LAX /San Pedro hotel advice

[wendyp247]

We are flying in the night before the cruise on Sat May 31.-we leave from San Pedro-should we stay at a hotel near the airport(arrival at 6pm) and take the shuttle in the am to the port or take the shuttle in the evening to San Pedro? It will be a long day as we are flying in from Florida so we'll be traveling all day.

Any suggestions for hotel either near the airport or the port. I was thinking of trying Crowne Plaza onpriceline at either place.

 

Is the Super Shuttle ok to book for the trip to the port rather than taking Disney Shuttle on Sunday ?Thanks,

[simo]

We are doing the Monarch on May 5th. We are going to fly in Sunday evening and going to the port. This is the first time so I can't say if it is the best plan. We got the Crowne plaza on Priceline for a $65 bid. I think the total is around $80 with fees and taxes. After doing lots of reserch on this thread and others that seems to be the magic number. I guess our thoughts that day of flying is alreay shot. We want the day of emarkation to be as easy and smooth as possible. This thread has tons of great information on hotels by LAX and the port. Good luck.

[Bruin Steve]

We are flying in the night before the cruise on Sat May 31.-we leave from San Pedro-should we stay at a hotel near the airport(arrival at 6pm) and take the shuttle in the am to the port or take the shuttle in the evening to San Pedro? It will be a long day as we are flying in from Florida so we'll be traveling all day.

Any suggestions for hotel either near the airport or the port. I was thinking of trying Crowne Plaza onpriceline at either place.

 

Is the Super Shuttle ok to book for the trip to the port rather than taking Disney Shuttle on Sunday ?Thanks,

 

I am not a big fan of staying at LAX area hotels for any reason other than having an early flight OUT in the morning...There's nothing in the area to speak of...you'll be eating dinner at the hotel restaurant and going to bed, then you'll have to deal with transportation in the morning...

 

MUCH BETTER to get an immediate shuttle to San Pedro, get the transportation part out of the way...Stay at the Crowne Plaza San Pedro...After you check in, you have a choice of nearby restaurants--Papadakis, Acapulco, San Pedro Brewing Co. and others...You can have a relaxing dinner, then go to bed...You can "sleep in" in the morning and then check out and grab the hotel shuttle to the ship at your leisure...

 

Much easier, much more relaxing....No airplanes buzzing low overhead...

[cruiserbryce]

I would recommend staying at either the Doubletree or CP near the port...it eliminates any risk of transportation issues the morning of the cruise (having to come all the way from LAX rather than just around the corner from the port)

[Jsme]

In November I am looking at staying in San Pedro for 2 nights at the Doubletree. I will use my Hilton Reward Points and stay free if we decide to stay in San Pedro.

 

The Doubletree offers a shuttle to various places in a certain mile radius.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I agree that the airport hotels are best to stay at if you have an early morning flight. You can book a shuttle or take a taxi to a hotel near the port and then be that much closer.:)

[wendyp247]

Thanks for the great advice. I am going to try and book thru Priceline. What Shuttle service do you recommend Supershuttle or prime shuttle.Those two are talked about the most on the boards-Any others? Should I make a reservation in advance for the shuttles.

I called the Crowne Plaza direct- their fly and sail package is $229 plus tax-kind of pricey I thought compared to booking thru priceline and booking the shuttle direct or am I out of touch with the cost of the hotels and shuttles.?The Shuttle looks to be about $17 pp each way.

Thanks again for the help.

[Micki Dee]

Book your hotel through PL if you want the Crowne Plaza. The magic number is $65 for a 3*/San Pedro. Just booked mine yesterday for November. Then book your shuttle direct. That is what I plan on doing. It will save you alot of money.

[RealDeal]

Can someone help me out w/this? I need the CP for 11/7....So, I put in a bid specifically for a 3-star in San Pedro & put in a price? So, I should put in $65? If they accept, that means they have to give me a 3-star IN San Pedro at that price, is that correct?

 

THX!! Have never done Priceline before....

[Micki Dee]

Go to name your own price

Put in the date you need and city (San Pedro, CA)

ONLY choose San Pedro Area (it'll give you other choices like Long Beach area)

ONLY choose 3*

 

At the bottom of the page enter $65. That is the magic number. There are only two 3* hotels in San Pedro and they are the CP and the Doubletree. The CP is the hotel accepting the $65 bids.

