San Diego Cruise Port

[lais]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

No thanks. I'll never embark in San Diego again.
Worst. Embarkation. Ever. 

Ruth, When was the last time you cruised out of San Diego?   
 

[DAllenTCY]

Thank you Zach.

 

I'll fix it.

 

David

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by DAllenTCY

[zgscl]

Just now, DAllenTCY said:

This might work.....I hope:

You may want to specifically differentiate Neptune Suites. There are non-Neptune suites on some ships that I am not sure would get priority (thinking of vista/signature suites)

[Hobar]

3 hours ago, lais said:

There is a sign 

 

What about Neptune Suites?  Or does this sign mean that only one of the Pinnacle Suites and no Neptune Suite was booked?

[Hobar]

14 minutes ago, lais said:

Ruth, when was the last time you sailed out of San Diego?

Ruth is pretty emphatic.  But she doesn’t explain why she thinks it is the worst, and worse than what??

[lais]

1 minute ago, Hobar said:

What about Neptune Suites?  Or does this sign mean that only one of the Pinnacle Suites and no Neptune Suite was booked?

See post #45

[DAllenTCY]

Updated new sign:

 

[Hobar]

2 minutes ago, lais said:

See post #45

Thanks so much.  I usually just look at most recent posts rather than scrolling through.  

[lais]

10 minutes ago, Hobar said:

Ruth is pretty emphatic.  But she doesn’t explain why she thinks it is the worst, and worse than what??

I think San Diego is the best port for convenience.  You can walk around and explore the waterfront or whatever you’d like to see.  The hop on off bus is close by, Seaport Village, shopping, busses, trains and so close to the airport.  I’ve never been in such a convenient port anywhere.   And it’s a beautiful city. So what if you have to wait in line to get on the ship. Actually you don’t have to wait in line, you can go out and explore so much close by within walking distance.  Waiting in line is a choice not a necessity. 

Edited October 10, 2023 by lais

[Hobar]

2 minutes ago, DAllenTCY said:

Updated new sign:

 

Excellent.  Breathing sigh of relief.  (Although not going until March ‘24.). Thank you.

[sandiego1]

In April 2022, we had no line to board the Zuiderdam. The Disney Wonder was there too and there was a very long line to board that ship

[DAllenTCY]

Disney enforces arrival times.

 

Those lines were due to guests arriving prior to their slots.

 

David 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by DAllenTCY

[Hobar]

2 minutes ago, lais said:

I think San Diego is the best port for convenience.  You can walk around and explore the waterfront or whatever you’d like to see.  The hop on off bus is close by, Seaport Village, shopping, busses, trains and so close to the airport.  I’ve never been in such a convenient port anywhere.   So what if you have to wait in line if you have to get on the ship. Big deal. 

Glad you are reassuring me.  I will be with my mom who has limited mobility and we chose an itinerary that enabled us to drive to/from the embarkation/disembarkation ports, so exploring not much of an option, and just most interested in getting her on board.  This will be the largest ship either of us have ever cruised on (except an NCL many many years ago but kind of don’t remember), so I am a little concerned about the embarkation since I hear so much about lines and wait times.  But we are good at amusing ourselves and having fun so all will be good.  Thank you.

[lais]

1 minute ago, Hobar said:

Glad you are reassuring me.  I will be with my mom who has limited mobility and we chose an itinerary that enabled us to drive to/from the embarkation/disembarkation ports, so exploring not much of an option, and just most interested in getting her on board.  This will be the largest ship either of us have ever cruised on (except an NCL many many years ago but kind of don’t remember), so I am a little concerned about the embarkation since I hear so much about lines and wait times.  But we are good at amusing ourselves and having fun so all will be good.  Thank you.

If you show up after 2 pm you will get right on the ship. It’s most people excited to get their cruise started that show up early all at once that creates the lines. 

[Hobar]

2 minutes ago, lais said:

If you show up after 2 pm you will get right on the ship. It’s most people excited to get their cruise started that show up early all at once that creates the lines. 

Hoping Neptune Suite and wheelchair catapult us to the front, but if not, we’ll wait and so long as she is seated, we’ll be patient and just anticipate all the fun we’ll have.

[lais]

41 minutes ago, Hobar said:

Hoping Neptune Suite and wheelchair catapult us to the front, but if not, we’ll wait and so long as she is seated, we’ll be patient and just anticipate all the fun we’ll have.

Just bypass any line if there is one and talk the lady at the front gate and let her know you are Neptune suite.   She will assist you.  No worries 

[jmc27]

Quick update - we dropped luggage at 1.00pm walked along the front for an hour or so and then went to check in . We were through and on the ship in 15mins😊. What worked was having all the paperwork and check in completed using the app and having a copy of our Australian visa to show. It was a very stress free procedure.

