LAX Princess Transfers

[jimlouisesophie]

Being  from Canada, we will not have access to a working cell phone, so will not be able to use Uber or Lyft.  We will be arriving in LAX two days ahead of our cruise, and plan on getting a taxi at the required pick up area so the transfer there is not a concern.  My question is getting from the ship to the airport.  We will get a flight back to Vancouver after 12:30 pm, so are not in a hurry to get to the airport.  Princess offers a shuttle from the ship to lax for $59.40 us $ per person which converted to Cdn. $ seems quite high.  The other alternative is taking a taxi, if available for less cost.  If we take the Princess transfers, how does this work:  meeting time, suggestions, etc.  Thx, Jim

[cjpj]

I've heard the Princess transfers from LAX are a zoo. Take a taxi or even a shuttle like Super Shuttle. Either choice for 2 will be cheaper than the Princess transfers.

[HotRoot]

Consider flying to Long Beach instead of LAX.  Our phones work in Canada.  Are you sure yours will not work in the USA?

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, jimlouisesophie said:

Being  from Canada, we will not have access to a working cell phone, so will not be able to use Uber or Lyft.  We will be arriving in LAX two days ahead of our cruise, and plan on getting a taxi at the required pick up area so the transfer there is not a concern.  My question is getting from the ship to the airport.  We will get a flight back to Vancouver after 12:30 pm, so are not in a hurry to get to the airport.  Princess offers a shuttle from the ship to lax for $59.40 us $ per person which converted to Cdn. $ seems quite high.  The other alternative is taking a taxi, if available for less cost.  If we take the Princess transfers, how does this work:  meeting time, suggestions, etc.  Thx, Jim

We did Emerald Princess Panama Canal cruise over Christmas/New Year's and arrived at the Los Angeles Cruise Terminal on Jan 6.  

 

We took the Princess transfer to LAX.

 

Worst decision of my travel life.  Totally disorganized, people standing around waiting (including those dumped there off wheel chairs), no communication on transfer schedule, etc...  So, getting off the ship at 0830 with arrival at LAX shortly after noon.

 

Fortunately, I had booked a hotel stay thatnight with flight next day.

 

Pre-arrange a taxi or other shuttle service.  No more expensive and far more reliable.

[d9704011]

3 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

Consider flying to Long Beach instead of LAX.  Our phones work in Canada.  Are you sure yours will not work in the USA?

The phones will 'work'.  Connecting to a local carrier using a phone based in Canada incurs some hefty roaming charges.

[mtnesterz]

SuperShuttle, and Primetime no longer hang out at a pick-up area by the dock as they did before Covid. I don't recall seeing cabs waiting either, but I wasn't looking for them. Our last debark there in August '23.

I hope other Canadian CC members here, perhaps @Lady Arwen can advise for a phone plan for those who cruise often. We have a very basic (US) plan, T-Mobile, and calls from Canada incur no added charges. 

IIRC, in the past, during the cruise, a form was sent out on the ship to request disembarkation times and your transfer plans, as you may use Princess. Then luggage tags arrive with debark times and tag colors. Since we just do RT's these days, this too may be old info.

Edited March 10 by mtnesterz

[lx200gps]

8 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

SuperShuttle, and Primetime no longer hang out at a pick-up area by the dock as they did before Covid. I don't recall seeing cabs waiting either, but I wasn't looking for them. Our last debark there in August '23.

I hope other Canadian CC members here, perhaps @Lady Arwen can advise for a phone plan for those who cruise often. We have a very basic (US) plan, T-Mobile, and calls from Canada incur no added charges. 

We departed SP for LAX in October and again last month. Tons of taxis and Ubers available. Wasn't looking for shuttles.

[karatemom2]

Depending on what time you leave the ship you will find taxis coming through dropping people off for the next cruise. Some people do start arriving as early as 9:30 a.m. You might be able to catch a ride that way if you don’t need to be on the road earlier. 
 

