LAX Flight Time: 11:50AM or 4:00PM

[poohs4me]

We are going on a Panama Cruise that ends in San Pedro on a Friday in January. The cruise line of course says not to book a flight until after 12:30. How is the traffic from San Pedro to LAX on a Friday Morning - not sure when Rush hour starts or ends? I know we could be one of the first off and we are using cruise line transportation. Which do you think I should book?

[PatriciaF]

San Pedro to LAX is WITH traffic. It could be an hour or more to LAX. Traffic starts to calm down around 9 AM. However, if you would be eligible for the car pool lane.

 

If no problems getting off the ship and into a cab or shuttle by 8 AM, you should have no problem getting that flight.

 

Last time we had a morning flight on American Airlines, it took us almost two hours to check in and go through security.

[mjesf]

Do yourself a favor, and take the later flight. Should something go wrong (and you know there is an inverse relationship between the time you have to make the flight and the probability of Murphy's Law kicking in :eek:,) you will not make the 11:50 flight.

[CruiserBruce]

Do yourself a favor, and take the later flight. Should something go wrong (and you know there is an inverse relationship between the time you have to make the flight and the probability of Murphy's Law kicking in :eek:,) you will not make the 11:50 flight.

 

I agree 100%. Two things- the cruise line recommends it, and as you are using cruise line transport, which will likely have to wait for a full bus.

 

You didn't say what time you dock, so we can't consider that factor.

[kenish]

If you browse and search old posts, you will read that Immigration sometimes runs random crew checks at LA. When that happens it really delays disembarkation. My brother self-disembarked last year and they were not on land until 1030. Also, you're cruising in January which carries a small but definite risk of delayed docking due to fog.

[Twickenham]

How is the traffic from San Pedro to LAX on a Friday Morning - not sure when Rush hour starts or ends?

 

I've driven in LA, and I'm not sure when rush hour starts or ends either...:rolleyes:

The once we cruised out of LA, it took us forever to clear customs. What with that, the traffic, and dealing with LAX - book the later flight.

[Putterdude]

While you may be able to just make the 11:50 I would go with the 4pm and avoid the sweaty palms. Why ruin a wonderful cruise with anxiety.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I remember when working in West LA that most of the time, no matter what time of day, looking at the 405 and seeing it bumper to bumper. I wouldn't even change it on a weekend, much less a weekday.

 

It doesn't matter what time the ship plans to dock...it's what time immigrations and customs clears the passengers to disembark.

[CaseyJr]

I agree. I think the worst factor is taking cruise line transportion. Are you on Disney? If so, they have very large buses that they will need to fill before leaving the port.

[marelind]

We've gotten off cruises in LA twice; both times the Customs and Border Patrol decided to do the processing on board and it took much longer. The last time we did this was last April and people were lined up around the decks and it took forever. If you got caught in a situation like that, you'd have a hard time catching an 11:30 flight.

[Keith1010]

As others have said go with the later flight. You need to allow one hour and possibly more on a Friday to get to the airport and I would advise to allow two hours to arrive before your flight.

 

Our experience is that San Pedro and other other ports in the USA are inconsistent when it comes to the clearance times for the ship including the passengers. It is just not worth the risk to take a flight that early.

 

Keith

[poohs4me]

Thank you for all the responses. That was the way I was leaning as well, but it just seemed like a lot of time to kill at the airport

[cohollywood]

My father-in-law booked a cruise for us in Feb (my first) and I'm SUPER EXCITED! However, he just booked our airline tickets and we leave LAX after our cruise at 11:35. After reading all this, I'm freaking out. I asked him about it when he did it, and he said he's gotten off ships before at 6 or 7 in the morning and they want EVERYONE off by 9, but it doesn't sound like thats true...and now I'm freakin out! But he doesn't seem to want to change the time, so I guess I just go with the flow while crossing my fingers and toes.

 

What happens if you miss your flight? I've never had that happen...do you just have to wait for the next available flight, or do you have to pay a bunch of extra money?

[Keith1010]

My father-in-law booked a cruise for us in Feb (my first) and I'm SUPER EXCITED! However, he just booked our airline tickets and we leave LAX after our cruise at 11:35. After reading all this, I'm freaking out. I asked him about it when he did it, and he said he's gotten off ships before at 6 or 7 in the morning and they want EVERYONE off by 9, but it doesn't sound like thats true...and now I'm freakin out! But he doesn't seem to want to change the time, so I guess I just go with the flow while crossing my fingers and toes.

 

What happens if you miss your flight? I've never had that happen...do you just have to wait for the next available flight, or do you have to pay a bunch of extra money?

 

While your father in law might have gotten off cruise ships before at 6:00 AM or 7:00 AM if they had overnighted in port that will not be the case for this type of cruise. The ship would only arrive there in the morning and must be cleared before anyone gets off.

 

I would not have booked a flight for this early.

 

Too much risk.

 

I was just on a ship two weeks ago that had a late disembarkation.

 

As to the airline, it all depends. I would not speculate on this. Contact the airline to find out what happens if you miss the flight so there are no surprises. And understand aside from penalties associated with missing the flight there might not be another flight that day or one with available seats.

 

Keith

[Donray]

My father-in-law booked a cruise for us in Feb (my first) and I'm SUPER EXCITED! However, he just booked our airline tickets and we leave LAX after our cruise at 11:35. After reading all this, I'm freaking out. I asked him about it when he did it, and he said he's gotten off ships before at 6 or 7 in the morning and they want EVERYONE off by 9, but it doesn't sound like thats true...and now I'm freakin out! But he doesn't seem to want to change the time, so I guess I just go with the flow while crossing my fingers and toes.

 

What happens if you miss your flight? I've never had that happen...do you just have to wait for the next available flight, or do you have to pay a bunch of extra money?

 

First, are you trying to get to LAX on a Friday morning like the OP? If you ar flying out on a Saturday or Sunday your should have no problem with a 11:35 flight. Of course there could always be a problem. The ship could come a day late or even 12 hours late at which point even an afternoon flight would be no good.

If there is minimum cost to change your flight to later I would do it, but if not the likely hood of making the 11:35 flight is extremely good. Is it guaranteed, NO.