lx200gps

Quite right. Our last trip was on the Celebrity Equinox, where Somelliers can be found in pretty much every dining venue. While we never needed their "advice", the fact that there were dedicated wine handlers ensured that we never went dry or waited for a refill. He/she was always nearby ready with the bottle we were drinking. I would surely love Princess to implement such a system.

Fair enough. Those taxi estimators are only estimators after all ;o) I simply Googled "LA Taxi Estimator" and ran the first three that came up. One gave me $38 and the other two, which used the same engine, gave me $43, all pre-tip of course. LAX to 21333 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503, United States. Assuming the taxi stand at Terminal 7/8 is still there, that's how we will get down to the hotel. We'll definitely be Uber-ing it from the hotel to the pier the next morning. Now I have to figure the best way to get from SP back up to LAX on our return, in time to catch a 12:30 flight on a Saturday. We've had decent service from Supershuttle, but they're long gone. I remember that the last few times we returned back into San Pedro and did early walk-off, there were no taxis to be found even at 7AM. We'll be trying Uber this time I suspect. Looks like a Comfort will be about $50 + tip.

Yup, did that ;o( Luckily it appears to be seasonal and at some times of the year we can fly on "real" AC. It's amazing how a simple luxury like a real TV screen can make such a big difference.

Quite true, we flew Premium Rouge from YUL to FLL a few weeks ago. At certain times of the year, there is limited mainline AC service from here to Fort Lauderdale and we're stuck with Rouge. The "Premium" experience wasn't horrible by any means, though obviously if a decent direct AC flight had been available we would have taken it over Rouge.

Only those passengers with the coupon book gifted to them by their TA or Princess can get the free bottle of wine on Embarkation Night. And if you have one of the packages, Plus or Premier, there are better quality wines by the glass than what you would get in the free bottle.

Those coupon books are not universal, not all pax have them. Our TA gives us one each, but AFAIK some passengers do not have them, and so would not get the free bottle of plonk on embarkation night. We always sail with at least the Plus package, and the free bottle is usually not worth even bothering with, we stick to the better wines by the glass in the SDRs.

Already have been, thanks. I was aware that certain "flavors"of Uber are allowed to pick up at the terminal, though I didn't know which ones, so I did a quick and dirty search of options. Regular UberXs from LAX-It to our hotel in Torrance run about $32 without tip or any possible surge pricing. An LA taxi estimator say a taxi would be about the same. The Uber website says an Uber Black from our Terminal 6 would be about $100. Bizarrely, the Uber web site also allowed me to choose Terminal 6 as a pickup point for UberX, which is incorrect. Small differences in pricing between a taxi and an UberX don't bother us, so if there is an easily walked-to taxi stand at T7, right next to our T6, we'll drag our bags the short distance and grab a taxi. Sounds easier than using the LAX-It buses. It's been a few years since we were last in LA, can't wait to get back.

You are quite welcome, have a great trip.

That I didn't know. I assumed all taxis had to be picked up at the LAX-It lot, thanks for the heads up. I realize that LAX-It works OK, but I had been reading a lot of negative comments about issues with the bus service, difficulty in finding your Uber, etc. Rather than hoicking a ton of luggage on and off a bus (my wife doesn't travel light ;o), a short walk to a taxi stand at T7 seems pretty easy.

When we cruise from San Pedro, we stay in one of three areas, Long Beach, Torrance or San Pedro. There are a number of determining factors in our decision of where to stay, but generally our choice is driven by the time of year (so hotel pricing is a factor) and also when we arrive into LAX. As Canadians, we pay a 35% premium due to our weak dollar, so hotel pricing is a major factor for us. If we arrive late in the day into LAX, we generally just head to San Pedro and stay at the Crowne Plaza, which is a short walk to the Cruise Port. It's in a pretty "remote" area and there's little to do, but it's very convenient. We do tend to find that the CP sells out a lot, probably because it's the biggest (and pretty much only) hotel near the port. There's also a Hilton Doubletree a bit farther away in SP which comes highly recommended here on CC but we've never stayed there If we have a lot of time after arriving in LA, we have stayed in Long Beach. LOTS of nice hotels, restaurants etc, but can be pricey at certain times of the year. It's slightly out of the way, requiring as long a drive from LAX as San Pedro, then a bit of a taxi/Uber drive on embarkation day. That's why we've taken to staying in Torrance when we arrive into LAX early in the day. Torrance is in pretty much a direct line from LAX to San Pedro so is not much of a diversion. We stay in the general area of the massive Del Amo mall with lots of hotels, restaurants and last-minute shopping. We've tended to use the Doubletree by Hilton on Hawthorne Blvd (we're there again this October). Large, full service hotel right across the street from the mall. There's also a nice Marriott right in the mall but it's always too $$$ for us.

Thanks, that's what I figured. A public-works project that is late, how unusual ;o) It's funny how their website still claims that it will be finished in 2023. In any case, I'll have to decide whether to use the LAX-It shuttles to the lot, or spring for one of the ultra-expensive Uber variants which I understand are still allowed to pick up at the terminals (T6 in our case)

Question for you LA locals: It was my understanding that LAX-It is only a temporary measure with a finite lifespan, and according to their own website: "During construction, lanes in the central terminal area will be reduced, making it necessary to temporarily move taxi and ride app pickups to LAX-it until the people mover is completed in 2023. " Is there any sign that the LAX-It experience will end this year? We're due to use it for the first time in October. Around noon on a Friday, for a trip down to our hotel in Torrance, is a taxi easier than trying to find our Uber amongst the hundreds of other cars. I've read reports that getting a taxi tends to be easier as they are lined up waiting. The next morning we will use Uber to get down to San Pedro from Torrance. Thanks for any insight.

