lx200gps

We haven't sailed out of SP since maybe a year pre-pandemic, Port Everglades has been our home port for our last half dozen cruises. If we de-Uber at SP berth 93 at say, 9 or 9:30AM with Elite status, will we simply check in, pick up our Medallions then sit in the PES lounge until boarding starts? I vaguely recollect that's what we did a few years ago at SP. What are some of the issues these days? Thx...

Just out of curiosity, what cruise line is making you check-in so late? Or are you choosing such a late check-in yourself? We're sailing out of SP next week on Princess and they did away with mandatory check-in times, passengers can arrive whenever they want (though they never did enforce it anyway).

Sorry, no. The Sanctuary must be booked in person once aboard. If you want to have any chance of getting decent loungers, board as soon as humanly possibly and race upstairs.

You are correct. On Princess Medallion equipped ships, which AFAIK is now the whole fleet, the cabin resident's names are shown on the electronic display mounted into the cabin wall right next to the door. Here's a random example off a Cruise Critic cabin review. We've never had a problem with that, there's a far more insidious problem with the Medallion system than just posting the names. We're back on Princess next week, on the Discovery, if I can remember, I'll ask at Guest Services about anonymizing the display to remove the names.

You're quite welcome. Here is a screenshot from the LAX site roughly showing where the Terminal 3 taxi stand is located in the Parking Garage 3. We'll be using the other one, down near Terminal 7 Here's the link https://www.flylax.com/lax-traffic-and-ground-transportation As to EXACTLY where the taxi stand is, can't help you there as I've never been to T3. As Scott points out above, the taxi stand is in the P3 parking garage right across the road from T3, and there's a big pedestrian crosswalk to help get to the garage.

For an Uber estimate, and note it's only an estimate, as surge pricing may elevate the price: https://www.uber.com/global/en/r/airports/lax/ Be sure to accurately enter your origin and destination, date, time of day etc, the Uber system should be able to auto-fill anywhere you are and want to go to. For a taxi estimate, I used https://lacitycab.com/taxi-fare-calculator/ Again, accurately enter your origin and destination. And as Scott pointed out above, there is already a taxi stand near Terminal 3, we will be using the other one near Terminal 7

Thanks for the confirmation about the other taxi stand, we plan to use the other one near T7 when we arrive at T6 next week. I did a quick cross check with taxis and Uber between LAX at Terminal 7, and our hotel in Torrance. No tip of course, taxi was $36, Uber X was $25 (out of the LAX-It lot of course) and a UBlack right to the terminal was $60. For $11 we'll forgo forgo the joy of getting to the LAX-It lot and just walk the 5 minute 300 yards from T6 to T7 and grab a taxi. The next morning from the hotel to SP Berth 93, Uber for sure.

As Canadians who pay a built-in 35% exchange, we always have to pick and choose where we stay, be it LA, Fort Lauderdale, Seattle etc. When sailing out of San Pedro, as our next two cruises are doing, we prefer either Long Beach or Torrance depending on the time of year and the the cost. The nice Long Beach hotels can be very expensive in "higher" seasons, while the pricing in hotels in Torrance can be significantly lower. As to transit costs, an Uber or taxi from LAX to Torrance, which is a straight line trip, about half way to the ship, is a wash. Half the fare the day before then the other half driving down to the ship, or the full fare down to Long Beach then a small fee to the ship. Yes, we prefer Long Beach but settle on Torrance for its significantly lower cost as it has all the last-minute amenities we need, like good restaurants, and the huge Del-Amo mall

What's the current status of the taxi stands that are still operating AT LAX, rather than at the LAX-It lot? IIRC there is one (not useful for the OP unfortunately) near Terminal 7, but was there not one closer to the OP's Terminal 3, or is the T7 stand the only one? We are flying in to Terminal 6 at LAX in a few weeks and plan to make the short walk to take a taxi from curbside to our hotel in Torrance.

My comment was specific to FLL. There have been numerous discussions here on the Florida departures forum about the apparently illegal practice by a few taxi drivers at FLL who will not activate their meters and instead charge a "flat rate". From what I understand this is definitely illegal if done from the airport, all taxis are required to use the meter. No idea about other departure points like hotels, PE etc., though I do know that I once asked one of the Sheriff's Deputies who man traffic control at Port Everglades about this as I was waiting for a taxi to FLL. He confirmed that yes, taxis are required by law to use meters at all times from there as well. No idea if we was right or not, but that's what he told me. So that's why we don't like flat rate taxis.

The comment in Post #5 refers to a known problem at the airport, not so much at PE, where taxi drivers sometimes do not not activate their meters and instead charge a slightly elevated flat rate to take customers to their hotels or to PE. This has been discussed a number of times here on CC. It happened to us once, but I simply didn't tip the driver and the charge worked out to the same amount as a metered fare plus tip.

