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First Time Cruising out of LA

cruise&travelgirl

By cruise&travelgirl,
in West Coast Departures

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cruise&travelgirl

cruise&travelgirl

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We're cruising out of LA on the Star in Nov. This is a first for us (we normally cruise out of Florida). How far is the port from LAX? Would you recommend using a cruise line transfer or taking a cab? We're also still not sure if we'll be flying out the day before or the day of the cruise. Any hotel recommendations if we decide to fly out the day before? Thanks in advance!

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slomotion

slomotion

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We're cruising out of LA on the Star in Nov. This is a first for us (we normally cruise out of Florida). How far is the port from LAX? Would you recommend using a cruise line transfer or taking a cab? We're also still not sure if we'll be flying out the day before or the day of the cruise. Any hotel recommendations if we decide to fly out the day before? Thanks in advance!

 

Hi

Most definitely fly out the day before. "How far" is not a question for the LA area as traffic is the unknown factor. Out here the questions is "how long." It all depends on traffic. Light traffic could be about 30 minutes.

 

Best bet is to take a cab or "Super Shuttle" or "Primetime Shuttle" from LAX to San Pedro (the actual port) and stay at either the Crowne Plaza or DoubleTree. Both have a free shuttle from the hotel to the port. We use Crowne Plaza and like it. There are many restaurants in the area and the hotel will usually drop you off and pick you up if the one you want is not within easy walking distance.

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waltd

waltd

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Hi

Most definitely fly out the day before. "How far" is not a question for the LA area as traffic is the unknown factor. Out here the questions is "how long." It all depends on traffic. Light traffic could be about 30 minutes.

 

Best bet is to take a cab or "Super Shuttle" or "Primetime Shuttle" from LAX to San Pedro (the actual port) and stay at either the Crowne Plaza or DoubleTree. Both have a free shuttle from the hotel to the port. We use Crowne Plaza and like it. There are many restaurants in the area and the hotel will usually drop you off and pick you up if the one you want is not within easy walking distance.

 

Yes good advise and most people do stay at both hotels listed. If you have the time and money and want something a bit different you could stay on the Old Queen Mary that is docked in Long Beach. I think it might be under 30 minutes to get from the Queen Mary to San Pedro dock that is right across the harbor. A bit of history. A bit expensive but fun.

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

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I agree 100% with "slomotion." Fly in the day before and stay overnight at the port. While the actual transfer time can be 40 minutes, with the 405 and 110 (highways between LAX and San Pedro), you never know. I was on the 405 last Saturday, there was an accident (there often is) and it took me 45 minutes to go three miles. There's no such thing as "off peak" when it comes to LA traffic. Maybe at 2am. :) If you fly in embarkation day, unless your flight arrives at LAX well before noon, the stress isn't going to be worth it.

 

If it were me, I'd book either Super Shuttle or Prime Time Shuttle to the hotel. Unless you can book a specific shuttle time, I'd just take a taxi to the terminal. You'll be maybe five minutes away. Otherwise, you may wait in line for ages for a free shuttle.

 

There are inexpensive restaurants near the Crowne Plaza. There's a Mexican restaurant a block or so away and a few blocks away is Grinders, which I like. It's like IHOP but much better.

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slomotion

slomotion

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I agree 100% with "slomotion." Fly in the day before and stay overnight at the port. While the actual transfer time can be 40 minutes, with the 405 and 110 (highways between LAX and San Pedro), you never know. I was on the 405 last Saturday, there was an accident (there often is) and it took me 45 minutes to go three miles. There's no such thing as "off peak" when it comes to LA traffic. Maybe at 2am. :) If you fly in embarkation day, unless your flight arrives at LAX well before noon, the stress isn't going to be worth it.

 

If it were me, I'd book either Super Shuttle or Prime Time Shuttle to the hotel. Unless you can book a specific shuttle time, I'd just take a taxi to the terminal. You'll be maybe five minutes away. Otherwise, you may wait in line for ages for a free shuttle.

 

There are inexpensive restaurants near the Crowne Plaza. There's a Mexican restaurant a block or so away and a few blocks away is Grinders, which I like. It's like IHOP but much better.

 

eek:o

 

I'm going out on thin ice, very thin ice to disagree with Pam, but..

