To and From San Pedro--What would you do?

[Bruin Steve]

Okay...So we're now booked on the Royal Princess for January 4-11...a seven night cruise...

 

Getting there and back, we have some options:

1.  Drive the morning of the cruise, park in the lot.  It's about a 50 mile drive.  On a Saturday morning, it could take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half...101 to the 405 to the 110.  Parking at the World Cruise Center is now $18 per day, correct? ...so, $126...add in about 4 gallons of gas at $4 per...so, the total cost (we're not counting wear and tear on the car or insurance and maintenance costs here) is around $142.  Downside is I have to personally deal with traffic...and my car sits exposed outside for a week.

2.  UberX both ways.  Same approximate timing.  Uber cost estimate is about $66 and change each way--so $133.  Add in a $10 tip each way and we're at $153...But, for another $11, I don't have to drive and my car sits safely in my garage back home.

3.  Drive down, stay at the Crowne Plaza with a Stay and Cruise rate--I can get this right now for $230 including tax--room plus free parking the duration of the cruise plus free shuttle to and from the pier.  So, $104 more than driving down myself the morning of the cruise, we get their Friday instead, hang out at the hotel, eat dinner at San Pedro Brewing Co. and have a stress-free Saturday pre-embarkation morning.

 

What would you do?

[riffatsea]

We have similar pricing and a slightly longer drive from San Diego.

We always feel better driving the day before and staying overnight at a hotel.

We collect Hilton pts so we would be at the Doubletree instead of the Crowne Plaza(similar pricing) .

We are always anxious to get going on our trips so starting out one day earlier works best for us.

It is not really a matter of which is the most cost effective but just a matter of which suits us best!

[MDAdventures]

19 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

Okay...So we're now booked on the Royal Princess for January 4-11...a seven night cruise...

 

Getting there and back, we have some options:

1.  Drive the morning of the cruise, park in the lot.  It's about a 50 mile drive.  On a Saturday morning, it could take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half...101 to the 405 to the 110.  Parking at the World Cruise Center is now $18 per day, correct? ...so, $126...add in about 4 gallons of gas at $4 per...so, the total cost (we're not counting wear and tear on the car or insurance and maintenance costs here) is around $142.  Downside is I have to personally deal with traffic...and my car sits exposed outside for a week.

2.  UberX both ways.  Same approximate timing.  Uber cost estimate is about $66 and change each way--so $133.  Add in a $10 tip each way and we're at $153...But, for another $11, I don't have to drive and my car sits safely in my garage back home.

3.  Drive down, stay at the Crowne Plaza with a Stay and Cruise rate--I can get this right now for $230 including tax--room plus free parking the duration of the cruise plus free shuttle to and from the pier.  So, $104 more than driving down myself the morning of the cruise, we get their Friday instead, hang out at the hotel, eat dinner at San Pedro Brewing Co. and have a stress-free Saturday pre-embarkation morning.

 

What would you do?

.

What did you find out?  This is a critical questions.  Really want to know more about the parking situation at San Pedro.  We are going to Hawaii for 15 days, so it is a lot of $$.  Is there a good alternative parking lot?  

[Bruin Steve]

13 hours ago, MDAdventures said:

.

What did you find out?  This is a critical questions.  Really want to know more about the parking situation at San Pedro.  We are going to Hawaii for 15 days, so it is a lot of $$.  Is there a good alternative parking lot?  

 

Parking for a cruise is fairly easy at San Pedro--but it is also $18  per day...So, a 15 bight cruise would cost you $270...The "Stay and Park" rates at the Crowne Plaza include up to 15 days of parking...Of course, the exact rate varies by date,,,and it also varies over time and tends to sell out if not booked early enough.  For our date, it was $230 ($199 plus tax)...it just jumped up to $276 ($239 plus tax)...So, if you have a 15 night cruise, it may make a lot of sense to just book the hotel--especially if you can get it for less than $270...but, check your exact date to make sure.

 

I've reserved my date and will probably follow through with it--even for a premium above the $126 parking at the pier would cost me--just to get into that vacation mode a little early and to minimize stress on embarkation morning.

[riffatsea]

@MDAdventures,

Check the hotel prices for your cruise date.

We have found that even if it is slightly more than paying the parking fee, staying the night before in one of the hotels makes the start of our cruise a more enjoyable experience.

The Crowne Plaza is the closest to the port.

Then there is the Doubletree San Pedro which offers a free shuttle to the port and to nearby shops and restaurants.

