. Most likely, most are either from the local LA area and are driving to the port that morning, or are non-locals who have flown in at least a day before the cruise and will be staying in a hotel.

Let's just hope you don't have any problems with your flight (mechanical, labor, financial, weather) that will get you delayed. You may want to pre-book a private shuttle to pick you up from the airport and deliver you to the Port of LA (make sure you tell the driver the World Cruise Center in San Pedro as opposed to the Port of Long Beach which serves only Carnival) or get a taxi. If you get delayed getting to LAX/getting baggage, and all that, a shared shuttle may go all over the place before getting to the Port.

It depends.

If you want to reduce the stress and get to port on time, I'd not do a shared van. The small savings may end up costing you the cruise if time is tight. You must be to the port, checking in, no later than 3:30 pm.

You will spend a bit more, but unless you arrive and get onto the shared van no later than 1pm, you will possibly be denied boarding. I've read accounts here of a shared van taking as long as 2 hours to get to the port (area).

If your flight arrives a lot earlier and your departure flight after the cruise is quite late (after 1pm) then a shared van will be fine. If time is tight, schedule a private van.

Edit to add, if your flight does have a delay, you may find yourself in the taxi line at the airport. Taxis are approximately $85 with gratuity.

PS ...anyone grabbing a cab or exclusive ride from LAX Sunday morning....on March 14th on Sunday morning? Just let us know and thanks.

OP, you will be fine using a shared SuperShuttle or Primetime van arriving at 11am. Having sailed on the Mariner several times during the summer of last year, I always arrived at LAX at about 7:30am on the day of sailing and waited around until 11:30am to head over to San Pedro to avoid the crowds at check-in. Traffic is non-existant on Sunday and you'll be onboard very quickly.

jjb415

Cool Cruiser re: SUNDAY arrival and traffic and heading to SAN P.

SO...um..........which shared-shuttle you feel is best (price, safety, efficiency)..?

As suggested in your other thread, Super Shuttle is good and I recommend Karmel Shuttle. Never had a bad experience with Karmel, nor have I read of anything here or in TripAdvisor. Although Prime Time is probably OK there have been an increasing number of negative comments about them.

They will all charge the same fare since LAX-port is very competitive on cruise days. The state and airport regulate all the services so safety isn't an issue. I don't recall ever hearing of a bad accident with any of the shuttle vans.

really Karmel, um are they a share or an exclusive,,,

With these shared shuttles do we have to be concerned that there might not be other people to share with?

With these shared shuttles do we have to be concerned that there might not be other people to share with?

Sometimes you will actually have to circle the airport one or more times in order to fill the van. Vans depart the airport when they fill up. However, when arriving on the days that ships depart from San Pedro and Long Beach, once around will usually fill the van, but, not always. On the pier end of the trip, you sometimes stop at residences or hotels to drop passengers off. If this doesn't appeal to you, taxis and exclusive limos are available, but, are more expensive.

The procedure is for you to procede island marked 'shared ride van' once you claim your luggage at LAX. There are coordinators at each terminal for SuperShuttle and Primetime who will take your destination information and relay it to the dispatcher. When your shuttle arrives, the coordinator will direct you. It really is quite easy and effecient.

If you have prepaid, the coordinators will take your confirmation number.

When we were on the Mariner last November we took Super shuttle from LAX to San Pedro. We had stayed in Marina Del Rey the previous night, returned our rental car and got the the rental bus to drop us off at the arrival terminal. I had pre booked Super Shuttle and had a confirmation number. When I got there at 1.45 pm, it was basically meaningless to the attendant, we were told to get in line and wait for the next shuttle. It took about half an hour for one to arrive. The charge was $17 each person, paid in cash to the driver. He advised us where to get a shuttle upon disembarkation which we did. I did not pre book, we just showed up..waited in line about 25 mins and it took less than 30 minutes to get to the airport on a Sunday morning. As long as you have some extra time this is a good reasonable way to go..due to the possible waits you may encounter I would not take this if you are pressed for check in time either to get on the ship or to get a flight home. When I travel on the Mariner again in March I will get to the airport by noon at the latest and take Super shuttle once again. Hopefully this will get us on the ship earlier.

All the shuttle companies have good websites that show the options they provide and fares. Most will let you make a reservation online. A Google search will find their websites pronto! :)

ok thanks everyone

When we were on the Mariner last November we took Super shuttle. He advised us where to get a shuttle upon disembarkation which we did. I did not pre book, we just showed up..waited in line about 25 mins and it took less than 30 minutes to get to the airport on a Sunday morning.

How long did it take to disembark the Mariner? We made a Super Shuttle reservation and wonder about timing. We're C&A Platinum so will get off a little earlier. :confused:

The ship is kinda large, the walk is kinda long, and if you do things right...the shuttle WILL WAIT for you. If you have a reservation, at the shuttle area sections, you will see the many shuttles there.....the 1dt thing the shuttle driver does is ask who has a reservation. They get priority. Then the rest of us pile onto buses after that. Thge while process took about 2o mins. Shuttle where coming and going - they will NOT leave anyone behind OK.