Bruin Steve

Well...MY kids got to Diamond because they cruised with us...and we may have paid for their cruises...but the fact remains that they were on those cruises and that the cruises were paid for--and, therefore, that status was just as "earned" as any adult who qualifies as Diamond. In fact, because we always cruised during "high" season and on rather nice cruises...and we booked our daughters, at times, in categories as high as suites, I would say they are more deserving of that Diamond status as those adults who got there cruising on off-season three night cruises in cheap inside cabins. As adults, they shouldn't have to "revert" to anything. As they progress on the path of life, get married, have kids, etc., it would seem ridiculous to say "Well, you can drink in the Diamond Club but your husband has to wait outside". If you want to look at how the cruise lines have diluted the loyalty programs, how about looking at the "reciprocity" issue. We are independently Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean and Elite Plus on Celebrity because we have cruised a lot on BOTH lines. But, the reciprocity thing pretty much instantly overcrowded the loyalty lounges on both lines... And, does the whole loyalty thing even mean that much anymore? Sure, on RCCL, the drink vouchers have a value...but, over on Celebrity, it's all fairly meaningless as they pretty much require everyone to purchase drink packages and WiFi as part of the deal. The Captains Club has pretty much been limited now to a free bag of laundry. It may not be much longer before neither of the loyalty clubs are worth more than a few token benefits.

Personally, I prefer SELF parking. I don't like the idea of someone else--even a hotel employee(s)--having access to my car or moving my car while I am on a cruise. We've had self-parking at both the Crowne Plaza and the Doubletree. As was mentioned, at the Doubletree, it's a large outside lot...at the Crowne Plaza, it's not only underground, it's directly beneath the hotel...and only a few feet from where we parked to the hotel elevators--so, with our luggage all on wheels, very easy for us to get it from our car to the hotel lobby and from the hotel lobby to our car. Plus, with self-parking, we were able to choose our parking space...and we parked our car in a space between a wall and a pillar--so we were comfortable all cruise long knowing no one could move our car and no one could park next to it and give it any door dings...

I'm going to have to deal with all of this soon. We're taking our daughter/son-in-law and other daughter/boyfriend on a cruise in August on Quantum. We are Diamond Plus. Both Daughters are Diamond (we took them on a lot of cruises as kids). We last took them on Royal Caribbean in 2012...Daughter #2 has been married for three years. Son-in-Law has never been on RCCL. Daughter #2, for business reasons, retained her maiden name--so, her and her husband's last names don't match. Daughter #1 has been with the current boyfriend about 6 months. He's never been on a cruise. It looks somewhat serious...but we've thought that before...So, to be realistic, we don't even know if he'll still be in the picture in August--in which case, she would likely end up replacing him on the booking with her still single old college roommate. So, I'm not sure of the best timing for this...but, sometime between now and August, I need to call Royal Caribbean and get Daughter #2's Diamond status applied to the son-in-law...and, perhaps, get Daughter #1's Diamond Status applied to the boyfriend...

Trust me, you won't...I've cruised on seven cruises on three different lines since the pandemic hiatus and they put in all those new boarding rules. I try to check in online early as possible to get an early time...but, even when I haven't, I show up early anyway...and have yet to have anyone check my boarding appointment time. I don't think they want to be holding a lot of people at the terminal. When I talk about the holding area, it's only really when you get there before they are ready to start bringing anyone onboard. As soon as it's cleared, they start movbing everyone on pretty efficiently.

First, I'm not really sure how much they enforce boarding appointment times at most ports. I take everything with me at once no matter what time I'm arriving at the terminal. When you get there, you will find a lot of porters milling around outside. I'll hand my bags over to one and give him a couple of bucks as a tip...If. in the odd chance you don't get a porter, there's a door where they bring in the checked luggage and you can just bring your bags there. They start taking in luggage well before anyone's check-in time. Keep any carry-ons that you don't want to check for soe reason with you. BTW, you can print luggage tags on the cruise line website as you get close to the sail date. There are complicated fold and staple directions--but better to go to amazon.com and buy plastic cruise luggage tag holders...easier--just cut to size, fold and insert...and they won't get ripped off easy. The tags let the crew match your bags to your cabin and deliver your luggage to the room. After dropping the luggage, there's a second door where you enter to check in and board. Have your cruise documents (boarding pass) and passport ready and in hand when you enter. If it's early, they'll direct you to a waiting area with chairs and give you a card with your boarding group.

