LAX 10:30 departure time post cruise

[toyotaford]

We are returning from a cruise on Sunday, Feb. 14 and United has changed our scheduled departure time. We were originally scheduled to depart at 11:30 and have done that before with no problem. They then changed it to a 10:50 departure time and have now changed it to a 10:30 departure time. There are 13 of us traveling together and got great prices on the seats and all seated together. Travelers range in age from 3 - 83 so was hoping to keep us all together. Has anyone ever left LAX this early after a cruise. It is a Sunday so I assume traffic would not be as bad as a weekday. We are all in suites so will be able to go off the ship as soon as they start letting people off. I can't remember how far the terminal is from the airport. Any advice or thoughts?

[DMH15]

You will probably be all right but that being said I would never book a return flight home for myself before noon. Never.

 

I remember the time I cruised out of Long Beach and when we got back my mother looked outside and says this doesn't look familiar... Well as it turns out the equipment to the gangplank was not working in Long Beach so they disembarked us in San Pedro where everyone was shuttled to Long Beach. Things happen.

 

Peace of mind goes a long way.

Edited December 27, 2015 by DMH15

[casofilia]

Google Maps gives the distance as about 20M and time 25min. In that case travel on the road should not be a problem.

 

The problem maybe getting that number of people and luggage into and out of the transport.

 

That is provided the ship arrives on time and there is no hold up with debarkation.

 

Good luck and I hope it goes well.

 

Mike

[triptolemus]

We're talking about Los Angeles. You cant go half a mile in 25 minutes. With LA traffic being what it is and the dynamics of a group that large, I would not be comfortable booking a flight that early.

[3kidsncats]

Traffic in LA doesn't always abide by Google's estimates, but if there are no accidents, etc., maybe a half hour to get to LAX. There is not always a rhyme or reason, and traffic does back up on the weekend, although in the morning it's more likely to be heading towards the ocean, rather than away. You will probably be ok, but I would make sure you all have suitable travel insurance, just in case.

 

Also, you have to take customs into account, and sometimes there are unexpected delays with that. If you have trip insurance, then you won't have to worry so much.

[toyotaford]

I have always followed the rule of not booking a return flight before noon but this time the price was great and I figured an extra 30 minutes wouldn't make a difference. Then they moved it up to 10:50 and have now moved it up to 10:30. We are all in suites so will be able to get off the ship in as timely a manner as possible. I guess its not a problem if everything goes as it should and if it doesn't we will just have a little longer vacation than we had planned.

[Linda the Book Lover]

We used to live in Southern California so the time did not concern us. The earliest flight we took from LAX was 10:30am. We did early disembark rolling our own luggage. The shuttles (if this is your mode to the airport) do drive into the pick-up area around 8am. There was no traffic because it was Sunday. We had more than enough time to go through customs, wait for the shuttle, get to the airport, go through the check through, get a Starbucks and relax before we even lined up to board. There could always be a snafu but if you are not a nervous person I would not worry about the 10:50.

[marelind]

We live in the Los Angeles area and have embarked and disembarked there 4-5 times. Even on a Sunday there is no guarantee that you would make a 10:50 flight for these reasons:

 

1. We have had exceptionally slow and exceptionally fast times through customs. I have had at least two disembarkations where they started disembarkation late, closer to 9 am than the usual 8 am. One where they had people in lines snaking all over deck 7. People were upset and freaking out. Another time we were embarking in LA and the passengers disembarking were held up in customs.

2. Traffic in LA can be unpredictable. The drive to LAX from the port is about 30 minutes in decent traffic, but if a truck overturns or there is an accident all bets are off.

3. LAX is one of those airports where you need to arrive a minimum of 2 hours ahead of time to get checked in, through TSA and to the gate. The gates can be quite a way from the curb which is a challenge if you have anyone with any type of mobility problem.

 

On the whole, I would discourage you from taking the 10:30 am flight. One time, early in our cruising we took a red-eye to Baltimore for a cruise. United changed our flight time a few weeks ahead of time. I spoke to a customer service agent and they changed our flight without a fee because they made the changes. It was not a problem.

