Too early of a flight?

[Dup241]

Hi everyone,

I was just looking at booking our returning flight from California at the end of our Panama Canal Transit. SWA has a great price and gets us home at a much better time than other options. The flight is an 11:40 am departure from LAX. I do have FTTF so we will have a priority in leaving the ship. Any thoughts/experience to share to help decide if we are pushing it to make it to the airport?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

[Keith1010]

It's tight.

You may make it. You may not.

If it was me, I would not do it because I do not like stress.

I've sailed to and from this port many times. Sometimes disembarkation goes like a charm and other times it's a disaster.

What day of the week are you arriving. Also on what date as I can look up how many ships are in port that day which also can be a factor on how well disembarkation goes.

Keith Edited November 5, 2013 by Keith1010

[ducklite]

If the ship docks in time, and IF there are no CBP snafus, and IF traffic cooperates, you'll be fine. I would plan on being off the ship the minute it is cleared though. That will be morning rush, and it could be brutal. If it's a weekend, traffic shouldn't be an issue.

[Dup241]

It will be Sunday, January 26th. My gut was saying that it would probably be tight and I agree with not wanting to stress. There is another option at 2:30, but the flight is longer and gets us in later.

[Keith1010]

Well good thing is it's a Sunday.

I am assuming that you are arriving in Long Beach.

By the way there are two ports in the area; Long Beach and San Pedro and it really is important to have said which one because San Pedro is not only further from LAX but disembarkation can take much longer.

I would check with the Cruise Line (I am assuming Carnival) to see what is the earliest they recommend, but this one might be more doable.

Keith

[Kamloops50]

The cruise lines recommend a flight after 12:30 for domestic flights. Also keep in mind that flights can have isuues especially if there is a major weather event in the Midwest or East coast. We where in LAX one day flying home, flights to the east coast where delayed or cancelled due to weather in the east. Edited November 5, 2013 by Kamloops50

[Keith1010]

[quote name='Kamloops50']The cruise lines recommend a flight after 12:30 for domestic flights. Also keep in mind that flights can have isuues especially if there is a major weather event in the Midwest or East coast. We where in LAX one day flying home, flights to the east coast where delayed or cancelled due to weather in the east.[/QUOTE]

Time really varies by cruise line and port.

Keith

[Keith1010]

[quote name='Dup241']It will be Sunday, January 26th. My gut was saying that it would probably be tight and I agree with not wanting to stress. There is another option at 2:30, but the flight is longer and gets us in later.[/QUOTE]

Following up on my post recommending that you contact Carnival this is what I found on their web site.

Earliest Flight Departures:

Earliest departure out of the Long Beach Airport: 11:30am
Earliest departures out of the Los Angeles Airport: 12:00pm
Earliest departures out of the John Wayne Orange County Airport: 12:00pm

Based on this, I would book the 2:30 PM flight or consider spending the night and flying home the next morning.

Keith

[ducklite]

[quote name='Keith1010']Following up on my post recommending that you contact Carnival this is what I found on their web site.

Earliest Flight Departures:

Earliest departure out of the Long Beach Airport: 11:30am
Earliest departures out of the Los Angeles Airport: 12:00pm
Earliest departures out of the John Wayne Orange County Airport: 12:00pm

Based on this, I would book the 2:30 PM flight or consider spending the night and flying home the next morning.

Keith[/QUOTE]

OP is coming into Long Beach, so her time frame works with Carnivals recommendations

[Keith1010]

[quote name='ducklite']OP is coming into Long Beach, so her time frame works with Carnivals recommendations[/QUOTE]

The schedules I provided were from Long Beach but the OP said they are flying out of LAX and the schedule says no earlier than Noon flight and their flight is 11:40 AM.

[ducklite]

[quote name='Keith1010']The schedules I provided were from Long Beach but the OP said they are flying out of LAX and the schedule says no earlier than Noon flight and their flight is 11:40 AM.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, misread. That said, I still think she's OK given that it's a Sunday as long as she's willing to self-disembark as soon as the ship clears and take a cab rather than wait for a shuttle to fill.

[Keith1010]

[quote name='ducklite']Sorry, misread. That said, I still think she's OK given that it's a Sunday as long as she's willing to self-disembark as soon as the ship clears and take a cab rather than wait for a shuttle to fill.[/QUOTE]

No problem.

Yes Long Beach is much better than San Pedro and Sunday is a plus too, but you just never know.

So it really comes down to how people handle stress.

For me I wouldn't do it because I don't like the stress. Others would do it because they wouldn't be bothered.

I just don't like to recommend something to others that has some risk.

Keith

[slidergirl]

The WN terminal at LAX is a giant cluster*$!^, IMHO. I would suggest no less than an hour available from when you set foot outside T1 to go through WN baggage, TSA dog-and-pony….Sundays are a big departure day for leisure travelers on WN - the Disney crowd, the vacation crowd, the getting-off-the-ship crowd...

[Dup241]

Thanks everyone! We decided to opt for the later flight home. We would rather have no stress about making the return flight while we are on our cruise. Also, it just means the vacation is going to last a little longer. :)

Thanks again for all you input! It definitely helped with our decision.

[Keith1010]

Wise decision.

Keith