sailing out of san pedro

[antsp]

we are booked on the island princess in october , this will be our first sailing from LA is the port a similar set up to fort lauderdale or is it a much quieter port, we liked the horns and lights we got from the appartments as we left fort lauderdale

[LARGIN]

Much quieter..

[Coral]

The port looks like an industrial port. Not the best looking area. Port Everglades (FLL) is much nicer.

[critterchick]

There are some restaurants that line the channel, and you may get some waving from the folks there. One restaurant has an announcer on a loudspeaker who wishes you bon voyage. And then there are some losers like me who, if I'm driving by as a ship is leaving, will pull over to watch and wave.

 

The port is primarily industrial, as is the area around it.

[kryos]

And then there are some losers like me who, if I'm driving by as a ship is leaving, will pull over to watch and wave.

LOL ... no, I'm the loser. Seems I never make it up on deck in time for sailaway. I'm always either an hour late or a dollar short ... I get there long after we've left the dock. :(

 

I think of all five of my cruises, I have only actually made it up on deck for the actual sailaway once ... and that was in Fort Lauderdale. Every other time, I've gotten there after we've left port. :( I think we were passing Catalina Island when I got up there on my last cruise ... leaving from San Pedro.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[donna5]

LOL ... no, I'm the loser. Seems I never make it up on deck in time for sailaway. I'm always either an hour late or a dollar short ... I get there long after we've left the dock. :(

 

I think of all five of my cruises, I have only actually made it up on deck for the actual sailaway once ... and that was in Fort Lauderdale. Every other time, I've gotten there after we've left port. :( I think we were passing Catalina Island when I got up there on my last cruise ... leaving from San Pedro.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

No, you'd be the loser if it was a cruise you were booked on and you didn't make it on time and were actually on the dock waving good bye as it sailed away. :D

[ronjj66611]

Never been to Ft. Lauderdale, but I live in L.A. and San Pedro is quite a pit. Not much reason to go there other to get on the boat, even then I would do it as fast as possible. Mostly industrial and not the best neighberhoods, best to be avoided if possible.

[sunprincess]

As others have said the San Pedro Port area is quite industrial. The sail from Port Everglade much nicer.

[Bruin Steve]

What few people, even Southern Californians, realize is that San Pedro is not some sleepy little residential town...

 

The Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach is far and away the BUSIEST harbor in North America...More ships, more tonnage, more $$$value of goods shipped than ANYWHERE else in North America...It dwarfs any other port you can think of...

 

The thing you have to realize is that, unlike the East Coast, on the West Coast, there are, basically NO OTHER ports that offer a large harbor and a CLEAR, FLAT weatherproof set of highways and railroads to the interior and the rest of North America...

 

If you land cargo in Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco/Oakland or anywhere else, and you need to ship your goods inland or across country, you simply can't...You are either crossing steep mountain passes or dealing with adverse weather six months a year or both...

 

Only Los Angeles and San Diego offer both a large harbor AND easy transportation inland...but, the best routes go inland from LA...and San Diego Harbor is predominated by the US Military as it's prime Pacific Port...

 

Now think of all of the goods that go back and forth between the US and China/Japan/Taiwan/Korea/Indonesia/Philippines et al...

 

So, with all of that shipping, the harbor itself is IMMENSE...and, being primarily an "industrial port", everything around it is WAREHOUSING, storage, industrial,port and shipping related industries...virtually nobody lives (or wants to live) anywhere within miles of the harbor...okay...some blue collar working class housing spread amongst the industrial uses...but nothing to write home about...(The people who OWN all of the shipping related companies live just over the hill from Pedro-in Palos Verdes- but you can't see them from the ship)...

 

Wave to the folks at the Acapulco's Mexican Restaurant and the Ports O' Call Village restaurants, to your starboard as you leave...other than that, wave to the shipping containers, freighters, cranes and warehouses...

[kryos]

No, you'd be the loser if it was a cruise you were booked on and you didn't make it on time and were actually on the dock waving good bye as it sailed away. :D

Ahhhhh, been there/done that. :)

 

My first cruise ... that's just about what happened. Missed the boat in Fort Lauderdale due to an airline engine problem and had to catch up with it in Costa Rica (first port on a Panama Canal itinerary).

 

Lovely. It's a miracle I still love cruising after that experience! :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[star gazer]

Never been to Ft. Lauderdale, but I live in L.A. and San Pedro is quite a pit. Not much reason to go there other to get on the boat, even then I would do it as fast as possible. Mostly industrial and not the best neighberhoods, best to be avoided if possible.

 

Look for the fun and neat things to do in San Pedro. Take a walk on the newly completed section of the boardwalk near the cruise dock. Several months ago, three cruise ships were at the dock and to me was an eye opener. Eat at Papadakis and enjoy the Greek atmosphere. Tour the musems and the Korean Bell. Enough said.

[goblue]

What will be the best way to get to San Pedro if I come from San Gabriel area ? Super Shuttle ? and how much it will cost (roughly) ? I would assume taxi will cost fortune :confused:

I may be able to share a shuttle ride with friends to LAX airport (as they fly out from LAX the same day I get on the ship), should I use Princess transfer from airport to San Pedro or hop on another shuttle bus from airpot ?

any info is appreciated ...

[Twickenham]

What will be the best way to get to San Pedro if I come from San Gabriel area ? Super Shuttle ? and how much it will cost (roughly) ? I would assume taxi will cost fortune :confused:

I may be able to share a shuttle ride with friends to LAX airport (as they fly out from LAX the same day I get on the ship), should I use Princess transfer from airport to San Pedro or hop on another shuttle bus from airpot ?

any info is appreciated ...