[janpo]

We just did the jewel cruise and flew home from LAX two weeks ago.

 

Going through customs was horrible. We didnt get through customs until almost 11 am and got to the airport around noon. Our flight was at 4 so we were fine. I don't think you'll make that early of a flight.

Edited December 27, 2015 by janpo

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

Marlind brings up a VERY good point.

 

Since the airline changed your Flights to an Earlier time...

 

You should call them and ASK for a Later Flight.

 

Airline should do this Without an increase in Fare.

(At least thats how it Should work.)

 

I would Call the airling asap, and inquire about changing to Later, versus taking their earlier flight time they moved you to.

 

THEY made the change, Not You. Not your fault.

 

I agree with those above, who say, Don't risk a 10:30 Flight time.

 

CALL & get the airline to Give you Later Flights.

[suzycruise]

May I ask what shuttle/transport service you used to and from the JEWEL to LAX? I'm boarding the JEWEL on Jan. 10, 2015.Thank you.

[mking8288]

Post-9/11, LAX airport security screen procedures & lines are one of your biggest challenge, even if you can priority disembark early with all the luggage together, get into your shuttle or whatever transport, and breeze north on I-405 on the HOV lanes, flowing with traffic above the posted 65++ mph speed & get dropped off curbside (off Century Blvd) at UA's terminal. With 13 people, not even those blue SuperShuttle van is going to fit everyone & their luggages into one, two vehicles are involved - unless ...

 

Is everyone in the group is flying J or B/F and/or with Pre-Check and only doing carry-on luggage under UA's strict cabin bag rules these days, I would allow no less than 90+ minutes to get to the boarding gate (but, practically speaking, I personally don't PLAN to get to LAX's curbside with less than 120 minutes or 2 hours to spare, for getting thru security and OUT to the gate, keep in mind some of them are a LONG walk & worst if you have cabin bags ... the 3 years old and the 70+ mature adults will have to catch up with the rest. Some members of your group probably have elite status on UA and could keep left & fast track thru security, but I doubt that everyone could. AND, you risk losing your seat assignments if you aren't at the boarding area at the cutoff time, not departure time as the seats are subject to cancellation & being given away to standby passengers already at the boarding area.

 

As a FF and regular in/out of LAX and LGB on long hauls & shuttle flights, take my words for it - DON'T do it. You might get lucky & do it, why sweat it as UA make the changes, call them ASAP / now and ask for all 13 to be placed on a later flight.

 

Looking at this strictly as a frequent flyer and having flown a substantial # of miles on UA's (once) friendly skies since the late 1970's and witnessed the changes at LAX since the mid 1980's then and now.

Edited December 27, 2015 by mking8288

[TMC]

Marlind brings up a VERY good point.

 

Since the airline changed your Flights to an Earlier time...

 

You should call them and ASK for a Later Flight.

 

Airline should do this Without an increase in Fare.

(At least thats how it Should work.)

 

I would Call the airling asap, and inquire about changing to Later, versus taking their earlier flight time they moved you to.

 

THEY made the change, Not You. Not your fault.

 

I agree with those above, who say, Don't risk a 10:30 Flight time.

 

CALL & get the airline to Give you Later Flights.

 

The airline is not obligated to change you to a different flight, especially since the time change is only one hour (not a lot to them). Hopefully if you explain the situation and very politely request a change they will honor it. If not, thank them and call back later - yes this has actually worked for me with Delta in a similar situation. The sooner the better as flights may be filling up. Good luck!

 

T

[toyotaford]

Post-9/11, LAX airport security screen procedures & lines are one of your biggest challenge, even if you can priority disembark early with all the luggage together, get into your shuttle or whatever transport, and breeze north on I-405 on the HOV lanes, flowing with traffic above the posted 65++ mph speed & get dropped off curbside (off Century Blvd) at UA's terminal. With 13 people, not even those blue SuperShuttle van is going to fit everyone & their luggages into one, two vehicles are involved - unless ...