There are some very nice hotels in Long Beach, right on or near the water. The Hyatt, Hilton and Westin come to mind. We stayed at the Hyatt many years ago, but tend to stay in Torrance now pre-cruise as it's generally much cheaper. Not an option for you, I realize, as you're flying in to LGB and not LAX as we do. Restaurant-wise, there are lot of options on Shoreline Drive near the big outlet mall and the Hyatt, all circling the marina/harbor. All budgets and tastes, Google Maps will show you the options. Some great options if you love dining on the water as we do. Tequila Jack's was a great place, right on the marina, but VERY busy when we ate there. A long shot, and I do strongly suggest doing your due diligence, is the Queen Mary. Even if you don't stay overnight, it's a very neat visit, very historical and interesting. We won't ever again stay there overnight, even after its recent renovation, but it did have a few very neat bars and restaurants, very Art Deco. They were excellent, much better than the room we had ;o) Worth looking in to. Have a great trip.

You probably meant this type. ;o) https://www.amazon.com/Princess-Cruise-Ship-Luggage-Holders/dp/B07XPDM4B1/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1PR03S1SJTGN&keywords=princess+luggage+tags&qid=1695409406&sprefix=princess+luggage+tags%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-5 The steel wire and grommet are a nice feature, making them almost unbreakable.

Thanks VERY much for posting this. I checked our 5 upcoming cruises and we actually missed this group by one week on one of our trips. We disembark from the Sun in Port Everglades just as they are boarding in October 2024. That being said, we may have B2Bers to contend with, but time will tell.

Great news, thanks Rob. The absolute pandemonium we see at PE every time we leave to head to FLL (we always take taxis) had me worried, but now we will definitely be Ubering back to LAX. We'll be using it from our hotel in Torrance on embarkation day as well, but we will probably use a taxi from LAX to Torrance after landing the day before. I can't be bothered to use the LAX-It lot and there is supposed to be a taxi stand just a bit down from Terminal 6, near Terminal 7.

Good thing you specified "...in the UK" as CFAR insurance is widely available here in North America. Princess's offering stands out as it gives 100% back as an FCC if, say, you elect to cancel because your cat fired off a particularly big hairball the day before sailing, but other insurers routinely offer up to 75-80% back

We're going to be sailing out of SP in a few weeks as well, first time in about 5 years. We are also heading for AC at Terminal 6. How busy was the ride share pickup area when you ordered your ride at 9AM, were there a ton of other folks? I'm always nervous about ordering an Uber from a cruise port when I see how many people all congregate in the small, incredibly crowded rideshare pickup space at Terminal 2 in Port Everglades. Knowing the layout at SP, I expect it will be a lot less frenetic than PE. We always do self-walkoff so I plan to be outside ordering our Uber NLT 8AM.

We've been on the Sky three times in the last 18 months, and yes, they sure do close entire venues for groups. Take 5 is one they use quite regularly, and we've had it closed of from us a number of times, usually for a few hours at a time. Take 5 is popular for group functions as it is usually quite empty during the day.

Unless something has changed recently, Carnival sails from Long Beach, not San Pedro, so you should be fine. The San Pedro port schedule still shows only a maximum of two ships there at any one time for all of April 2024, so you will be at either Berth 92 or 93, an easy walk from the CP https://www.portsamerica.com/operations/cruise-los-angeles-terminal-schedule

The medallions are small disks about 30mm in diameter and about 7mm thick. As posted above, there are tons of way to carry them, and there are also lots of non-Princess accessories as well. Mine fits in a small plastic holder the size of a credit card and stays in my pocket at all times.

Again. I can't speak to the official max capacity, that was just my guesstimate, but it will be whatever the Sanctuary management says it is. Yes, 8 would be stretching it, though those Cabanas are pretty big and include the area outside the Cabana, where the two loungers are located as well as the inside area with the sofa, TV, bar etc. There would not be 8 loungers, only the seating that comes with the Cabana. As to noise, the rule in the Sanctuary is QUIET PLEASE, so no externally audible noise allowed, no music, no TV sound, only headphones etc. If some partiers wanted to make a scene, they would presumably be shut down pretty quick.

It's my understanding that if the "owners" of a Sanctuary Cabana want to have guests, they are allowed up to a maximum of ? people (sorry, don't know how many more but would SWAG maybe a total of maybe 8 people per Cabana, if that; they are pretty spacious) The guests would then pay the standard rate for a lounger for the day, $40, to be a guest in the Cabana. At least that's how I understand it

Credit Card travel insurance probably varies with the card issuer, the "level" of card and doubtless other factors as well. I am actually waiting right now for a call back from the folks who run the TD travel insurance, to answer my questions re the coverage on my TD Visa Infinite Privilege card. According to the Product Summary, it appears that the only difference in coverage for this card once one hits 65 is the number of days it covers for each trip. Once over 65 you are limited to only the first four days coverage per trip, but all their documentation happily states that extra coverage is available at additional cost. Once they call me back I'll find out just how expensive the added coverage will be.

You probably DID receive them but just didn't know it. The Coupon books we receive from our TA are "electronic" and we don't ever get them in physical form (beyond maybe an Email). The Princess "system' knows there are there and against your account, even if you don't. Yes, not a great way to run a business, they should have told you about them since, as a newbie, you wouldn't have known about them.

Sorry, but that's an incorrect generalization, certainly as regards medical coverage. My Visa Infinite Privilege card definitely does cover medical, but has different conditions and shorter coverage periods if you're over 65 requiring supplemental coverage at extra $$$s for longer periods. I'm a bit north of 65 now ;o( and I do have to buy the extra coverage at slightly extra cost if I want to be covered for an entire trip.