Cruising from SanPedro

[Bruin Steve]

1 minute ago, mek said:

I should be able to make that work.  I want to go to the Rose Parade in 2021, so staying in Pasadena on 12/30/20 - 1/2/21 and then driving down to San Pedro on the morning of 1/2, (Saturday), to board Royal Princess.

My husband is disabled, so could I drop him and the bags off and then walk over to the terminal by myself?

Thanks

No problem...Enter the parking area loop and drop him and the bags off at the door, then drive over to Hertz or Enterprise and give them the car...You may want to ask them if they can give you a ride back to the terminal, but, if not, it's a fairly easy walk without luggage...

Walk west on 6th street a short block and a half to Harbor Blvd, cross Harbor and turn left...in a very short block or so, you can walk into the parking area and just walk through the parking lot or on the walkway, past the USS Iowa and to the cruise terminals...Altogether, depending on which berth your ship is at, it's between a half and three-quarters of a mile...flat and easy...maybe 10-15 minutes, depending on how fast you walk...

[mek]

3 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

No problem...Enter the parking area loop and drop him and the bags off at the door, then drive over to Hertz or Enterprise and give them the car...You may want to ask them if they can give you a ride back to the terminal, but, if not, it's a fairly easy walk without luggage...

Walk west on 6th street a short block and a half to Harbor Blvd, cross Harbor and turn left...in a very short block or so, you can walk into the parking area and just walk through the parking lot or on the walkway, past the USS Iowa and to the cruise terminals...Altogether, depending on which berth your ship is at, it's between a half and three-quarters of a mile...flat and easy...maybe 10-15 minutes, depending on how fast you walk...

So it's a safe area for me to walk alone?  I've sailed out of the port before but not with a rental.

I suppose another option would be to spend the night of 1/1 in San Pedro - not sure how heavy traffic will be on a Saturday morning from Pasadena to San Pedro.

Edited October 8, 2019 by mek

[Bruin Steve]

2 hours ago, mek said:

So it's a safe area for me to walk alone? 

I think so...I've walked it myself...

It's a Saturday morning...broad daylight, plenty of people around...There will be people heading to and from the ship, people going to visit the USS Iowa and the Maritime Museum...You walk right by the Fire Station...

The most dangerous thing will be crossing Harbor Blvd.!!

If this were 2:00 am, I might not suggest a woman alone walk along the waterfront...But when you will be there, no problem...

Of course, you may get lucky and get the rental car folks to drop you off...

[mek]

Thanks for your help.

[Daniel A]

On ‎10‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 8:43 PM, Colo Cruiser said:

We don't care for the hotel options in San Pedro anymore so we use hotels in Long Beach which is a short Uber/Lyft or cab ride to the pier.

We won't return to Crowne Plaza for a couple of reasons - one of which is the homeless encampment next door.  I'm curious as to your reason for not using the Doubletree.  Do you know if that area also has a homeless encampment too?  We sailed out of San Pedro only once before and we are planning a second time.

[Bruin Steve]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

We won't return to Crowne Plaza for a couple of reasons - one of which is the homeless encampment next door.  I'm curious as to your reason for not using the Doubletree.  Do you know if that area also has a homeless encampment too?  We sailed out of San Pedro only once before and we are planning a second time.

 

Coincidentally, I have a reservation at the Crowne Plaza for the night prior to my January 4 cruise...BUT, I just got off the phone with Hilton Reservations and am moving to the San Pedro Doubletree instead...But it has nothing to do with the location.  I am going with the Doubletree since I realized that I have an abundance of Hilton points and I'm getting it for free...

 

In some ways, I prefer the location of the Crowne Plaza--Yes, it's in a sort of "urban" area and, unfortunately, from time to time, there may be homeless people nearby.  OTOH, it is VERY convenient to a number of good restaurants...and it is walkable to the cruise terminal.

 

The Doubletree, OTOH, is far different...it is located on the yacht harbor, about a mile and a half to the south...more picturesque, more serene...but requires a shuttle or Uber to most restaurants and to the pier...But the hotel provides free shuttles!  Not really a homeless problem down there...If your reason for disliking the CP is the surrounding area, you might like the Doubletree dar more...

[Daniel A]

2 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

 

Coincidentally, I have a reservation at the Crowne Plaza for the night prior to my January 4 cruise...BUT, I just got off the phone with Hilton Reservations and am moving to the San Pedro Doubletree instead...But it has nothing to do with the location.  I am going with the Doubletree since I realized that I have an abundance of Hilton points and I'm getting it for free...