 

Is everyone in the group is flying J or B/F and/or with Pre-Check and only doing carry-on luggage under UA's strict cabin bag rules these days, I would allow no less than 90+ minutes to get to the boarding gate (but, practically speaking, I personally don't PLAN to get to LAX's curbside with less than 120 minutes or 2 hours to spare, for getting thru security and OUT to the gate, keep in mind some of them are a LONG walk & worst if you have cabin bags ... the 3 years old and the 70+ mature adults will have to catch up with the rest. Some members of your group probably have elite status on UA and could keep left & fast track thru security, but I doubt that everyone could. AND, you risk losing your seat assignments if you aren't at the boarding area at the cutoff time, not departure time as the seats are subject to cancellation & being given away to standby passengers already at the boarding area.

 

As a FF and regular in/out of LAX and LGB on long hauls & shuttle flights, take my words for it - DON'T do it. You might get lucky & do it, why sweat it as UA make the changes, call them ASAP / now and ask for all 13 to be placed on a later flight.

 

Looking at this strictly as a frequent flyer and having flown a substantial # of miles on UA's (once) friendly skies since the late 1970's and witnessed the changes at LAX since the mid 1980's then and now.

 

Sounds like you have done it a few times. We are flying F. My husband and I are the only ones with elite status. We could send my parents and my niece and her baby on through security without checking bags by adding theirs to some of us that don't have 2 bags. Norwegian will have our transportation waiting for us and escort us through security and customs straight to the cars. I am going to call United and see if we can get a later flight. There are two later flights each with 14 available seats in our class. I don't know if they would give me 13 of them but I won't know unless I ask. The plane we are booked on is a much larger plane. And I know what you mean about the "once" friendly skies.

[vampiress]

i think traffic is not your problem, the problem is the construction around LAX.

 

http://www.lawa.org/laxdev/RoadAlerts.aspx

 

call the airline, the fact that your flight was changed earlier making connection from cruise difficult may be enough you to switch to another flight.

 

or you might chance it, you may get lucky and make your flight.

[Demonyte]

The airline is not obligated to change you to a different flight, especially since the time change is only one hour (not a lot to them).

 

 

Maybe not obligated but with regular (real) airlines changing flight(s) because of schedule change by the airline has never been a problem.

 

After all people do buy flights departing at specific time on specific day, not just "sometime in that day" and therefore have selected specific flights based on many factors, schedule and total length usually being quite important.

 

For our recent trip to PR we originally had to book an extra layover and add several hours to total time because AA's original schedule, but in the months after the booking they changed the scheduled time for our final leg (JFK-SJU) several times (each time making the total trip time even longer) and finally we could catch the final leg with direct and much shorter flight from Helsinki (got the total trip time to drop from over 22 to "only" 17 hrs) and it was no problem changing the inbound flights without extra cost just by simply calling AA.

[trish1c]

In LA a good rule of thumb is at least double any estimated travel time if not triple it. What is it they say about the 405? It takes 4 or 5 hours to get anywhere on that road.

 

If your flight is at 10:30 you need to be at LAX by 9. Assuming an hour travel (double the 25 minute estimate you were given) do you really think you can get 13 people off the ship & into ground transportation by 8? I'd be too stressed.

[rvsullivan]

In LA a good rule of thumb is at least double any estimated travel time if not triple it. What is it they say about the 405? It takes 4 or 5 hours to get anywhere on that road.

 

If your flight is at 10:30 you need to be at LAX by 9. Assuming an hour travel (double the 25 minute estimate you were given) do you really think you can get 13 people off the ship & into ground transportation by 8? I'd be too stressed.

 

For the OP, you mention you're in suites and plan to get off first. That means you all have to carry/manage your own luggage off the ship and through customs. You mention small children and 80 something seniors, are they all going to be able to carry all the luggage off the ship and down the ramp through customs??? Sounds like a bad plan!

