PaperSniper4

20 hours ago, jbecker6469 said:

Following

 

Ditto. Wife is a member but not me; I booked our upcoming cruise a while ago. Wonder if we could get OBC on this one (Oct 2023) or not until the next is booked.......

On 7/15/2023 at 8:25 AM, BigEasyCC said:

 

Thanks for that info.

 Doug

27 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

Ubers of all types are extremely plentiful in the LA area.  The only times I've ever had a problem in getting one is when arriving late at nignt at LAX when a number of planes had just arrived...and then it wasn't a matter of getting one, just that I've experienced some "surge" pricing...To be on the safe side, download the apps for BOTH Uber and Lyft.  You can log into both and check prices and availability.  And, if Uber XL is not easy, just grab two UberXs--sometimes it works out just as well.

 

I would never use a solution requiring me to get a hotel shuttle back to LAX then find a cruise line transfer...definitely not worth the hassle.

Thanks Steve. Yeah, we do not want to to hotel transfer back to LAX to catch the cruise line's transfer. Big hassle.

I had not though about also checking Lyft. Competition is good! Keeps prices competitive.

Doug

Question for all you experienced Uber users:

Background:

Four of us seniors are staying at a hotel in El Segundo (right outside LAX). We need transport from that hotel to the World Cruise terminal in San Pedro for our Celebrity cruise. We are considering using Celebrity's Airport Transfer, but that means returning to LAX the morning of the cruise and the hassle of finding the Celebrity personnel and bus. Several have recommended Uber from our El Segundo hotel to the cruise port. Price seems reasonable, but apparently we cannot schedule months in advance for our December 2023 cruise. I hate to wait to the last minute to summon a Uber Black SUV.

Question:

Has everyone always had the Uber large vehicle arrive quickly for such a trip? I don't see how drivers could always be available if I can't schedule in advance.

We are considering booking something else we can schedule, like a private limo, but I suspect the prices will be much higher. Uber ought to be around $125 for we four in a large vehicle.

 Doug

8 minutes ago, Travel-and-See said:

Yes, I was just on the Millenium in June, I had $200 OBC and daily gratuities came out of OBC. I was pleasantly surprised because I wasn't expecting that. 

Thanks for that information,

Heck, I'd ALWAYS expect that my OBC could be used for gratuities. I don't recall ever having to pay grats unless I had no OBC for that cruise.

 Doug

Maybe a dumb question, but different cruise lines do it differently.....

We have about $325 OBC on an upcoming Celebrity cruise. All but $75 of that OBC is non-refundable. Please someone confirm we can use that OBC for our Celebrity cruise gratuities.😳

Doug

5 hours ago, sbcs5390 said:

When we arrived at LAX we took the shuttle provided by the LAX Marriott, where we were staying (and will stay again in the future when we take a layover on the way to Tahiti). The hotel shuttles are allowed up to the terminals but I understand only Uber Black is allowed to the terminals. So that is a factor with ride share for pick up at the airport. Then, we took a Lyft a couple days later from our hotel to San Pedro (right near airport) - it was $50 for a Lyft XL in October 2022. .................

Wow, thanks for all that! Answers all the questions I have right now. Thank  you taking the time to post that, sir <madam?>

 Doug

10 hours ago, sbcs5390 said:

I also was just reminded that the drop off was particularly awful at LAX. I think there was one or maybe two drops total. There are six or seven terminals at LAX, I think. That was another reason we felt we’d be happier with a direct ride for less money, it was awful especially with my mom’s mobility challenges. 

Thanks for that info. We're still figuring our best way to get from the hotel in El Segundo to the cruise terminal and back. Our cruise is in December this year.  At this moment we will likely take Celeb's transfer from the ship, even knowing having to make all the other stops. I mean, we'd be seated, right, the bus does eventually take you to your terminal? Was your transport (Uber?) able to pick you up in front of your arriving terminal? Were you able to schedule it? Do you remember what you paid per person? We've a party of 4 in our 70s, but luckily without any significant mobility issues.