 

If they accept your bid, the name of the winning hotel will appear and it should be the CP.

 

I'm staying at the CP on 11/7, so hopefully I'll see you there!

 

A good website to help you with bidding on PL is biddingfortravel.com

They have alot of good info about how to place bids. It's a great research tool for those using PL.

[RealDeal]

Thx, Michele...Which ship are you cruising on? I'm on Sapphire. I'm so hesitant...just in case I change my plans for some reason....UGH. But I'd be fine w/either the CP or DT.

[RealDeal]

Michele: Sorry, just realized you're on Vision!

[Micki Dee]

Thx, Michele...Which ship are you cruising on? I'm on Sapphire. I'm so hesitant...just in case I change my plans for some reason....UGH. But I'd be fine w/either the CP or DT.

 

That is the only bad thing about PL is that once you book it, it's yours, so you need to be sure of your plans. You can still book the CP directly with the liberal cancellation policy, but the going rate for that night starts at over $150.00.

 

Do you have travel insurance? That way if you have to cancel the cruise for any reason you can recoup your loss. Otherwise, just take the bull by the horns and grab the CP for $65, and do it quick. Alot of people on my roll call are booking those rooms up fast and many are coming in 2 nights early so we'll be there on the 7th. If you change your plans, the $65 plus tax isn't that much to lose. That's the way I look at it.

[GoodAsGold]

Years ago when I stayed at the Crowne Plaza when it was a Sheraton, they charged $5.00 a day for secure, covered parking. Does anyone know it this is the way it is now? Thanks!

[RealDeal]

I did it...got the CP @ $65 thru Priceline...really good deal. Thank you so much for your help everyone...Would've paid like $160 thru the hotel directly otherwise....Big savings.

[sunvalley cruisers]

Congrats on your first Priceline experience. It's hard to pay rack rate after getting their good deals. You'll find after using it a few times that some hotels treat Priceline customers really good and some others treat us not so great. Either way, you just can't beat the price!

 

Have a fun stay and a great cruise!

[silentbob007]

Congrats on your first Priceline experience. It's hard to pay rack rate after getting their good deals. You'll find after using it a few times that some hotels treat Priceline customers really good and some others treat us not so great. Either way' date=' you just can't beat the price!

 

Have a fun stay and a great cruise![/quote']

 

Funny stuff ... after using Priceline for three years, I will only pay rack rate after I've been dragged, kicking and screaming, through every discount option that I can think of. I always like going back and looking at the list of my past trips ... Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, etc ... ah, the memories. :)

[silentbob007]

Thanks for the great advice. I am going to try and book thru Priceline. What Shuttle service do you recommend Supershuttle or prime shuttle.Those two are talked about the most on the boards-Any others? Should I make a reservation in advance for the shuttles.

I called the Crowne Plaza direct- their fly and sail package is $229 plus tax-kind of pricey I thought compared to booking thru priceline and booking the shuttle direct or am I out of touch with the cost of the hotels and shuttles.?The Shuttle looks to be about $17 pp each way.

Thanks again for the help.

 

I used PrimeTime last year for my roundtrip to/from LAX, and this year I'm using SuperShuttle. Why the switch? Well, frankly, I couldn't get PrimeTime to recognize the address to my hotel this time with the online booking tool, and SuperShuttle's did. They will both cost about the same and offer the same packed-van, shared-ride service.

 

You don't have to make a reservation. You can go outside at LAX/cruise terminal and put your name down on the spot. I prefer to make the reservation because I like having everything paid in advance.

[Arizona Laura]

Maybe I missed this but if you book CP 65.00 on PL does anyone know how much additional $$ parking is for each day and also shuttle to the pier and back?

Thanks Laura

[RealDeal]

I agree that it's tough to pay rack after getting such a great deal on PL. However, I'm usually very picky about knowing exactly where I stay & this was a rare "treat" where I knew with 99% certainty what I would get by bidding with Priceline, thanks to you very nice people! Typically I'm not one to wing it. This was fabulous, though.