There is also a less expensive Best Western near the port but that area is not as nice as the ones surrounding the other hotels.

They all have stay and park options for your car.

[Bruin Steve]

Well, to bring this full circle, here's what we've done:

 

First, we decided to extend the "vacation" and stay the night.  I logged onto the IHG website to try to make that reservation with the Crowne Plaza....or, rather, I tried to log on.  Ran into some glitches with it not recognizing my email or membership number.  Called the customer service folks and, after some time, they were able to fix the problem.  When I was finally able to log on, the rate on the Park and Stay package had gone up to $239 per night ($276 with tax).  Yes, I know, I should have skipped the website and made the reservation immediately by phone at the $199...but, I guess I wasn't thinking at the time...So, I made it at the higher rate anyway...

 

Then, I called IHG and asked if they could change it to honor the rate, since they had records and knew what had happened.  They said they had no control over the rate, but I should call the hotel directly...and they could do it.  So, I called the hotel and they said I had to talk to the manager...and she was out until Wednesday.  Called back Wednesday...and she was out for "training"...

 

So, this morning, I got a little frustrated...and called Hilton.  I remembered that I have A LOT of Hilton points backed up...and wanted to see if it were possible to get a park and stay rate at the Doubletree with my Hilton points.  They told me to just book the room at the regular points rate and they'd throw in the free parking for the length of the cruise plus shuttles there and back.  DONE.  So, we're driving down, staying at the Doubletree and leaving our car there for the week...FOR FREE.  Can't beat that deal!

[cruise kitty]

On 10/4/2019 at 6:39 PM, Bruin Steve said:

Okay...So we're now booked on the Royal Princess for January 4-11...a seven night cruise...

 

Getting there and back, we have some options:

1.  Drive the morning of the cruise, park in the lot.  It's about a 50 mile drive.  On a Saturday morning, it could take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half...101 to the 405 to the 110.  Parking at the World Cruise Center is now $18 per day, correct? ...so, $126...add in about 4 gallons of gas at $4 per...so, the total cost (we're not counting wear and tear on the car or insurance and maintenance costs here) is around $142.  Downside is I have to personally deal with traffic...and my car sits exposed outside for a week.

2.  UberX both ways.  Same approximate timing.  Uber cost estimate is about $66 and change each way--so $133.  Add in a $10 tip each way and we're at $153...But, for another $11, I don't have to drive and my car sits safely in my garage back home.

3.  Drive down, stay at the Crowne Plaza with a Stay and Cruise rate--I can get this right now for $230 including tax--room plus free parking the duration of the cruise plus free shuttle to and from the pier.  So, $104 more than driving down myself the morning of the cruise, we get their Friday instead, hang out at the hotel, eat dinner at San Pedro Brewing Co. and have a stress-free Saturday pre-embarkation morning.

 

What would you do?

 #3 all day long,  seems to me that Saturday morning/afternoon traffic has been getting worse & worse over the last couple of years... so unless you want to be driving at 6 am... well...   dinner & beer sound better to me, plus free parking in L.A. is like finding a unicorn.:)   enjoy!

[riffatsea]

"So, this morning, I got a little frustrated...and called Hilton.  I remembered that I have A LOT of Hilton points backed up...and wanted to see if it were possible to get a park and stay rate at the Doubletree with my Hilton points.  They told me to just book the room at the regular points rate and they'd throw in the free parking for the length of the cruise plus shuttles there and back.  DONE.  So, we're driving down, staying at the Doubletree and leaving our car there for FREE."

 

 

Did you call the hotel(Doubletree) or the HILTON 800 number??? I tried to do this with pts and the CHAT feature on the Hilton site said I could not use pts if I wanted to park our car during the cruise!  GOOD for you that this worked out!!

Now I want to call and see if I can get it too!!!!

Edited October 16, 2019 by riffatsea

[Bruin Steve]

Riff, I called Hilton reservations...the agent I spoke with called the hotel directly during the call...Not sure if It’s because of my repeat customer status...or some other factor...or if I was just lucky.  There were a few “qualifying” questions...among them, what ship I was on—apparently, the deal I got was cruise line-dependent as well.  I tend to think it was a combination of “all of the above”...

[riffatsea]

Thanks for getting back to me.

The price we are paying is $276 +tax for stay ,park n breakfast.

I just looked today and the price went up to $360+ tax!!

I didn't even care about bkfst but it was a pkg and I couldn't separate it out.

I might call later just to see what they say but am happy I booked it waaay early!!