You don’t mention what day of the week you arrive in San Pedro, but it makes a very big difference in terms of the traffic you will encounter which directly impacts the cost of a taxi. 
 

Weekend traffic tends to be significantly lighter and your transit to LAX will be faster. If it is a weekday you are likely going to encounter heavy morning commuter traffic on the 405 and it can take much longer. 

 

The savings over using the ship transfer may not be as much as you might imagine and at least that is a guaranteed ride that is there, ready and waiting to take you regardless of how disorganized it might be. It removes the worry and hassle of you trying to figure out on the ground when you disembark and are trying to navigate without phone service. 
 

Your other option is to prebook a car service or shuttle with one of the many local vendors who provide the service, but that is likely to cost just as much or more than the Princess shuttle. 
 

If you can’t figure out a cost effective way to get phone service, I think you would be wise to stick with the Princess transfer. 

[lx200gps]

53 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

The phones will 'work'.  Connecting to a local carrier using a phone based in Canada incurs some hefty roaming charges.

We're with Bell and US roaming is a hefty $13/day. That being said, I still regard it as worthwhile for no other reason than Ubering between LAX and San Pedro. The $13CAD plus the much lower Uber cost still works out a lot less than the taxi from San Pedro all the way up to LAX. Also, an elevated Uber, like XL or Comfort usually means a higher rated driver, and we've had some maniac taxi drivers before we started using Uber. For our other usual port, Port Everglades, it's not worth it since FLL is about 30 feet from PE and so taxis are cheap, so I don't usually use the cell phone there.

[beach_fever_4ever]

Princess transfer was a disaster when we disembarked the Sapphire Princess on

December 1, 2023. We stood in a long line more than 2 hours. Fortunately, the sun was shining. Never again!

[jimlouisesophie]

One comment mentioned that Uber may be at the port dropping off pax...Perhaps I could approach one and get a ride with them to LAX?  Definitely will not do a Princess Transfer

[cjpj]

2 hours ago, cjpj said:

I've heard the Princess transfers from LAX are a zoo. Take a taxi or even a shuttle like Super Shuttle. Either choice for 2 will be cheaper than the Princess transfers.

My bad. I didn't realize you were going from the port to LAX. In that case, Princess transfers are okay, but uber or taxi will be cheaper. As others have said, there will be plenty at the pier. You can also get cheap SIM cards at the airport, any corner store, etc. so you could use your phone if you want. If it's only to call an Uber, not worth it.

[Lady Arwen]

2 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

SuperShuttle, and Primetime no longer hang out at a pick-up area by the dock as they did before Covid. I don't recall seeing cabs waiting either, but I wasn't looking for them. Our last debark there in August '23.

I hope other Canadian CC members here, perhaps @Lady Arwen can advise for a phone plan for those who cruise often. We have a very basic (US) plan, T-Mobile, and calls from Canada incur no added charges. 

IIRC, in the past, during the cruise, a form was sent out on the ship to request disembarkation times and your transfer plans, as you may use Princess. Then luggage tags arrive with debark times and tag colors. Since we just do RT's these days, this too may be old info.

We have Rogers and their charges are $12.00 per day,  which is not too bad if you need to call for a ride.  In ports where cabs are readily available and inexpensive, we just grab one and don’t call.  Never use our cell onboard as it’s crazy expensive and Rogers plan does not cover cruiseships.  We both have IPads and our family has iPhones and iPads, so we connect that way.

[CynCyn]

I am in the minority but I love the transfers because they drop you at the departures area instead of at an outside lot where you then have to haul your own luggage onto and off of a shuttle bus.  I’ve never had trouble leaving the ship and getting to the busses.  The longest I waited to leave was 30 minutes and it is nice to have it all arranged.

[karatemom2]

19 minutes ago, CynCyn said:

I am in the minority but I love the transfers because they drop you at the departures area instead of at an outside lot where you then have to haul your own luggage onto and off of a shuttle bus.  I’ve never had trouble leaving the ship and getting to the busses.  The longest I waited to leave was 30 minutes and it is nice to have it all arranged.