 

The secret to taking the free hotel shuttle is to understand that there's a hoard of folks who just have to get to the ship and will fight to the death to get on the early shuttles (10:00 - 10:45 or so AM) It's almost funny to watch them in the lobby jockeying for position, only to get to the port early to then sit and wait there. Once those bozos are gone, the shuttles after that (usually from 11:00 - 11:15 and on) are easy to get on. Last year the 11:15 shuttle had only 6 of us on it. When we got to the port the early birds were sitting and sitting and sitting.

 

But you could take a cab.

 

With all due respects to Pam:o:o

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cruise&travelgirl

cruise&travelgirl

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Thanks everyone for the great advice! After reading all the posts, we will definitely fly in the day before. I always worry about weather cancellations here too (we're coming from Ontario, Canada but will be flying out of Detroit). I'm going to discuss all the options with my husband but I'm pretty sure he will want to stay aboard the Queen Mary 2! Would there be any shuttles from the airport here or should we cab it?

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PatriciaF "Live from...." Rare

PatriciaF

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You can just walk up to the shared shuttle stand at LAX and get one (SuperShuttle or Prime Time) to the Queen Mary in Long Beach. You may have to circle the airport a few times before you leave--but if it is rush hour, it will certainly be cheaper than a cab.

 

Long Beach has a free shuttle system covering downtown and the Queen Mary area, so don't think you are stuck having dinner aboard ship--unless you want to. It's top of the line restaurant, Sir Winston's get excellent reviews.

 

A cab will probably be cheaper than a shuttle over the two bridges to San Pedro to the Port of Los Angeles.

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waltd

waltd

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Well you definitely need to cab it from the Queen Mary to the Port in San Pedro. You can do either from LAX to the Queen Mary. With the shuttles they can make up to 3 or 4 stops before dropping you off. I would call the shuttles or go on line and get prices and compare with a taxi. A taxi is certainly going to be more direct. You are on vacation, live a little. :)

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Pam in CA

Pam in CA

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eek:o

 

I'm going out on thin ice, very thin ice to disagree with Pam, but..

 

With all due respects to Pam:o:o

Go ahead! We all have different experiences. I've stayed many times at hotels with a "free" shuttle and have come to the conclusion that you get what you pay for. A few times, the hotel has been organized and booked people on specific shuttles which has worked well. Otherwise, it's been like a cattle call with people getting tired and frustrated with the wait. One person will wait in line and you think, "No problem getting on" but then a minute before boarding, 5-6 people show up to board with the one person. It's happened to me many times. But, you are right that if you're willing to wait until after the rush, you won't have a problem. Unfortunately, I've seen hotels have an 11am check-out time and you wind up waiting anyway. That's why I say take a taxi. It's just a long walk or 5-minute cab ride. Queen Mary excepted. :)
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Astro Flyer

Astro Flyer

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Our shuttle experience from the Doubletree wasn't smooth either direction & it probably would be the same for the Crowne Plaza.

 

We arrived at the hotel the day before at the earliest check-in time & the earliest available shuttle to the ship was at 1130. Being a couple of "bozos" who like to arrive early my wife dropped me & the luggage at the pier. She parked at the hotel & took the shuttle to meet me onboard.

 

After the cruise the shuttles were crowded despite staying onboard as late as possible. We had to wait for about 30 minutes to get a shuttle & next time I'd squeeze into a shuttle without luggage & drive back to the pier to get my wife & luggage.

 

So my experience has been that a free shuttle can result in delays either to or from the pier. A taxi would be quicker but that's an individual decision...time or money. ;)

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Cruisin' Chick

Cruisin' Chick

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We always take the Princess transfer from airport to pier. It is usually about a 30-45 minute drive depending on traffic. We always stay at the Embassy Suites at LAX and have never been disappointed. Hope you enjoy your cruise!:)

 

The area around LAX has a lot of strip malls (and you can take that literally :eek:). So my advice as a native Angeleno (since you're already taking what would have been my #1 advice of getting there at least a day ahead), is to stay at the Doubletree or Crowne Plaza. You'll be there the morning of your cruise and can board a free shuttle to the World Cruise Center. To get to the hotel, I would jump on one of those shuttle buses, that could circle around the airport a few times until they're filled. If you're prebooking a shuttle, I've found PT to be unreliable (at least when we used them a few years ago to go from/to the Valley to San Pedro for our cruise. Won't ever use them again as they screwed up our pick up on BOTH ends of our booking.