I'd just use Uber or Lyft. The one complication now at LAX is that, for all "rideshare" apps and for taxis, one must head to the LAX-it lot...Which is actually right among the terminals--just across a side road from Terminal 1 (You can easily walk from T1...or even T2 or T7/T8...Otherwise, there is a shuttle bus that comes around and picks up in front of all the baggage claim exits virtually continuously and is a fairly short ride. Once at the LAX-it lot, go online and summon your Uber/Lyft. Signs clearly indicate where to pick up your ride. We just flew in a few nights ago...used Uber...and were picked up in five minutes. If you must avoid shuttles or walk and want to be picked up at the curb (and pay a lot more), Uber Black, as well as limo companies, can still pick up at the curb...

BOTH Royal Caribbean AND Celebrity...same story... I have three booked on Celebrity, three on Royal....Both websites show ZERO upcoming cruises. Earlier today, Royal Caribbean finally posted Shorexes in three of the ports on my upcoming April Symphony of the Seas Med cruise...and I was able to purchase three shorexes...just hours later, nothing shows... I am certain it's just a glitch in the system and will be fixed soon.

Other options? Well, last time we cruised on Navigator (June), we just skipped the drive altogether...Took an Uber from home (Calabasas) directly to the port...and back upon the return, Shockingly, the Uber ride (50+ miles each way) cost us LESS than the 30+ mile trip home to LAX!...About a $100 (plus tips) round trip--less than the parking fees at San Pedro...And we didn't have to spend money on gas, no wear and tear on our cars...and we didn't have to leave a car exposed in the lot for a week... We'll do the same in January when we cruise on Navigator again!

We just got home from LAX. Took Uber. Got to the LAX-it lot at 10:02 pm. Yes, there were a lot of people waiting for Ubers. Logged in and summoned an Uber...and it was there in exactly FIVE MINUTES. Price (compared to our many prior Uber and Lyft rides) was right there with past fares between LAX and our home (less than $50)...and it's just over one and a half times the distance as LAX to the Cruise terminal in San Pedro! And, of course, the OP in this thread would NOT be dealing with the LAX-it shuttle or the LAX-it lot or the crowds of de-planing passengers or airport surcharges...BECAUSE they would be going from their hotel, NOT LAX. Simpler. Uber or Lyft could pick them up right at the hotel front door.

Personally, I'd just use Uber or Lyft...It would be less than a taxi...maybe, with tip, about the same as the Princess transfer...but you are on Royal Caribbean, right? Probably a little more for that--so you may beat it with Lyft or Uber... Whatever, to me it's worth it to avoid the extra step of dealing with a shuttle back to LAX and with locating the cruise line rep at LAX and then waiting for them to fill the bus... The convenience of door-to-door service on your own time is worth quite a bit in my book...

I am by no means an expert on Seattle...and, though I've visited Seattle often enough in the past (for other reasons), next August we're cruising out of Seattle for the first time (Quantum of the Seas). After seeing the extremely high hotel rates in Downtown...and considering we're only flying in the afternoon before the cruise and have no real time to, nor interest in, doing any sightseeing, we've opted to book a room at an Airport hotel (Wingate). Figure, we'll save about $200 on the room, get free breakfast and be able to take the hotel shuttle from the airport...maybe Uber to the pier the next morning. We'll just relax arund the hotel that afternoon and evening, maybe find one of the scarce airport area eateries for dinner...and get a good night's sleep... Unless anyone sees any major problem with this, that's the plan as of now...

I've NEVER had a problem. I'd guess the day you were in as a port stop, there was no ship there begining or ending a cruise. Remember, every time a ship pulls in at the end of a cruise, a lot of folks get off and drive off in those parked cars...So, arriving between 9-10 means there are spots opening all over the lot--enough to accommodate the same number of cars for the next cruise. There are also employees leaving the lot as their shifts end. That said, even though we live in reasonable driving distance, we've often booked hotel park & cruise nights at the CP or Doubletree...Booking early or using Hilton points, it's made sense. One recent cruise, that Cruise and Park rate at the CP was within about $10 of what parking at the pier would have cost.

