lx200gps

When we cruise from San Pedro, we stay in one of three areas, Long Beach, Torrance or San Pedro. There are a number of determining factors in our decision of where to stay, but generally our choice is driven by the time of year (so hotel pricing is a factor) and also when we arrive into LAX. As Canadians, we pay a 35% premium due to our weak dollar, so hotel pricing is a major factor for us. If we arrive late in the day into LAX, we generally just head to San Pedro and stay at the Crowne Plaza, which is a short walk to the Cruise Port. It's in a pretty "remote" area and there's little to do, but it's very convenient. We do tend to find that the CP sells out a lot, probably because it's the biggest (and pretty much only) hotel near the port. There's also a Hilton Doubletree a bit farther away in SP which comes highly recommended here on CC but we've never stayed there If we have a lot of time after arriving in LA, we have stayed in Long Beach. LOTS of nice hotels, restaurants etc, but can be pricey at certain times of the year. It's slightly out of the way, requiring as long a drive from LAX as San Pedro, then a bit of a taxi/Uber drive on embarkation day. That's why we've taken to staying in Torrance when we arrive into LAX early in the day. Torrance is in pretty much a direct line from LAX to San Pedro so is not much of a diversion. We stay in the general area of the massive Del Amo mall with lots of hotels, restaurants and last-minute shopping. We've tended to use the Doubletree by Hilton on Hawthorne Blvd (we're there again this October). Large, full service hotel right across the street from the mall. There's also a nice Marriott right in the mall but it's always too $$$ for us.

Thanks, that's what I figured. A public-works project that is late, how unusual ;o) It's funny how their website still claims that it will be finished in 2023. In any case, I'll have to decide whether to use the LAX-It shuttles to the lot, or spring for one of the ultra-expensive Uber variants which I understand are still allowed to pick up at the terminals (T6 in our case)

Question for you LA locals: It was my understanding that LAX-It is only a temporary measure with a finite lifespan, and according to their own website: "During construction, lanes in the central terminal area will be reduced, making it necessary to temporarily move taxi and ride app pickups to LAX-it until the people mover is completed in 2023. " Is there any sign that the LAX-It experience will end this year? We're due to use it for the first time in October. Around noon on a Friday, for a trip down to our hotel in Torrance, is a taxi easier than trying to find our Uber amongst the hundreds of other cars. I've read reports that getting a taxi tends to be easier as they are lined up waiting. The next morning we will use Uber to get down to San Pedro from Torrance. Thanks for any insight.

No problem. One thought came to mind, re your drive down. The NY and NJ road system make extensive use of tolls, so as you get close to Manhattan you will be hitting "no-stop" toll plazas everywhere. If you don't already have one, you might want to look into getting an E-ZPass transponder for your car to simplify the process. I'll let the locals on here weigh in on its benefits If you are driving from the St Catherines area, you should be able to find businesses selling the transponders easily, maybe as early as Buffalo. We got ours in Plattsburg, NY just over the border from Montreal. https://www.e-zpassiag.com/

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I assume you are sailing from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal ? Keep in mind that there are three cruise ports in that area, in Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey. If Manhattan, then I would suggest staying in northern New Jersey as the hotels there are far cheaper than in Manhattan, then driving across the GW Bridge and down the Hudson on Embarkation Day to the MCT where you can park in their parking garage. Towns like Teaneck, Paramus or Teterboro are very well placed near the NJ side of the GW Bridge for "easy" access to Manhattan. Parking right at the MCT is very expensive, especially when converted to our Canadian $$$s (though it's competitive with parking prices anywhere in Manhattan). We've driven from Montreal down to both the MCT and Brooklyn a few times, VERY much nicer than flying ;o) When we sail from the MCT we stay just over the river in Weehawken NJ, park our car there and take the ferry across the Hudson right from the hotel, then walk a few hundred yards to the cruise terminal. The parking at the hotel/ferry terminal is a bit more than half the cost of parking at the MCT and the NJ hotels are also far cheaper than in Manhattan.

On every Skywatcher-equiped ship we've ever been on, it's been our go-to place for peace and quiet during the day. Very occasionally a few loud people will cause us to leave, but by and large it's a great place to read on sea days. Can't beat the views either.

