Australia Cruising from San Pedro - Questions

[Lilfrog79]

Hello,

 

I am cruising on Ruby Princess on 25 October - 7 November 2015. Ship returns to Port at 7:00am and from then I am going down to San Diego for a few days.

 

My questions are as follows.

 

I plan to stay a couple of Days in Long Beach prior to the cruise. Is the Princess Terminal very far from Long Beach? Would a Taxi be say around $20?? I thought LB looked a little nicer than San Pedro.

 

After the cruise my plan is to take the AMTRAK train down to San Diego. My main issue is getting to Union Station. Any suggestions on the best method of transport. Does princess offer a service or am I better off paying say for a town car? How long would the car trip be on a Sunday morning at say 8:00am? There is a train at 10:00am but I think that might be pushing it??

 

Cruising to the Mexican Riviera. From what I can see I don't need Visas or anything? Is that correct? I have a USA Visa Waver to enter USA and that's all I can see that I need.

 

OK I think that's it for now, any other tips or pointers would be great. Thanks. :)

[SadieN]

Long Beach does have more to offer than San Pedro. The free Passport Bus goes to the tourist areas.

 

Best to take a taxi or town car or shuttle to Union Station. Princess transport only goes to LAX airport.

Book a later train, after noon at the earliest. Our debarkation experience in San Pedro has been protracted. If you booked a late train, in Union Station there is an Amtrak Luggage storage near the tunnels, next to the Subway sandwich place. There are many things to do around Union Station--Olvera Street-birthplace of Los Angeles check out the Adobe, The Plaza, Firehouse Museum, China Town, Los Angeles Mission Church, Phillipe's for French dips. All are across the street, about 5-10 minute walk.

If you don't have that much time just check out Union Station itself. She's the last one built of its kind in the US. (Bathrooms---we find the bathrooms at the far end of the tunnels cleaner than the one near the luggage storage.)

 

taxifarefinder.com gives a good estimation on the taxi fares.

 

Souvenirs on Olvera Street are about the same price as you'll find in Mexico.

Edited August 2, 2015 by SadieN

[Lilfrog79]

There is a 1230 train and a 3:00pm train. If I got a Town car at say 830 I'm estimating it might take at most 1 and a half hours to get to union station. So arrive at 10:00am then can we drop our bags (check them in) then go wander around till about 12 before returning to get ready to board? Or do we need to check our bags closer to the train coming? Sorry I've never done an Amtrac before. Mostly I'd just be keen to go to philipes and get a French dip and then jump on the train.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Not sure how much it's changed in the 11 years since we've been on Amtrak, but I remember a 90-minute prior check in time.

 

If you stay pre-cruise in Long Beach, make very sure to tell your driver to take you to the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. If you just say "the port," you will probably be driven to the Port of Long Beach, which Carnival uses.

[kenish]

Consider catching the train in Santa Ana instead of LA Union Station. The distance to either station from Long Beach is about the same, but you cut 45 minutes from the train trip. LA Union Station is north of Long Beach, then the train heads back south (and east). Santa Ana is east of LB and saves the backtracking (no pun intended).

 

LA Union Station is historic and an architectural icon. The neighborhood is interesting as others commented. Santa Ana station is less so, a suburban station.

 

Uber fare from Long Beach as $27-37 to LA Union Station and a dollar less to Santa Ana.

 

On the visa, best to consult your government department or website that covers passports and visas. Exiting the USA is no problem, but re-entry requirements are becoming increasingly stringent, for US citizens. Entry requirements for Australians entering the US from Oz could be far different than entry from Mexico.

[Tanijean]

Re visas: I too have been trying to find out about this as I'm doing a Carnival cruise to Ensenada and don't want to be caught out not having the right documentation. I asked Smartraveller and this was their response:

 

There will be immigration officers at the port, and you need to make sure that they stamp your passport. There have been problems with travellers entering Mexico without getting a stamp. It makes departure difficult. ST

 

Do you think they mean immigration at the port in LA or Mexico? I've never been through immigration when you arrive in ports, just swipe off the ship and off you go.

[SadieN]

Best to ask Smart Traveler for clarification.

[kenish]

Do you think they mean immigration at the port in LA or Mexico? I've never been through immigration when you arrive in ports, just swipe off the ship and off you go.

 

Arriving into any US port of entry (LA in this case), everyone needs to clear Immigration. It doesn't matter whether it's by plane, ship, car, train, bicycle, or kayak :) On cruise ships, US citizens are pre-cleared electronically. After claiming luggage on the dock an Immigration / Customs agent may inspect luggage or ask for passports. It's usually a cursory "wave-through" when entering from Mexico.

 

However, non-US citizens meet in person with US Immigration before disembarkation. I don't know the details since it doesn't apply to me. In San Diego, disembarkation isn't allowed until the entire manifest is cleared. There's usually a few clueless passengers who haven't followed the well-advertised procedures, and delay disembarkation for the entire ship. They miss numerous, frantic all-ship PA's.

 

I don't know how procedures differ at LA, or what has to be done in Mexico. US Citizens don't go through passport control to enter or exit Mexico, the formalities are re-entering the US.

 

Be sure to get a solid answer from your government, as you've been doing.

Edited August 7, 2015 by kenish

[kiwimum]

Non-US citizens clear Immigration in the same manner as US citizens in San Pedro, just a different line. Wait time is minimal, usually less than citizen lines. There are no meetings prior to disembarkation that I have ever experienced on cruises into San Pedro.

[Astro Flyer]

Non-US citizens clear Immigration in the same manner as US citizens in San Pedro, just a different line. Wait time is minimal, usually less than citizen lines. There are no meetings prior to disembarkation that I have ever experienced on cruises into San Pedro.

That depends on the itinerary & we had Aussie friends who took over an hour longer than US passengers.

 

We ended our South America cruise in SP and as I recall there were over 1,000 non-US passengers to process. Because of this disembarkation times ran an hour late & then we waited for another hour to take them on a tour of LA before their midnight flight back Downunder. Although many times there are fewer non-US passengers to process & it does indeed result in a faster clearing for them. :)

Edited August 7, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[kiwimum]

Astroflyer, I definitely agree it is itinerary based. Have waited hours at FLL, SF and San Pedro on some trips. I was responding specifically to Mexican and Coastal trips.

[Astro Flyer]

Astroflyer, I definitely agree it is itinerary based. Have waited hours at FLL, SF and San Pedro on some trips. I was responding specifically to Mexican and Coastal trips.

 

And as you posted it's usually quicker for non-US citizens on those itineraries. :D