 

In some ways, I prefer the location of the Crowne Plaza--Yes, it's in a sort of "urban" area and, unfortunately, from time to time, there may be homeless people nearby.  OTOH, it is VERY convenient to a number of good restaurants...and it is walkable to the cruise terminal.

 

The Doubletree, OTOH, is far different...it is located on the yacht harbor, about a mile and a half to the south...more picturesque, more serene...but requires a shuttle or Uber to most restaurants and to the pier...But the hotel provides free shuttles!  Not really a homeless problem down there...If your reason for disliking the CP is the surrounding area, you might like the Doubletree dar more...

The neighborhood was one reason but we were also put off by the obvious deterioration of what was clearly once a very nice property.  We love Crowne Plaza hotels - this one would need a lot of work before we return.  Staff was very nice and we had no other issues.  A lot of other cruisers like the hotel but it's not part of what we want on our vacations.

 

Do you know if the Doubletree has an airport shuttle?

[Bruin Steve]

30 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Do you know if the Doubletree has an airport shuttle?

 

No hotel in the Los Angeles area provides a free shuttle to LAX except the hotels in the immediate vicinity of the airport.  Occasionally, you will see a hotel offering a "package" which includes an airport shuttle--but that's really just the cost of the shuttle craftily added into the price.

 

A shared shuttle from San Pedro to LAX usually costs around $17-20 per person one way...Usually better to just use Uber...Uber X should be about $29-30 and you won't have to wait for others or have extra stops like with a shared shuttle...

[KeepCalmBearOn]

2 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

Usually better to just use Uber...Uber X should be about $29-30 and you won't have to wait for others or have extra stops like with a shared shuttle...

 

Don't forget the new Uber rules at LAX....

[Bruin Steve]

3 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

Don't forget the new Uber rules at LAX....

Yeah...the new Uber rules do add a little extra hassle to the equation--but, it's the same for Uber, Lyft AND taxis...

They can all still drop you off right at the terminal...but, now, they'll only be able to pick you up from a single location for which you'll need to take a free shuttle from the terminal.

 

None of us have done it yet, BUT, it wouldn't scare me out of using Uber.  With two people, the cost is still slightly less than a shared shuttle.  I'll put up with a little extra shuttle ride over to the pick-up point...Actually, depending on which terminal one arrives at, it may be easy enough to skip the shuttle and walk over.  From what I can tell, the new pick-up spot is just across Sepulveda from Terminal 1...behind the Hyatt...

 

This from an LA Times article:

The walk from Terminal 1 took me three minutes and was fewer than 300 steps.

The walk from Terminal 4, the terminal farthest from LAX-it, took me 21 minutes. (American Airlines passengers, that’s you.)

Based on walking speed of 2 mph, LAX officials have estimated that it will be an eight-minute trek from Terminals 2, 7 and 8. From Terminals 3, 5, 6 and the Bradley International Terminal, walk times are likely to be more than 10 minutes but less than 20.

Of course, the next question might be "Why walk that far?...Why not just walk to the front of the Hyatt and contact Uber to pick you up there?"

AND, it will be interesting to see if folks figure out if they're better off taking ANY hotel or rental car shuttle that comes first, then contacting Uber to pick them up wherever that drops them off...

 

In the meanwhile, assuming this works as promised, to me, taking a short shuttle off the airport proper and calling Uber from there is still better than dealing with one of the shared shuttle companies...those usually result in circling the airport several times, then driving way out of your way...

[DwayneG]

TripAdvisor gives a good rating to Best Western Plus San Pedro, and I see they offer free shuttle to the pier.  Has anyone had experience with this hotel?

[d9704011]

Stayed there a couple of times and was entirely satisfied with room, breakfast and shuttle to cruise pier.

[coastcat]

1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

 

Don't forget the new Uber rules at LAX....

 

Considering the absolute madhouse that is LAX arrivals, I'm happy to walk a few minutes and then get in the car of a less-stressed Lyft driver.

 

Based on the discussion here, I've booked the Crowne Plaza for the night before my NCL cruise. My LAX flight home leaves around 3:30pm. The only ShoreEx NCL offers post-cruise are three 5-hour tours and you can't sign up unless your flight leaves after 5pm or so. (normally I wouldn't bother, but darn it, I have a $100 ShoreEx credit for each port and that includes LA post-cruise) On the other hand, the earliest I can check my bag with the airline is 11:30am.

 

Has anyone ever left their luggage with the Crowne Plaza for a few hours after disembarking? It's never been a problem at hotels to drop off before check-in or store for a few hours after check-out, but I've never asked to do that nearly a week after check-out. I'd rather do that and then play tourist in Long Beach for a few hours than go straight to the airport for six hours of boredom.