Are you asking about re-charging yourself or your "devices" ;o) We used Take 5 as our quiet reading spot on all our recent trips on ships had that one. There are numerous AC outlets with North American plugs scattered around Take 5 and I never had any problem finding a big window chair right next to one. I always prefer to run my tablet off AC power whenever it's available.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. We have been on Princess trips to every one of the ports you list within the last 18 months and have never needed any visa.

We've been on the Sky three times in the last year or so. As mentioned previously, your two best bets would the Crown Grill bar and Take 5. We always used Take 5 as it is a separate area with virtually no through traffic and there is plenty of window seating and tables for two to watch the sea go by. Occasionally Take 5 is used for a quiet lecture, or for some very loud game show, but generally us beautifully quiet.

We did exactly that last September, on our first trip ever out of Brooklyn on Princess. We had driven down and stayed in New Jersey the night before, planning to drive across the GW bridge, down the Hudson and into Brooklyn on embarkation morning. The traffic wasn't as bad as I had planned for and we ended up arriving at the BCT earlier than expected, around 9AM, right in the middle of all the disembarking passengers. Surprisingly, there were porters there already accepting bags from incoming passengers and we were literally among the very first to ditch our bags. Obviously I don't know if this is still the case now, hopefully some folks will chime in with more recent experiences, but I expect you will be able to drop your bags early.

I'm interested in this as well. We're on the Discovery Princess on the October 7 sailing and are interested in renting for the first of our two days in SF. Near as I can tell, the best rental car option near the pier, which I believe will be Pier 27, will be at Fisherman's Wharf, about a 20 minute walk north along the Emracadero. All the major car rental companies are there. As to parking, there appears to be a parking garage right at Pier 27 https://lots.impark.com/imp?utm_source=google&utm_medium=maps&utm_content=0270081&utm_campaign=local_us#details=27,81

FWIW, we were in a Mini Suite of the Ruby for our very first cruise, a long time ago, cabin E728. I went back and looked at our photos and it looks like there was no curtain at the time, as there have been on all our recent sailings in Minis on other ships larger ships. Assuming that the cabin layouts have not changed dramatically since we were on her, this is what our Mini looked like at the time (apologies for the mess). You can see how that curved console really affects your ability to make your own curtain

The general consensus is that it's best to stay in San Pedro if arriving the day before, certainly not at LAX (unless you're arriving at midnight ;o). The only two real options in SP would be the Doubletree Marina and the Crowne Plaza. The DT is a bit far from the pier but is well regarded here on CC. The Crowne Plaza is literally a few minutes walk to the pier. The CP does have a shuttle to the pier if you can't walk the few hundred yards, not sure about the DT, but in any case, a taxi or Uber is easy. Another alternative is to stay a bit farther away in Long Beach, as SP can be a bit "barren". Long Beach can be a bit more $$$s though. FWIW, the last few times we've sailed out of SP, we've decided to stay in Torrance, about half way between LAX and SP (we're doing it again in October). Lots more infrastructure (hotels, a giant mall for shopping, restaurants etc) than SP, but that's our personal decision. A shorter cab/Uber ride off the airplane, but a longer ride the next morning to the ship. We just find SP a bit to far off the beaten track.

Absolutely agree. We ALWAYS head to the front desk to check out and require a printed copy of our bill to confront any surprises at checkout. We don't want to have any surprise charges a week after we leave the hotel. We always hand in our hotel key card as well.

Absolutely. No decent pizza on Celebrity was an issue for us, we HUGELY missed Alfredo's when we were on the Equinox.;o). The Buffet "pizza" just didn't cut it. we're not fans of heat lamps. . We also missed being able to find a decent sandwich on the Equinox to be a problem as well. The IC is a definite advantage, Princess +1

Interesting. Is it truly a separate dining venue, or just a roped off area in the main MDR like Club Class on the current ships?

Based on our aforementioned trip on the Celebrity Equinox, I'd certainly have to agree. We don't usually eat in the buffet (on Princess we occasionally do breakfast upstairs to be able to eat outside in the aft end of the ship, great views, fresh air etc), but I was surprised at how basic the buffet was on the Equinox. Fewer offerings, much smaller space, though admittedly more open and not nearly as congested as the buffet areas on Princess. Yes, the Equinox is a smaller ship than a Princess Royal class, on par with a Ruby or Emerald, but I would definitely give the edge to Princess on the buffet.