 Doug

I did determine that the LAX - San Pedro airport transfer costs $35 per person per way if anyone is looking for that information also.

We decided to take what we hope is the easy way out, while understand the craziness of LAX airport and the sometimes frustration of the cruise line airport transfers: We're flying into LAX, doing a RO1N at the Fairfield Inn in El Segundo, then using the Celebrity airport transfer both directions. Cost seems very reasonable for everything. The deciding deal for us in Memphis was a direct flight both ways. 🥰

 Doug

On 6/30/2023 at 11:26 AM, skoeper said:

Gosh, that's a lot to type.   Ok, Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam 🙂

Well, at least you have the spelling for "nieuw" correct!

11 hours ago, gold1953 said:

The mis spelling was me in a hurry to post, sorry. We noticed on the uber app that it was cheaper when we chose an electric car but this may vary

No need to apologize at all. Heck, you ought to see my spelling on occasion......😎

 Doug

14 hours ago, Guindalf said:

We flew ATL to SNA and stayed near the airport. Then we got an uber to the port. SNA is MUCH easier to navigate, especially with my mobility scooter!

 

There was no confusion as to which berth. All we had to do was tell the driver which cruise line it was and he did the rest (with me pointing out signs at times).

Thanks. SNA would be my first choice, but from Memphis the least expensive and "best" times are into LAX. The day before the cruise we're meeting my sister and BIL in LAX, the airport that's best for them, and will use the same hotel near LAX. We'll figure out the transportation to the ship at some point. <g>

 Doug

14 hours ago, hobo1937 said:

If you are going to fly to LAX and use UberLyft, keep in mind if you use the regular Uber service you need to take a shuttle to the LAX-IT lot where the ride shares and taxis are. You can get curbside Uber pickup by using Uber black. 

Yes, that's what we want to avoid.

2 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Not trying to be rude here, honestly, but FYI the city is El Segundo, not El Segunda.  

 

We stayed at the Doubletree San Pedro.  They have a free shuttle to the cruise port, which as has been said is in San Pedro, not Los Angeles.

The name/misnaming of the hotel was as I typed it according to someone's earlier post.  I understand the city's name is in El Segundo since I grew up in the area before running water was invented. El Segundo is masculine and means "second"....no idea why.

Thanks for the DoubleTree hotel name; it's already on our list of possibilities.

 Doug

1 hour ago, gold1953 said:

Hotel is on Mariposa Ave El Segunda. very close to the airport. They sent the shuttle to the terminal we came in at.  We called when we arrived. : Loved the bus to Manhattan and hermosa Beach. Also to a nice shopping area. 2 blocks walk to a nice grocery store and places to eat.  

We figured we needed an uber to the port area whether we went to a hotel there or waited until cruise day. Very pleased with our choice

Thanks,we'll check out the Mariposa Ave El Segunda.

 Doug

Thanks. We might be on Allegiant, I'll check which terminal they use.

 Doug

16 hours ago, blackshirt said:

Celebrity does offer a transfer but like all their transfers, you wait until a bus is full before you depart. We did not take their transfer so can’t offer any other tidbit. We used Uber for both LAX to our cruise hotel and cruise port to LAX. No problem either way and I’m quite sure we paid less than Celebrity’s transfer.

Yeah, we had that in Galveston last March. Waited over two hours to board the bus which then took about 2 hours to reach the ship. Ugh, no fun!

13 hours ago, mrgabriel said:

We used the Celebrity transfer in January. It was fine. We didn’t wait too long for it to be filled. We didn’t want to take an Uber because of bad experiences and surcharges when stuck in morning traffic in other cities after a cruise. I think it was about $40-$50 per person. 

Thanks for that info.