No problem. One thought came to mind, re your drive down. The NY and NJ road system make extensive use of tolls, so as you get close to Manhattan you will be hitting "no-stop" toll plazas everywhere. If you don't already have one, you might want to look into getting an E-ZPass transponder for your car to simplify the process. I'll let the locals on here weigh in on its benefits If you are driving from the St Catherines area, you should be able to find businesses selling the transponders easily, maybe as early as Buffalo. We got ours in Plattsburg, NY just over the border from Montreal. https://www.e-zpassiag.com/

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I assume you are sailing from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal ? Keep in mind that there are three cruise ports in that area, in Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey. If Manhattan, then I would suggest staying in northern New Jersey as the hotels there are far cheaper than in Manhattan, then driving across the GW Bridge and down the Hudson on Embarkation Day to the MCT where you can park in their parking garage. Towns like Teaneck, Paramus or Teterboro are very well placed near the NJ side of the GW Bridge for "easy" access to Manhattan. Parking right at the MCT is very expensive, especially when converted to our Canadian $$$s (though it's competitive with parking prices anywhere in Manhattan). We've driven from Montreal down to both the MCT and Brooklyn a few times, VERY much nicer than flying ;o) When we sail from the MCT we stay just over the river in Weehawken NJ, park our car there and take the ferry across the Hudson right from the hotel, then walk a few hundred yards to the cruise terminal. The parking at the hotel/ferry terminal is a bit more than half the cost of parking at the MCT and the NJ hotels are also far cheaper than in Manhattan.

On every Skywatcher-equiped ship we've ever been on, it's been our go-to place for peace and quiet during the day. Very occasionally a few loud people will cause us to leave, but by and large it's a great place to read on sea days. Can't beat the views either.

Are you asking about re-charging yourself or your "devices" ;o) We used Take 5 as our quiet reading spot on all our recent trips on ships had that one. There are numerous AC outlets with North American plugs scattered around Take 5 and I never had any problem finding a big window chair right next to one. I always prefer to run my tablet off AC power whenever it's available.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. We have been on Princess trips to every one of the ports you list within the last 18 months and have never needed any visa.

We've been on the Sky three times in the last year or so. As mentioned previously, your two best bets would the Crown Grill bar and Take 5. We always used Take 5 as it is a separate area with virtually no through traffic and there is plenty of window seating and tables for two to watch the sea go by. Occasionally Take 5 is used for a quiet lecture, or for some very loud game show, but generally us beautifully quiet.

We did exactly that last September, on our first trip ever out of Brooklyn on Princess. We had driven down and stayed in New Jersey the night before, planning to drive across the GW bridge, down the Hudson and into Brooklyn on embarkation morning. The traffic wasn't as bad as I had planned for and we ended up arriving at the BCT earlier than expected, around 9AM, right in the middle of all the disembarking passengers. Surprisingly, there were porters there already accepting bags from incoming passengers and we were literally among the very first to ditch our bags. Obviously I don't know if this is still the case now, hopefully some folks will chime in with more recent experiences, but I expect you will be able to drop your bags early.

I'm interested in this as well. We're on the Discovery Princess on the October 7 sailing and are interested in renting for the first of our two days in SF. Near as I can tell, the best rental car option near the pier, which I believe will be Pier 27, will be at Fisherman's Wharf, about a 20 minute walk north along the Emracadero. All the major car rental companies are there. As to parking, there appears to be a parking garage right at Pier 27 https://lots.impark.com/imp?utm_source=google&utm_medium=maps&utm_content=0270081&utm_campaign=local_us#details=27,81

FWIW, we were in a Mini Suite of the Ruby for our very first cruise, a long time ago, cabin E728. I went back and looked at our photos and it looks like there was no curtain at the time, as there have been on all our recent sailings in Minis on other ships larger ships. Assuming that the cabin layouts have not changed dramatically since we were on her, this is what our Mini looked like at the time (apologies for the mess). You can see how that curved console really affects your ability to make your own curtain

The general consensus is that it's best to stay in San Pedro if arriving the day before, certainly not at LAX (unless you're arriving at midnight ;o). The only two real options in SP would be the Doubletree Marina and the Crowne Plaza. The DT is a bit far from the pier but is well regarded here on CC. The Crowne Plaza is literally a few minutes walk to the pier. The CP does have a shuttle to the pier if you can't walk the few hundred yards, not sure about the DT, but in any case, a taxi or Uber is easy. Another alternative is to stay a bit farther away in Long Beach, as SP can be a bit "barren". Long Beach can be a bit more $$$s though. FWIW, the last few times we've sailed out of SP, we've decided to stay in Torrance, about half way between LAX and SP (we're doing it again in October). Lots more infrastructure (hotels, a giant mall for shopping, restaurants etc) than SP, but that's our personal decision. A shorter cab/Uber ride off the airplane, but a longer ride the next morning to the ship. We just find SP a bit to far off the beaten track.

Absolutely agree. We ALWAYS head to the front desk to check out and require a printed copy of our bill to confront any surprises at checkout. We don't want to have any surprise charges a week after we leave the hotel. We always hand in our hotel key card as well.

Absolutely. No decent pizza on Celebrity was an issue for us, we HUGELY missed Alfredo's when we were on the Equinox.;o). The Buffet "pizza" just didn't cut it. we're not fans of heat lamps. . We also missed being able to find a decent sandwich on the Equinox to be a problem as well. The IC is a definite advantage, Princess +1

Interesting. Is it truly a separate dining venue, or just a roped off area in the main MDR like Club Class on the current ships?