[FlorenceItaly]

4 hours ago, jmc27 said:

Quick update - we dropped luggage at 1.00pm walked along the front for an hour or so and then went to check in . We were through and on the ship in 15mins😊. What worked was having all the paperwork and check in completed using the app and having a copy of our Australian visa to show. It was a very stress free procedure.

Is there a way to drop off luggage without standing in line to check in?  Thank you.

[taxmantoo]

9 hours ago, RuthC said:

No thanks. I'll never embark in San Diego again.
Worst. Embarkation. Ever. 

Totally agree.  We have sailed out of San Diego a few times and have had nothing but frustration every time.  Being a 5-Star Mariner or occupying a Neptune Suite does not seem to matter in the least when trying to navigate through their complicated and illogical embarkation procedures.  

Regardless of what a few San Diego port supporters report, I have spoken to many San Diego residents who readily admit that the port is a mess with the blame to be equally shared by the port authorities, the security personnel and the city administration.  HAL is simply the unfortunate beneficiary of the poor service offered by all these people blaming everyone else but themselves.

[lais]

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Is there a way to drop off luggage without standing in line to check in?  Thank you.

Yes. After 9:30. 

[lais]

10 hours ago, Hobar said:

Excellent.  Breathing sigh of relief.  (Although not going until March ‘24.). Thank you.

I hope you mean the 23rd as there is no ship on the 24th. I’m also going on the 23rd. 

[euro cruiser]

We've sailed out of San Diego a few times, most recently November 2022, prior to the current road works.  We drove in with our rental car around 11 AM, dropped off the bags with the dock workers, then returned the car and went out to lunch before walking to the terminal to check in.  I love the ease of that process in San Diego.

 

We disembarked there a few days ago, with the road works it's a bit more difficult but not at all hard.   What's missing from the San Diego cruise port is a left luggage facility for those who don't have immediate flights.  We had a red-eye flight that didn't leave until 9 PM and there was no place to leave our bags.  I'm not comfortable with the app services (like Bounce) that take your stuff in various locations, it feels too random to me.  There are several hotels right across the street from the cruise port, we went to the furthest of these assuming that the closer ones would have already been inundated with cruisers looking to check bags.  We went to the Intercontinental and checked our things with the bellman, then enjoyed a beautiful sunny day out and about.  Later we went back to the Intercontinental and had drinks at one of their outdoor bars overlooking the port before reclaiming our things and heading to the airport.

[X-elite]

Pre-Covid, San Diego had been our favorite port. Last January after eight cancelled cruises, we finally cruised again. As shown in the attached photo, there was another ship in town and construction made walking from the terminal to Koningsdam even rougher.

 

Next January we'll be on Volendam out of San Diego. We're hoping the smaller size of that ship than Koningsdam will help and we'll try late arrival again. Late arrival didn't work last January for us. Very long lines in the terminal. Four-star Mariner status didn't help at all...

[terrydtx]

43 minutes ago, X-elite said:

Pre-Covid, San Diego had been our favorite port. Last January after eight cancelled cruises, we finally cruised again. As shown in the attached photo, there was another ship in town and construction made walking from the terminal to Koningsdam even rougher.

 

Next January we'll be on Volendam out of San Diego. We're hoping the smaller size of that ship than Koningsdam will help and we'll try late arrival again. Late arrival didn't work last January for us. Very long lines in the terminal. Four-star Mariner status didn't help at all...

We board the Koingsdam on Nov 4th and it is the only ship embarking that day from San Diego. The Oceania Vista will be in port but only as a port stop, will they have any negative effect on HAL boarding?  We did purchase CO for the priority boarding, hope it helps.

[euro cruiser]

1 hour ago, X-elite said:

Next January we'll be on Volendam out of San Diego. We're hoping the smaller size of that ship than Koningsdam will help and we'll try late arrival again. Late arrival didn't work last January for us. Very long lines in the terminal. Four-star Mariner status didn't help at all...

 

I am inevitably among the last passengers to board a cruise and I've never encountered a line.  We drop our bags off in the morning, then tour (where appropriate) or at the very least go out for a long lunch before returning to the port.  An extra couple of hours on the ship is not worth waiting in lines, in my opinion.

 

This almost backfired on us a few weeks ago in Boston.  We strolled into the terminal nearly two hours prior to the scheduled departure time and the local officials were closing everything down.  We got on quickly, as we were the only passengers in the building, but I wondered what would have happened if we got there thirty minutes later.