How early do the Princess shuttles leave LAX for San Pedro?

[ar1950]

I don't believe I have seen this question answered anywhere. What is the earliest time that the Princess shuttles start leaving LAX for the port of San Pedro?

[f-mattox]

That is very hard to say. The buses leave when they are full or close to it; it all depends on the flight schedules of the passengers that have signed up for shuttles. If you have a lot of people headed for the ship on your flight you might leave as soon as you gather your luggage. If not, ???

[Pam in CA]

I wouldn't take a Princess shuttle from the ship to LAX. I'd book with SuperShuttle or Prime Time Shuttle. They run pretty continuously to LAX and you won't have to wait as long for the van to fill.

[ar1950]

...... If you have a lot of people headed for the ship on your flight you might leave as soon as you gather your luggage.....

 

I'm thinking not quite that soon. Our flight gets in at 8:30am. ;)

 

I wouldn't take a Princess shuttle from the ship to LAX. I'd book with SuperShuttle or Prime Time Shuttle. They run pretty continuously to LAX and you won't have to wait as long for the van to fill.

 

Thanks Pam. We are looking at those options as well.

[DrivesLikeMario]

They don't leave that early at all. I'm guessing the earliest the bus will show up will be around 10am and then it'll sit there for quite awhile to be loaded. They don't like the buses to get to the port until after boarding has already begun, which is usually estimated to be at noon to 12:30. I wouldn't expect to arrive there before then if you bought transfers from LAX.

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

I have a related question. I am booked on the September 26 cruise on the Golden Princess out of San Pedro. I am flying to LAX one day before the cruise and will spend the night in Long Beach on the Queen Mary. I am planning to take the Super Shuttle from LAX to the Queen Mary. How far in advance should I make my reservation? Is it too early now?

 

Thanks,

 

Chuck

[Pam in CA]

Thanks Pam. We are looking at those options as well.

I misunderstood your question. :(

 

If your flight gets in at 8:30am, chances are you'll get your luggage by 9am. I'd still check out the PrimeTime and Super Shuttles. However, there's no rush because you don't want to arrive much before 10:30am. Check-in doesn't start until then and if you arrive earlier, your luggage will be set aside until luggage is boarded. Not something you want.

[f-mattox]

I agree with Pam: Super Shuttle or Prime Time Shuttle are much preferable to the Princess shuttle. And if your flight touches down at 8:30 you won't be at the pier before 10:30; so that should work perfectly.

[f-mattox]

Hi,

 

I have a related question. I am booked on the September 26 cruise on the Golden Princess out of San Pedro. I am flying to LAX one day before the cruise and will spend the night in Long Beach on the Queen Mary. I am planning to take the Super Shuttle from LAX to the Queen Mary. How far in advance should I make my reservation? Is it too early now?

 

Thanks,

 

Chuck

 

Chuck, you can make your reservation any time you like up to 24 hours in advance. But now would be a good time.

[notentirelynormal]

I wouldn't take a Princess shuttle from the ship to LAX. I'd book with SuperShuttle or Prime Time Shuttle. They run pretty continuously to LAX and you won't have to wait as long for the van to fill.

 

This would be my advice also. We live locally but we were taking a cruise from LA to Vancouver and flying back. We debated what to do with our car. Park it at the pier or the airport? We decided the airport and used the Princess shuttle. Well, they put us on a bus and took us TO A HOTEL..... where we could check in and wait and wait and wait until they were ready to take us to the ship. We could have been on the ship at least 2 hours earlier but diong the SuperShutte/Prime Time.

 

Oh and the best part of the shuttle - when they stopped at the hotel the bus started smoking in the back where we were. On fire type smoke. So people in the front of the bus are taking their time getting their carry ons off and we started yelling - get off the bus we have small children back here and don't want to die - we had to yell because there was so much smoke they couldn't see us. Really people. You hurry to get your stuff but don't worry about the actual people.

[adstz]

We took the Princess shuttle from LAX to the pier in 2012. Our plane got in early, maybe 8:30 am or so. Princess put us on a bus almost right away but it went to a hotel with a large waiting area. There they gave us coffee, juice and snacks. We had to wait there a couple of hours until they took us to the ship. I don't think we were onboard until around 1 pm. We were NOT happy campers. We will not do that again.