 

Also, are there any excellent espresso places in San Pedro or Long Beach?

Edited October 11, 2019 by coastcat

[lavalcruiser]

Do you have to reserve the shuttle ahead, or just get it when you arrive at  the airport ?

[hallux]

2 hours ago, lavalcruiser said:

Do you have to reserve the shuttle ahead, or just get it when you arrive at  the airport ?

I think they would prefer that you reserve in advance so they know what capacity they need but I think I've heard of people just walking up and the fee gets billed to their on-board account.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

4 hours ago, lavalcruiser said:

Do you have to reserve the shuttle ahead, or just get it when you arrive at  the airport ?

 

Which shuttle? SuperShuttle, no, you just go outside and get placed in a van. To use the services provided by a cruise line, I'd say yes and yes for any other shuttle company.

[chickadee1]

Interested in all that everyone has to sat. My question is about uber/lyft/taxi from LAX to Crowne Plaza.  If you take Supershuttle, do you also have to take a shuttle to get the shuttle?? Or can they pick you up at terminal.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

4 hours ago, chickadee1 said:

Interested in all that everyone has to sat. My question is about uber/lyft/taxi from LAX to Crowne Plaza.  If you take Supershuttle, do you also have to take a shuttle to get the shuttle?? Or can they pick you up at terminal.

 

The new policies go into effect on Oct 29, so no one really knows. Some of the shuttles are having their pick-up locations moved, but I don't know if SuperShuttle is one of them.

[chickadee1]

Thanks, I guess I will have to stop obsessing and wait until closer to our cruise which is in May!!

[DaveOKC]

18 hours ago, chickadee1 said:

Interested in all that everyone has to sat. My question is about uber/lyft/taxi from LAX to Crowne Plaza.  If you take Supershuttle, do you also have to take a shuttle to get the shuttle?? Or can they pick you up at terminal.

When we took Super Shuttle in January, it picked us up right outside of baggage claim.  We did not make a reservation ahead of time, just walked up to the SS stand outside.

Edited October 22, 2019 by DaveOKC

[chickadee1]

Thanks, DaveOKC. That is good to know but since the rules at LAX change after 10/29, I guess I will have to see what the procedure will be then!

[pink845]

Please note that if you are picking a car up from LAX with Enterprise and then expecting to drop it off at the Enterprise location at 6th Street in San Pedro (basically at the Crown Plaza), there is now a DROP OFF charge.  Earlier this year, we were on Ruby Princess, and we spent a night at the Doubletree across the street from Del Amo Mall and then proceeded to drop off our car at the Enterprise location and it was great as it so close to the pier and when we went to book with them again for our next Royal Cruise in January we were told that they now add a $55.00 drop off charge per each day of the car rental. Crazy.   I said absolutely not and am renting from National at the airport and returning to National at the airport for one third of the silly Enterprise price and taking the cruise ship shuttle to the pier.  (yes, cruise shuttle a little pricey but in no way am I supporting the silliness of drop off fees for these car rental rip off companies.  And yes, Hertz, Avis all the ones in Long Beach are following suit with these drop off fees.    

[chickadee1]

 

My SIL rented a car to drop off at Newark Airport and had originally wanted an Enterprise as it is located in our town and more convenient. They would also have had to pay a drop off fee at Newark Airport so they rented from someone else. We won't be renting a car but just paying the high shuttle/Uber fees!  Won't think of it on the cruise!  Part of the cost of going!  When you add the car service to JFK ($275 Round trip and then the charges from LAX to San Pedro and back again to LAX) we will be paying almost as much as the RT air fare JFK to LAX!  I guess everyone has to make a living!

[KeepCalmBearOn]

7 hours ago, pink845 said:

Please note that if you are picking a car up from LAX with Enterprise and then expecting to drop it off at the Enterprise location at 6th Street in San Pedro (basically at the Crown Plaza), there is now a DROP OFF charge.

 

I think you are giving incorrect information. I've done multiple bookings with Enterprise, LAX pick up, San Pedro drop off and there haven't been any drop off fees added.

[Northumberland]

We are sailing from San Pedro for the first time at the end of March. We booked into the Best Western Plus San Pedro after reading some good reviews on Trip Advisor. We have also booked the long term parking at the hotel. It seemed like a good choice considering it's proximity to the port and the free port shuttle service. If you've stayed there before, I'd like to hear your thoughts about the hotel and the area around the hotel.