We park at the San Pedro cruise terminal so I can’t comment on the Princess transfers - it seems some people are reporting difficulties with the process. We have always had good experiences with Princess transfers when we have used them in other ports. 
 

But, to your comment about the transfer bus being able to drop people at their departure terminals at LAX, I just want to clarify that taxis, Ubers and car services can do that as well. The requirement for taxis and ride share services to use the shuttle lot only is strictly for arrivals not departures. So the OP could use a taxi or other service and still be dropped off at their terminal. 

Edited March 10 by karatemom2

[CynCyn]

22 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

We park at the San Pedro cruise terminal so I can’t comment on the Princess transfers - it seems some people are reporting difficulties with the process. We have always had good experiences with Princess transfers when we have used them in other ports. 
 

But, to your comment about the transfer bus being able to drop people at their departure terminals at LAX, I just want to clarify that taxis, Ubers and car services can do that as well. The requirement for taxis and ride share services to use the shuttle lot only is strictly for arrivals not departures. So the OP could use a taxi or other service and still be dropped off at their terminal. 

Thanks for the clarification.  I was misinformed.  I still like the ease, especially when traveling solo.

[lx200gps]

2 hours ago, jimlouisesophie said:

One comment mentioned that Uber may be at the port dropping off pax...Perhaps I could approach one and get a ride with them to LAX?  Definitely will not do a Princess Transfer

Interesting idea, and theoretically possible but probably unlikely. In October and again last month, we Uber'd from our hotels in Torrance and LAX to San Pedro, and both times, our driver already had a confirmed booking from  passengers getting off the Princess ship were arriving to. I suspect it would be tough to find an Uber driver just sitting there trying to bag a fare on speculation.  That being said, one other option if you don't want to use your cell phone data, would be to use the ship's wifi before arrival, even the day before, and pre-book the Uber to have them arrive at the pickup area at a certain time. I can't speak to pre-booking Ubers but I know people do it all the time.  The only problem with that is that without an active data line/cell phone, i don't know how you would know which Uber is yours, so finding your specific vehicle may be tough. One of the things I love about using the system is the ability to track, in detail, the arrival of your ride and to know in advance the specific details of the vehicle, its color and license plate, the name and photo of the driver etc. I don't know how that would work without a cell phone. Perhaps some real Uber experts can chime in...

[Sn0cruiser]

We’ve used princess transfers from other ports before with no issue.  Perhaps because of the tight port layout, the LA port transfer was so bad (complete cluster…) we gave up and called an Uber after waiting for 30 mins.  We still had to wait about another 30min for the Uber but that was Dec 1 off the Sapphire as mentioned above so looks like that was the right call.

[Thrak]

Check this out. Reasonable cost. We are taking this from LAX to our hotel. Sadly, we did book the Princess transfer back to LAX. Ah, well. I'm sure we will survive. The linked service is a pretty good deal.

 

https://247ride.com/cruise-transfers/lax-to-san-pedro-terminal-shuttle/

[partybarbie]

My most recent experience was on the Crown in January 2023. We got off the ship and took a private bus to LAX. I believe it was $60 for the two of us, cash only. We didn’t pre-arrange it, just  noticed it when we disembarked.

[Thrak]

Just looked at our booking. It looks like we paid $34 each for the Princess transfer. Hopefully they will get us to the airport in time to make our flight.

[travellingnana]

Granted it was April of 2023, but we took the Princess transfer to LAX and had no problems. Walked off the ship, got on one of the buses, and left maybe 15 minutes later. 

[sfaaa]

I used San Pedro Princess shuttle a few times. It worked but can be confusing the first time. There was no signage or special instruction telling you where to go. I had to ask around before I found the right line up.   

[Aexboeingdriver]

We used Crown car service from the airport to the cruise port, as usual the service was fantastic. Unfortunately my wife talked me into using Princess bus service after our December cruise to the airport. Raining like crazy, no signage, very unorganized we finally made it to the bus.

Never again.