We've done three Princess trips post-COVID, the last being in Feb 2023, and disembarked from the Celebrity Equinox two weeks ago. FWIW, we tend to eat most of our meals in the Specialty dining restaurants, but occasionally use the MDRs for a few dinners, and some breakfasts. As most will probably agree, the two lines are pretty comparable as far as dining goes, but here's our take: 1) Overall, food quality was a wash, just as good on Princess as X and vice versa. The only comment I'll add about our experience, on this last trip is that I did notice X's food tended to be a bit blander than Princess (needing a bit more salt and pepper, spices, flavoring etc) Could very well have just been the kitchen staff on the Equinox tending to under-do things a bit. This was both in the MDR and the SDRs. Still, overall, little difference in quality, both MDRs and SDRs, both lines very good. 2) While food quality was in general very much the same, we found that X was more "reliable" i.e. had less variability than our last few Princess trips, fewer culinary boo-boos. On Princess we had more than a few culinary errors than we would have liked. On X, we had exactly one bad course on the entire trip (strangely tough white fish in the fish curry on Indian Night in Sushi On Five) 3) One area that X did clearly, to us, beat Princess was in the service level. Even as recently as our Feb trip, Princess still seemed to have issues with staffing, usually a waiter or two short in every venue, causing the inevitable longer waits. (on our first dinner in Sabatini's, we didn't even see our waiter until we had been seated for 30 minutes). On the Equinox, no issues with waiting for food, in any venue on the ship, ever. Of course, one area that X also beats Princess is in having dedicated Sommeliers in all dining venues, who handle the wines. We never waited for a glass of wine on the Equinox, as "les Sommeliers" were everywhere. I loved having the guy re-fill my glass even before I knew I needed it refilled ;o). I wish Princess would implement such a system. The differences, quite honestly, were not enough for us to abandon our preferred line Princess. We have three more trips booked, and are on the Discovery this October for the first time.

It's not a sidestreet, it's a car-free walkway that runs all along the Hudson in that area. That's the view as soon as you exit the ferry terminal heading north towards the MCT. We loved the Residence Inn when we stayed there last September. Tons of parking in the parking garage attached to the hotel

We did it last year and it's a very easy, level walk. Note also that the entire trip, from the Ferry terminal at 39th north up to Pier 88, is done on a pedestrian pathway, officially known as the Hudson River Greenway, easily visible on Google Street View. No need to even go near the street (12th/9A). Other than dodging a few maniacal cyclists on the pathway, the walk is very safe

To the OP, if you are going to be driving to any of the NE US cruise ports with any kind of regularity (Cape Liberty, Manhattan, Boston, Brooklyn etc) you might also want to consider the many tolls you will be paying on the way down and back. Have a look at the E-Zpass system and see if getting a transponder for your car makes sense for your use case. We got one on our first trip last summer and it makes the travel process easier as you don't have to worry about getting toll bills sent by mail, the $$$s simply come out of your account balance. The transponders are available at many stores, gas stations etc in upstate NY (we got ours in Plattsburg immediately after crossing the border from Montreal) and the account setup is dead easy on line. And as Martin says, having NEXUS for all parties in the vehicle is a game changer. Driving past the hundreds of non-NEXUS folks in the massive lines and driving right up to an agent in the NEXUS-only lane, is a great time-saver.

Valid point, I just assumed they would overnight at a hotel near the ferry then take it across on Embarkation Day. Even if they are simply driving down on Embarkation day, I would consider it simpler, not to mention cheaper, to park at one of the ferry terminal parking garages at Weehawken, for almost half the daily rate as parking at the MCT, then take the ferry across. When we did it last fall, it was $22/day at the garage closest to the ferry terminal.

Quite true, the Sheraton was also on our list when I was planning our trip as well. The primary issue I had with it, and why I ended up choosing to "...ferry 'cross the Hudson" from Weehawken, was that the ferry terminal near the Sheraton was much smaller and the ferry schedule across to 39Th was not nearly as good as the ferry schedule out of the huge terminal at Weehawken.

The TL:DR version, based on the correct comments above: Drive to Weehawken, stay at one of the of the two excellent hotels (Residence Inn or Envue, both Marriott) located right at the ferry terminal, park cheap at the hotel (compared to Manhattan prices), then take the ferry across the Hudson to the 39th Street terminal and it's a short walk north to Pier 88.

On Air Canada at least, pax with the appropriate status are allowed up to 70 lbs for each individual bag, not total.