 

I know the shuttle to the cruise terminal is free; however, not sure if they have a shuttle service going back to the hotel...sorry...

 

Are the shuttle services from the airport to the hotel & from the cruise terminal to LAX a hassle...am I better off going w/a private car service, or is it not a big deal doing the shuttle? Also, do they run "from" the airport until certain hours only? I think my flight gets in around 8 pm or maybe a little bit later...

[Tweety1961]

Is it true that you can only get a room with one bed when you book with priceline? We have a family of 4 and will need 2 beds. My friends want us to book at the Sunrise hotel for $96/night, but if we can get the CP or Double Tree with priceline I'd prefer that. I'd hate to take a chance and book and only get 1 bed because we will be there for 2 nights. We are going the end of July. Has anyone booked and then called the hotel and asked for two beds? Thanks for all your help!

[Plant]

Is it true that you can only get a room with one bed when you book with priceline? We have a family of 4 and will need 2 beds. My friends want us to book at the Sunrise hotel for $96/night, but if we can get the CP or Double Tree with priceline I'd prefer that. I'd hate to take a chance and book and only get 1 bed because we will be there for 2 nights. We are going the end of July. Has anyone booked and then called the hotel and asked for two beds? Thanks for all your help!

 

When you win a hotel with Priceline they only guarantee a bed for two people. I've read that many people call the hotel and request two beds. Often this works-sometimes it doesn't :eek: . Since you really need two beds, I'd suggest you book another way.

[GoodAsGold]

I always get a room with two beds when I book through Priceline. You need to call the hotel immediately after winning the bid. You then state your preferences, beds, smoking or not, etc. The last time I won a bid for the Doubletree in San Pedro (then the Marina Hotel), I booked two double rooms. Each room had two queen size beds in them. Got each room for around $70+. That was in 2006.

 

Is it true that you can only get a room with one bed when you book with priceline? We have a family of 4 and will need 2 beds. My friends want us to book at the Sunrise hotel for $96/night, but if we can get the CP or Double Tree with priceline I'd prefer that. I'd hate to take a chance and book and only get 1 bed because we will be there for 2 nights. We are going the end of July. Has anyone booked and then called the hotel and asked for two beds? Thanks for all your help!

[GoodAsGold]

So far, everytime I've booked through Priceline, I've gotten the amount of beds I wanted. One time when we got a 4-star hotel in Seattle (Alexis)

http://www.alexishotel.com/index.html?WT.mc_n=Winter-HDGR_Alexis&WT.mc_t=2006_CORP_PPC&WT.srch=1 I called and also happened to mention our daughter would be turning 13 on this trip. That was months before. I also asked for a King and rollaway or sofabed. No problem.

 

Well, when we arrived, not only did they say Happy Birthday to my daughter, they had a Martinelli's sparkling cider and large container of Jelly Bellies waiting for her in the room. And, the SIZE of that room! It was more like a mini suite. HUGE!! It was actually two rooms--there was a smaller room up some stairs but it didn't have a bed in it. Instead, they put a rollaway down with us for my daughter---but the room was so large, you hardly knew it was there. Our large King didn't even take up much space. There was also a long foyer coming into the room. Very unique! And, all that for a low bid on Priceline! I love Kimpton Hotels! And, I loved the Alexis! I almost wish we could have stayed longer! BUT, we did have a cruise to embark on! :)

 

When you win a hotel with Priceline they only guarantee a bed for two people. I've read that many people call the hotel and request two beds. Often this works-sometimes it doesn't :eek: . Since you really need two beds, I'd suggest you book another way.

[MBeamTX]

We're sailing from San Pedro on Serenade of the Seas on October 26. I'm looking at the Crowne Plaza as the most convenient hotel option. Rather than take the shuttle from LAX, I'm thinking of renting a minivan to get us to the hotel. It looks to me as if Enterprise has an office right next to (or perhaps in?) the Crowne Plaza. There will be 3 of us with 6 suitcases, 2 carry-ons and a wheelchair, so a regular taxi or town car will not work. And I'm not keen on jamming into a shared shuttle when we have that much stuff. (It's a 13-day cruise.)

 

Does anyone have any experience with a one-way Enterprise rental from LAX to San Pedro?

 

Thanks in advance.

Susan