We are on this cruise as well...and, yes, it is January 20 (Friday). I assume that if you are spending just the night before, you are arriving January 19 (Thursday). Yes, there are lots of nicer hotels in the Greater Los Angeles area... HOWEVER, for us, when arriving in port just the day or night before a cruise, the major reason for choosing a hotel is CONVENIENCE. When doing this, we like to be very close to the cruise port...and close to restaurants...since all we usually plan on doing is geting to the hotel, relaxing, having a nice dinner and very little stress in the morning checking out of the hotel and getting to the pier. If someone is staying multiple days in Southern California pre-cruise, I wholeheartedly recommend staying somewhere else (First choice: Santa Monica). But, for just the day before a cruise out of San Pedro, it is really hard to beat the Crowne Plaza. It is not a five-star luxury hotel, but, OTOH, it is plenty nice for a one night pre-cruise stay. I typically book 4 nd 5 star hotels, for the most part...but have no problem with either the Crowne Plaza or the Doubletree. The reason I recommend the CP first is for the location. It is only about a three block walk to the cruise terminal. The hotel now charges $5.50 pp for their shuttle...but, if you don't care to walk it, an Uber is only a few dollars as well. There are several good, comfortable, casual and reasonably priced restaurants within a couple of blocks walk. My favorites are the Green Onion (Mexican) and the San Pedro Brewing Company (brew pub/ecclectic) both within a half a block of the hotel.. The Doubletree is a couple of miles from the cruise terminal, perhaps a small bit nicer and in a more serene and scenic location at the yacht marina...but with few restaurants nearby, though the hotel will shuttle you to restaurants in Downtown San Pedro. For those with cars, parking at the Doubletree is in an open lot adjacent to the hotel front entrance. Parking at the Crowne Plaza is in an underground structure below the hotel. We were able to park in a spot between a pillar and the side wall where no other car could park next to us.

50 days...

Seriously? I really didn't expect anything... But as long as Royal Caribbean wants to compensate people for this (which I believe is a smart PR move), they should take the TOTAL cruise fare (yes, they can deduct the fees and taxes), divide it by two (number of passengers) and divide that by 8 (number of cruise nights)...then multiply that per diem per person fare by the number of nights missed in isolation (in this case, three). In this case, that would have come to approximately $388. Still a fraction of the total cruise price, but based on actual days in isolation for an even distribution of the total cruise fare paid to the line.

During our recent 8-night Vision of the Seas cruise in the Mediterranean (Early afternoon of Day 5 while docked in Ibiza), my wife self-reported to the medical office with a sore throat and a positive self-test for Covid. She was re-tested, then sent to an "Isolation" area on Deck 3 and restricted to an OV cabin, by herself, for the remainder of the cruise. She missed the final three nights of the cruise...and was released at disembarkation. I really didn't think too much of this until they told me we would receive a credit for the time in isolation. I thought "great". Well. some time later, we recieved a credit for a whopping $110!!! I guess something is better than nothing, but, why only $110??? Well, here's the story: 1) Somehow, since my wife didn't get sent to isolation until early afternoon on Day 5, they didn't count that night...not a "full 24 hours", I guess. 2) They didn't count taxes and fees, just "cruise fare". Fair enough, I guess. 3) We purchased the cruise during some sort of sale promotion--where it was "Second passenger 75% off"...and, unfortunately, I was designated as the first passenger, my wife as second passenger, so MY cruise fare accounted for the overwhelming majority of the fare and hers only $440...even though we all know that pricing is a fiction. Had we designated the passenger numbers the other way around, we'd be getting three times the credit...and 4) We originally booked an OV cabin at a low price, then used a well above minimum bid on Royal Up to upgrade to a premium balcony. Apparently, that doesn't count.

Are you flying in....or driving? If you are flying and will be staying, say for just the night before in San Pedro, then you'll want something walking distance. If you have a car, OTOH, you can go and buy wine anywhere. There is a liquor store...called Ocean Market...directly across Harbor Blvd. from the cruise port. There are several other random liquor stores in the downtown San Pedro area. Otherwise, in California, note that just about every supermarket and drug store sells wine...

There are reasons hotels in this area, incuding that one, are charging relatively low prices. It is not a great area...sort of blue collar/industrial. There is a Denny's next door...and not much else. You probably won't be comfortable walking anywhere from there--especially at night. If you must stay there, consider taking an Uber back and forth to San Pedro for dinner. Hopefuly, you are there just for the night?