 

When we sailed out of LA last January, we rented a car at Hertz LAX on the Friday before our cruise and returned it the next day at their Lomita office - they will arrange for a taxi to the pier, and credit your bill $15. Since we got a great rate thru the AAA website, the actual charge was $2.53!

[cruzinjudi]

We are driving to the port in October and we want to park there--is it safe? I have never been there, has any one park there for the week before?

[cherylandtk]

Have not parked there yet, but there is a large, gated lot just for cruisers right next to the terminal. It should be safe, many locals use it for the 3 and 4 day cruises, and I have not seen any vandalism reports.

[DesrtDrmr]

We've parked there several times. Once for 4 days, once for a week, and in April, for fifteen days. Our car was fine all times. The lots are fenced, and have security. They are right next to where your ships dock. There is a shuttle, but most times, DH has just walked.......it's that close! No problems, and you pay with cash or credit card upon your return.

It's very convenient.

[cynbar]

We live on the East Coast and usually sail out of Florida, but last January we went on the Diamond Princess out of LA. I though the sailaway was pretty good. The bridge above the ship is lit up at night, and since this was January, the lights came on before we left. Also, the restaurants on the starboard side were lovely and very friendly, with lots of waving diners as we passed by. And there was a lighthouse at the end of the harbor that happily signalled our departure from the USA. Ft Lauderdale is the best because of the apartment buildings which flash their lights, but honestly, San Pedro wasn't bad at all ......

[critterchick]

San Pedro gets a bum rap. It's not a glitzy town, and the port area really is completely industrial, but there are lots of great places to eat. We discovered a new restaurant a few weeks ago, Neil's on 5th St, about a 5-minute ride from the Sheraton (or whatever it will be when it leaves the Starwood network) or Best Western hotels. It's an old-fashioned (as in great service) Italian restaurant, with great food and drinks. You probably don't want to walk there in the dark, but during the day would be just fine, and I'm sure they would call you a cab to get back to your hotel.

 

Port parking is very secure, so no worries about leaving a car there. As for transportation from San Gabriel, check Super Shuttle, Prime Time shuttle, Execu-car and Sky Limo, all of which have websites for their phone numbers. The latter two are town car services (I think Super Shuttle owns Execu-Car) instead of big vans.

[Splinter]

My parents live 20 minutes from the port, so we just have a friend drive us there and pick us up (we call on the cell phone when they call our group). The parking at the port is fine, but you will pay for a long cruise. I know that if you stay at the Sheraton in San Pedro you can arrange parking there at a savings, and they have a shuttle.

 

As far as what to do in the area, there are some nice things to do in San Pedro. It is not the most glamorous part of LA, but it is not South Central either. I feel very safe there during the day.

 

You can visit the Lane Victory, which is the last of the WWII Victory ships. It is docked right next to the cruise ship docks. They have tours, and it has a lot of history displays about the Victory ships.

 

The Maritime Museum (which you can either walk to or take the historic Red Car trolley from the cruise ship parking lot) is also very interesting, esp. if you love ship models and the history of the sea. It is built in the old ferry building which we all used before the Vincent Thomas bridge was built.

 

If you want to go a little further, you can go to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. They have a very nice exhibit on the California Grey Whale migration, and lots of information about the marine biology of Southern California. Not as fancy as the Long Beach aquarium, but closer, and probably less crowded too.

[Bruin Steve]

San Gabriel to San Pedro is about 35 to 40 miles one-way...sort of in opposite corners of the LA area...and, it's not exactly a common route for the shuttle folks (not like LAX to Pedro or LAX to Disney/Anaheim or the West Side to Pedro)...So, be prepared to hear a relatively high number from the shuttle/limo/taxi folks...Of course, there really aren't a lot of alternatives, so, it is what it is...

 

I, also, have left cars in the lot at the pier in Pedro and have never thought twice about it and never had a problem...

 

As to the town of Pedro, I hope it didn't sound like I was painting a scary picture of the place...I just wanted to get across that the area around the pier is highly industrial...There are residential areas and restaurants and stores...but it's far from a wealthy and fashionable suburb and it's not what anyone would consider a tourist destination either...it's really a blue collar, working class town...not that there's anything wrong with that...it's not a slum or a crime infested gang zone either...it is what it is...a town thatt's home to fishermen, dockworkers and other blue collar folks...and because the residential areas are away from the pier, you don't really see them from the ship...You see industrial stuff and you see those handful of restaurants on the starboard as you leave...

 

If you're just staying the night and for convenience, it's perfectly fine...But, if you're staying a few days for a pre- or post-cruise, it's far from convenient to the other attractions of the LA area and you might consider another part of town...

 

There are some older, funkier restaurants, but nothing all that classy...

 

Long Beach, on the other side of the harbor, has some nicer hotels and classier eateries (I usually recommend Parker's Lighthouse in Long Beach--with a view of the harbor mouth and the Queen Mary)...and Long Beach has some interesting attractions--like the Queen Mary...and the Aquarium of the Pacific...

 

But, for longer LA stays, if your budget allows, stay on the West Side (Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Westwood, Century City) to be in the nicest neighborhoods and closer to the attractions...

 

Also, folks have posted that Princess is offering the Marriott at LAX and transfers to the ship for only $59 per person...this is a very GOOD deal...if you can get it, consider it...

 

Good luck...