[Husky61]

I think how you get to San Pedro is a personal choice. We wouldn't take Super Shuttle or Prime Time because we don't like shuttles. Again personal choice. If you are willing to spend a few extra bucks, there are other options with private transportation.:)

[Pam in CA]

Oh and the best part of the shuttle - when they stopped at the hotel the bus started smoking in the back where we were. On fire type smoke. So people in the front of the bus are taking their time getting their carry ons off and we started yelling - get off the bus we have small children back here and don't want to die - we had to yell because there was so much smoke they couldn't see us. Really people. You hurry to get your stuff but don't worry about the actual people.

That reminds me of my Princess shuttle experience last February from the Houston airport hotel to the Galveston pier. We decided to do the Princess hotel because we booked last minute and were flying in the night before from opposite sides of the country. It included the shuttle to the pier. My friend got the last flight out of Boston during a major snowstorm (which is another story as her first flight was canceled the night before) so we were glad we were going to be taken care of from then on.

 

We boarded the bus and sat towards the rear. And waited while others boarded. Not too bad. And then a couple came ten minutes after the last passengers had boarded but the bus hadn't left and started arguing with the driver, even before boarding. He directed them to the bus and they sat behind us. She immediately popped up and raced back outside to argue with the driver. All of this took about 20 minutes extra... we were half an hour late at this point. He finally got her to re-board and she sat down. And, got on her phone, harassing someone that this wasn't her bus. She got off the phone and I (innocently) turned around and said, "We're all going to the same place." To which she replied, "I'm a reporter and should be on the VIP bus. This isn't my bus as I belong with the VIPs." Ugh! More arguments and the couple finally disembarked the bus and left, delaying us by 45 minutes.

 

The bus finally leaves and goes perhaps 1/4 mile when there's an enormous THUNK! and then a scraping noise. The bus comes to a stop just before the entrance to the highway. Broken axle. We all disembark, get our carry-ons and wait by the side of the road. I happened to notice a luggage tag on the floor of the luggage compartment and grab it. It's the couple's who had delayed us! Karma! Fortunately, five minutes later another bus pulls up for us. I suspect it was an airport bus that had been diverted since the replacement was so fast. Anyway, we made it to the ship about an hour and a half late. Quite an adventure.

[Cruisin' Chick]

This would be my advice also. We live locally but we were taking a cruise from LA to Vancouver and flying back. We debated what to do with our car. Park it at the pier or the airport? We decided the airport and used the Princess shuttle. Well, they put us on a bus and took us TO A HOTEL..... where we could check in and wait and wait and wait until they were ready to take us to the ship. We could have been on the ship at least 2 hours earlier but diong the SuperShutte/Prime Time.

 

Oh and the best part of the shuttle - when they stopped at the hotel the bus started smoking in the back where we were. On fire type smoke. So people in the front of the bus are taking their time getting their carry ons off and we started yelling - get off the bus we have small children back here and don't want to die - we had to yell because there was so much smoke they couldn't see us. Really people. You hurry to get your stuff but don't worry about the actual people.

 

I think how you get to San Pedro is a personal choice. We wouldn't take Super Shuttle or Prime Time because we don't like shuttles. Again personal choice. If you are willing to spend a few extra bucks, there are other options with private transportation.:)

 

We live an hour's drive from the port, and usually park our car in the lot at the port. But our last three cruises were the two week Hawaiian cruises, and there was no way our luggage for that long of a cruise (my hubby takes his guitar, too) can fit in the trunks of either of our cars. So we decided to hire a car service to pick us up from the Valley and two weeks later pick us up at the port. Two of the those times, things worked smoothly, but a couple of cruises ago, we booked PT. They totally screwed up our pick up on BOTH ends (and the email confirmation was correct) and sent the driver to the other location. So never again. On Time Transportation last December worked nicely for us.

 

As for the OP, I get very nervous when anyone talks about flying in the day of their cruise. There are so many things that can go wrong. We even had about 200 passengers not make it on a cruise due to bad weather on their end and in Los Angeles.

[riclop]

I don't believe I have seen this question answered anywhere. What is the earliest time that the Princess shuttles start leaving LAX for the port of San Pedro?

Listen to PAM, she is correct.

[Pam in CA]

Listen to PAM, she is correct.

Or not. :) I've used both PrimeTime and SuperShuttle in the past when I lived in MA and flew to LA for cruises. Like Patty, I now live about 45 minutes from San Pedro... and use a private limo service. It's far more expensive but extremely reliable. Plus, if there are more than two of us, we request the stretch limo which is kind of fun to arrive in at the pier.