My two favorites in San Pedro are the San Pedro Brewing Company and the Green Onion...both are reasonably priced and casual and serve really good food. Both are in Downtown Pedro--on 6th, to either side of the Crowne Plaza...but since you have a car, very easy to drive to from the Doubletree... https://sanpedrobrewing.com/menu http://www.greenonionmexicanrestaurant.com/menu.html

With three nights prior, the real question is to what extent you are focusing on Universal...versus how much is a more generalized sightseeing in the larger LA area... If you really just want to focus on Universal (which is really, at this point, just a large movie-themed amusement park--for which I wouldn't devote more to than one day...or part of one day) and other movie/TV studios...then go head and stay right at Universal (Hilton or Sheraton) or somewhere at the center of Hollywood ---Loews Hollyeood, Hollywood Roosevelt, Magic Castle...But, be aware--most of Hollywood can be a bit scuzzy...and stay away from any bargain hotels you find in this area...PLEASE.... My best recommendation is, with multiple pre-cruise nights, to stay in Santa Monica--near the SM Pier/Third Street Promenade/Palisades Park...Fairmont Miramar, Loews, Marriott LeMarigot, Shutters at the Beach, Huntley, Georgian, Casa Del Mar, Hampton Inn, Marriott Courtyard, Wyndham, Ocean View. Lots to do within walking distance...and easy to get to Universal/Hollywood via organized tour, HOHO bus or even the Metro. For one night after with early flight, the one time I'd say to stay near LAX...either one of the large chain LAX adjacent hotels along Century Blvd. west of the 405...or down in El Segundo just South of LAX--most have free airport shuttles...

I live a little over an hour from San Pedro but often stay there the night before a cruise for the convenience and low stress. I've stayed in both the Crowne Plaza and the Doubletree and like both...Neither are "low end hotel types". Both are nice. I think Doubletree is a little nicer but Crowne Plaza has an ib=ncredibly convenient location. Lots of really good restaurant choices withi a block or two of the CP...and the pier is walking distance...though a shuttle or Uber is cheap and very convenient.

Anyone ever stayed there? Looking for a hotel for one night pre-cruise next August. Looks to be a newer "standard" chain airport hotel. Hotels.com has it at "8.8/Excellent". On Google, 53% of the reviews were 5 star, another 27% were 4 star. TripAdvisor has it at sort of a middling level, but, reading through the 53 reviews, over half gave it 5 stars...the 10 "Terrible" reviews all seemed to have something sort of irrelevant to complain about (one-off issues like their car was vandalized in the lot, they didn't have a room for early check-in, the person who forgot their eyeglasses at the hotel and the hotel didn't find the glasses for them, their airport shuttle was late...or the ones complaining that the free buffet breakfast was more like continental breakfast)...I can live with those. I'd rather stay closer to the port for the next morning convenience, but Downtown area hotels seem to be running around double...and, since we're only getting in the afternoon before, it's not like we're sightseeing in Seattle. I assume there are easy options for transportation to the pier and back to SeaTac after the cruise? Thanks...

First, realize that they may never have an Aqua available...and if one comes open, they may likely sell it in the usual manner. That said, if you'r willing to spend whatever it takes to get that Aqua, your better path would be to keep monitoring the Celebrity Website...and, if you see one pop up, immediately contact Celebrity...or your TA...and have them move you the old-fashioned way. Volunteer to just pay the difference between what you booked the inside for and the going rate for the Aqua. Then you are not gambling on the "luck" of getting the MoveUp. Remember that it may not take matching your bid for the MoveUp computer to award that cabin to someone currently in a concierge or balcony. Someone could bid far less than that and Celebrity will still make more money--because they can resell (or accept a MoveUp bid) on the cabin they are giving up.

I do not know for certain, BUT... The entire purpose of the MoveUp thing is to allow Celebrity to maximize their profit from unsold cabins... Following normal logic, if there are two similar bids for an Aqua cbin, one from someone currently in an inside and the other from someone currently in a Concierge cabin, the cruise line would have to be absolutely crazy to accept the bid from the inside booking. If they accept the inside bid, they pocket the amount of the bid and get an unsellable inside cabin back, If they accept the bid from the Concierge bidder, they get the amount of the bid PLUS an open Concierge cabin--for which they can then accept a second bid from someone in a balcony cabin, pocket that cash and get an open balcony cabin--for which they can accept a bid from someone currently in an OV...and so on. When all is said and done, that approximately equal bid from the Concierge cruiser is worth three to four times as much as your bid....

I'll second the idea of using the Waze app... Saturday mornings should not be a problem...but, as always, you never know where an accident or construction or other oddball occurrence could affect your drive. Waze will give you very current directions based on current traffic conditions and wil re-route you if things change to always give you the best route. As to getting there early, when we cruised on RCCL Navigator about three months ago, we got there early--10:15--and were ushered right onboard! But, even if they keep you there, it's not bad at all..they will bring you into the terminal to a seating area and give you a card indicating a boarding group...You can wait there comfortably until they call your group...