[triptolemus]

Norwegian will have our transportation waiting for us and escort us through security and customs straight to the cars.

 

I would not count on this process going as smoothly as you describe. Even in suites, there can be delays with CBP. Newsflash: CBP does not care that you are in a suite.

 

People seem to have this idea when they hear the word "escort", NCL will magically whisk them through all the lines and bottlenecks like Peter Pan. It doesn't really work like that.

 

A group of 13 people aged from 3 to 83 trying to make it from onboard a ship in San Pedro to LAX for a 10:30 AM departure sounds like a bad plan, if not comical. It might make for good television on the Travel Channel, but that's about it.

Edited December 27, 2015 by triptolemus

[Demonyte]

I would not count on this process going as smoothly as you describe. Even in suites, there can be delays with CBP. Newsflash: CBP does not care that you are in a suite.

 

People seem to have this idea when they hear the word "escort", NCL will magically whisk them through all the lines and bottlenecks like Peter Pan. It doesn't really work like that.

 

 

+1

 

Last year in Boston we had even to wait for the NCL pre-arranged transport (as we were in a GV) for over half an hour after the agreed time standing outside the terminal.

 

Even though the cruise line will do their best making arrangements, there are a lot of external factors that they just can not help with. Never ever would I depend on everything working exactly as planned with that tight schedule.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Since your history with NCL is only their top suites, you should ask for a meeting with your concierge and HD on the first sea day. I would bet the HD will instruct the concierge and give them the support staff needed to whisk you off the ship as soon as it clears. It could be 6am and through a cargo door and straight to customs.

[Husky1987]

We just did the jewel cruise and flew home from LAX two weeks ago.

 

Going through customs was horrible. We didnt get through customs until almost 11 am and got to the airport around noon. Our flight was at 4 so we were fine. I don't think you'll make that early of a flight.

 

We were on this cruise also.

 

Self-disembarked a little after 8:00. As janpo said, the snaking line through customs was a long wait. We got out and were in a car to LAX at about 9:00 and at the airport 9:30ish (great luck with no traffic). I can see if there was a longer wait at customs it could have been 10:30 at the airport easily.

[toyotaford]

Since your history with NCL is only their top suites, you should ask for a meeting with your concierge and HD on the first sea day. I would bet the HD will instruct the concierge and give them the support staff needed to whisk you off the ship as soon as it clears. It could be 6am and through a cargo door and straight to customs.

 

They have always been very accommodating. We have gone down in elevators that said out of order, gone in hallways that say no admittance, etc. And someone stated earlier they had a wait for the arranged transportation but this has never been the case for us.

 

I did call United and the person I talked to said we could change to a 4 oclock flight at no charge since they had made a change in the flight schedule. When I called back to actually do it the person I talked to said there would be a charge of a little over $10,000.00. She said since it was only a 40 minute change I would have to pay. She said if the change was over 2 hours they would not charge anything. I'm going to wait a little while and call back and see what they say.

 

And by the way, Leavethekidswithmom, how did you know my cruise history with NCL. Have we cruised together before. Not a problem but I'm just curious.

Edited December 27, 2015 by toyotaford

[Leavethekidswithmom]

 

 

 

And by the way, Leavethekidswithmom, how did you know my cruise history with NCL. Have we cruised together before. Not a problem but I'm just curious.

 

 

Just from these boards and if I needed advice on the GV's, you are one of the ones I would seek out.

[toyotaford]

Just from these boards and if I needed advice on the GV's, you are one of the ones I would seek out.

 

You must have great retention. I read the boards often and can't say that I would have remembered that. The service in the GV is what keeps up coming back to NCL. And I know as long as it is within their power we will get to the airport on time. I just realize there are a lot of things they have no control over. At this point we are saying for $10,000 we will take our chances on making the flight. We aren't going to let it worry us or ruin our vacation. All of us but 2 are self employed or retired so the work will be waiting on us when we do finally get home.