 

There are private shuttles too, such as Exec-car that will pick up just your party and go directly to your destination.

 

As for the Queen Mary, I would suggest touring it if your hubby wants to see it, rather than staying on it, if you get to LA early in the morning the day before or more than a day ahead of your cruise. Take a taxi to get to the waterfront of LA, if that's the case. Then you can go have lunch at the nearby (within walking distance) Shoreline Village. If you have more time, check out the excellent Aquarium of the Pacific. We've walked to and from the Village to the Aquarium, but there's also a free bus that goes around the waterfront.

 

You'll have fun on the Star. We were on the Golden Princess to Hawaii twice and enjoyed the Hawaiian cultural program (hula, uke lessons, lei making, seminars about the islands) and the musical duo Elua which had a lot to do with starting this program will be switching to the Star Princess later on this month as takes over the Hawaiian cruises.

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Nebr.cruiser

Nebr.cruiser

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I'm glad you've decided to come in a day early--so much easier on the nerves.

 

We've used super shuttle twice from the airport to hotel and ship to airport--it worked great. Although we reserved ahead of time on-line (and there is usually a discount code), it's probably not necessary for your arrival. I'm not sure about the shuttle back to the airport; I liked knowing we had a reservation for that.

 

We stayed at the Crown Plaza, which was fine. We walked with some others from Cruise Critic to a Mexican restaurant nearby, which was very good. The next day we took a long walk along the waterfront and then to the shopping area for a few things we wanted.

 

We used the hotel shuttle; wasn't crowded, didn't have to wait, but we did not try to get on an earlier shuttle--it was probably around noon. We still had to wait for awhile once inside the cruise terminal.

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24639

24639

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If you stay at the Double Tree, it is a short walk to the Cabrillo Marine Museum which is free to the public. It is not as big and fancy as the Aquarium of the Pacific, but you will find the docents there to be extremely knowledgeable and approachable.

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cruise&travelgirl

cruise&travelgirl

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Thanks everyone for all the great advice and options. I just love these forums! Before reading everyone's posts, I really had no idea what we were going to do. I was leaning towards just flying in the morning of the cruise. Now, we'll be flying in the day before and I'm pretty sure we'll be staying aboard the Queen Mary. I told my husband about this option and now will have a hard time getting him to stay at a regular hotel! I'm ok with either, but I do think it will be a special start to our vacation staying on the classic ship! My husband has always wanted to cruise Cunard but I think this is as close as we'll get for now! ;)

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Cruiserkenn

Cruiserkenn

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The USS Iowa is at the pier adjacent to the Port of LA if you're interested in touring a historic battleship.

 

And don't miss the USS Iowa! Totally awesome!

 

You can see her from your Princess ship, as you pull out, if you are too tired or too time constrained to tour her.

 

See her for sure. Those are 16" guns, fore and aft. 16" means the size of the projectiles. The Iowa is the sister ship of the Missouri, which is now on display in Pearl Harbor.

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Happy ks

Happy ks

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Thanks everyone for all the great advice and options. I just love these forums! Before reading everyone's posts, I really had no idea what we were going to do. I was leaning towards just flying in the morning of the cruise. Now, we'll be flying in the day before and I'm pretty sure we'll be staying aboard the Queen Mary. I told my husband about this option and now will have a hard time getting him to stay at a regular hotel! I'm ok with either, but I do think it will be a special start to our vacation staying on the classic ship! My husband has always wanted to cruise Cunard but I think this is as close as we'll get for now! ;)

 

We have stayed on Queen Mary a couple times and absolutely loved it. It's not for everyone, many people don't like vintage and want modern conveniences and that brand new feeling. There are other dining venues other than Winston's, look at http://www.queenmary.com.

 

There are tours to take, or just strolling the ship is interesting. No need to go any further than right onboard for the night prior and the morning of a cruise.

 

Even if we are boarding a ship on a Sunday, we'll go to Queen Mary for Sunday Brunch. We prefer to be late boarders on cruises, avoiding the wait sitting in a terminal, or a long line waiting to check in. Usually by 1:30-2:00 you can board a ship from parking lot to gangway in 10-15 minutes.

 

We usually ask for a AAA (CAA) rate and it knocks off a few bucks.

 

Have you looked at any flights in/out of Long Beach instead of LA?

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