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Don't recall if Celebrity offered a Transfer at LAX.  You should be able to go into cruise Planner or call agent or Celbrity.   I've generally found that if there are two or more traveling Uber is cheaper than the person charge for a transfer.    If like other airports, the transfer was only available  on the day of Embarkation and Disembarkation.    You meet the transfers in Baggage Terminal and they do not have accommodations for other days or to and from hotels.  That would probably rule it out if your coming in a day early and staying at a hotel. 

 

We used Uber to San Pedro and found it very easy.    You can be picked up curbside only if you are using Black.   If using regular Ubar you just grab a shuttle in front of each terminal to the LAXiT Lot.   From there there is a lane for Uber and One for Lyft.  

 

On our return the prices started surging right when disembarkation began so we just grabbed a Cab that was sitting there.    Prices were about the same as Uber but less than the Surge Pricing.

I've never used Uber. Did you book them in advance? What is Uber "Black"? There could be four of us, at least returning to LAX from the ship. Arriving LAX a day prior to the cruise, I suspect we four would not be together since we're flying in from different parts of the country. Is Uber Black suitable for 2 and four people? I value convenience over money often.....old man, what can I say?😎

16 hours ago, blackshirt said:

Celebrity does offer a transfer but like all their transfers, you wait until a bus is full before you depart. We did not take their transfer so can’t offer any other tidbit. We used Uber for both LAX to our cruise hotel and cruise port to LAX. No problem either way and I’m quite sure we paid less than Celebrity’s transfer.

Thanks. Does Uber actually enter LAX to pick up customers? I thought I read somewhere they could not, so you were required to take a shuttle or something where Uber (et al) you would meet Uber, etc.

Doug

14 hours ago, gold1953 said:

We flew to LAX and had a shuttle to our hotel Sonesta El Segunda. Safe area and cheap local busses outside the door. The beaches bus was $1 for seniors! We ubered to the port. We should have checked at hotel as a few cruisers were there and we could have shared and uber. We would stay there again

Thanks. Where did you catch the shuttle. And what company? Did you have to take some other form of transportation to even board that shuttle. Where is that hotel, in El Segundo near the airport?

 Doug

16 hours ago, SbbquilterUT said:

You will be sailing out of World Cruise Center in San Pedro - make sure your driver knows your cruise line as the Carnival berth is closer and could cause a mixup.

Roger that, thanks for the reminder.

16 hours ago, hobo1937 said:

If you decide to fly into SNA, you might consider staying at the Ayers Hotel Costa Mesa/Newport Beach. They have a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel and a great restaurant on site, reasonably priced. Then take an uber/lyft to the port in the morning. We live in Las Vegas and drive down the day before any cruises we take out of San Pedro, staying at Ayers, having dinner and breakfast at the hotel and  driving to San Pedro the morning of the cruise. Doing this for years. Always a good experience with the hotel, restaurant and drive. 

 Thanks very much for that information. Your routine sounds like what we do for cruises from Port Everglades, although we fly to FLL. We live outside Memphis TN. We have been using the same hotel (La Quinta, Hollywood, FL) and the same transportation to get from the hotel to the ship for many years. I am so envious of those who can drive to a cruise port with many cruise choices. We do drive to New Orleans, about a 7-8 hour leisurely drive, but the cruise choices are pretty limited there.

I'll make note of that Ayers hotel in Newport Beach if we decide on SNA. We are cruising with my sister and BIL, and they will be coming from Oregon. Right now they are planning to arrive LAX, so if we can also do that we might be able to share the expensive travel from LAX to a hotel near San Pedro. I am trying to discover details on Celebrity's airport transport from the ship to LAX. Can't find any info on that at Celebrity.com, dang it.

 Doug

We're thinking of flying to LAX the day before our cruise. However, transportation is my big worry. I detest flying into LAX due to the hassle of getting transportation to our pre-cruise hotel, etc.

Has anyone used a Celebrity airport transfer at LAX? I'm interested in where we'd meet the Celebrity bus and the cost, and if Celeb uses that in conjunction with a local hotel.