croozer Posted October 22, 2011 #1 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I couldn't seem to find anything in my documents about what time embarkation starts in Los Angeles, so I called Princess. The woman said embarkation starts at 12 noon, but she didn't sound so sure. Is that the official time but do they actually open embarkation a bit earlier? I'm taking a shared shuttle and they always overestimate the time, so I could be there really really early and it would be nice if I could get on the ship closer to 11 or 11:30. Anybody have any experience with this in L.A? Thanks in advance for your advice :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robtulipe Posted October 22, 2011 #2 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Embarkation will most likely start between 11:00 and 11:30AM. It will depends on how quickly the Customs and Border Protection clearance goes for the previous cruise. After our Golden Hawaii cruise earlier this year, disembarkation started about 20 minutes earlier than scheduled so all pasenger were off the ship by 10:30. The disembarkation schedule we were given, which I still have, showed last group were due off at 10:45AM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainron Posted October 22, 2011 #3 Share Posted October 22, 2011 As Platinum, have boarded in LA as early as 1115hrs and been in stateroom by 1145-1200hrs. As previous poster has indicated it depends when the Customs and Border Protection crew and whether they got up early enough and or when they get onboard they got up out of the right side of bed. Have met some super agents and others were real miserable SOBs so that can determine the length of time it takes to clear the ship of all pax. Ciao for now!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
croozer Posted October 22, 2011 Author #4 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I appreciate the thoughtful responses. It's what I was hoping to hear. With the shared van and LA traffic, I might not get there until 12:30, or it could be as early as 10:30. If I get there on the early side and don't have to sit around for an hour and a half, it'd be nice. Thanks again for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donray Posted October 22, 2011 #5 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Last year they didn't start until 1 PM becasue of customs, had a lot of people standing outside for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putterdude Posted October 22, 2011 #6 Share Posted October 22, 2011 We have done a number of cruises out of San Pedro and find that the ships usually start embarkation about 1130. We arrive about 1100 go thru the pre-boarding procedure and invariably are in our cabin by noon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy_Days Posted October 22, 2011 #7 Share Posted October 22, 2011 We have taken a lot of cruises out of LA. We are always in our cabin no later than 12:30PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin' Chick Posted October 23, 2011 #8 Share Posted October 23, 2011 It seems to vary from cruise to cruise in our experience. Others have said, it depends on how quickly the previous cruise's disembarkation went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
croozer Posted October 23, 2011 Author #9 Share Posted October 23, 2011 I appreciate all the great responses, and you're all so right--it just depends on a lot of factors. The last Panama Canal cruise I took was two years ago out of Ft. Lauderdale and they had a freak incident--not one but TWO fire extinguishers exploded and they closed the port while homeland security investigated. We didn't get on the ship until 3 p.m. The last time I disembarked in LA was at the Long Beach pier and they only had two immigration agents for the whole ship. It took so long, I had to pay for another day of parking, so I can imagine how delayed the embarkation procedure was. Still, all in all, I can hope things go smoothly this Tuesday and I don't have to cool my heels too long. I must say that everything has fallen into place so nicely with this cruise, and I've been so lucky with every detail (including a visit from the upgrade fairy) that I just kinda expect the best at every juncture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 4cats4me Posted October 23, 2011 #10 Share Posted October 23, 2011 we always arrive at 10:45 or so and are on board by 11:15 to 11:45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrivesLikeMario Posted October 23, 2011 #11 Share Posted October 23, 2011 It really depends in LA. If there haven't been any prior catastrophes, you'll most likely begin boarding sometime between 11:30-12:30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Patches Posted October 23, 2011 #12 Share Posted October 23, 2011 I sailed out of San Pedro two weeks ago and the check-in desks were already open when we arrived at 11:00 a.m. We started boarding at 11:30 a.m. (elite & platinum priority boarding). We were the last passengers in the priority line and the general line started right after us at about 11:45 a.m. Bon voyage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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