Self Disembarkation With LAX Flight

[brenton]

We are looking into flights out of LAX for our upcoming Hawaii cruise.  It says the ship gets to port at 6:15am.  We prefer doing self disembarkation anyways, so will try and get off as soon as we can.  I see Princess recommends no flights earlier that 6.5 hours, which would be 12:45pm, but we are looking at one at 11:30am.  Do you think we would be ok making that?  We were also considering doing the transfer available through the ship.  Does anyone have any recommendation on that?  Is it easier or quicker (if we are in a rush) to just bank on doing Uber or a taxi?  Thank you in advance for your help.

[Dietemann]

I believe that if you want to use the transfer through Princess you would have to adhere to their flight time recommendation. Can't answer your other question.

[cr8tiv1]

LAX is, again, under construction.  Drop offs are not "too" bad.  But you need to consider traffic and congestion dependent on the day of the week. 

 

I've heard of people who have been able to walk off the ship early and make it to an early flight. Good luck.  I give myself 3.5 hours to get from my home to LAX.  I terribly dislike that airport.  Have you considered Long Beach for your departure?  

[Astro Flyer]

18 minutes ago, brenton said:

We are looking into flights out of LAX for our upcoming Hawaii cruise.  It says the ship gets to port at 6:15am.  We prefer doing self disembarkation anyways, so will try and get off as soon as we can.  I see Princess recommends no flights earlier that 6.5 hours, which would be 12:45pm, but we are looking at one at 11:30am.  Do you think we would be ok making that?  We were also considering doing the transfer available through the ship.  Does anyone have any recommendation on that?  Is it easier or quicker (if we are in a rush) to just bank on doing Uber or a taxi?  Thank you in advance for your help.

Pre pandemic it could be possible to walk off independently by about 0730 for an 1130 flight however since the CDC has not yet stated their requirements it’s impossible to know how they could affect your plans. In these uncertain times for travel I would initially book Princess Flexible EZair & their shuttle to LAX. After more is known about the CDC post-cruise requirements then I could adjust my plans. Such uncertainties are a reason we will for awhile only drive to our LA homeport to take a cruise.

 

Hope that whatever you decide is your best option that everything goes smoothly. 🙂

[Tapi]

40 minutes ago, brenton said:

 Is it easier or quicker (if we are in a rush) to just bank on doing Uber or a taxi?  Thank you in advance for your help.

We were off the ship at 8:00am. We flew out of  Orange County (which is farther that LAX). We were through security and sitting at the gate at 9:30am for a 12:30pm departure.
 

We used Super Shuttle. Didn’t even book it in advance. Just walked up to them as we got off the ship. We had the shuttle all to ourselves with no wait. 

 

We’ve also used Uber many times to go to / from the airport and every time it’s been there within 2-3 minutes 

[nini]

We landed at LAX in January 2018 for our Panama Canal cruise.

Our kids coached us on UBER which we successfully used for the first

time. The drive from LAX to our hotel in San Pedro was 35 minutes and cost

us $30.00 plus tip.

 

You can do a mock flight on Princess EZAir to find out the earliest flight

would be "available" out of LAX and/ or see if other airports are available.

 

LA is a crap shoot. We enjoyed our UBER ride as we had live in Southern California

for our first 28 years of life; so we had a nice conversation with our driver.

[franktown]

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

We were off the ship at 8:00am. We flew out of  Orange County (which is farther that LAX). We were through security and sitting at the gate at 9:30am for a 12:30pm departure.
 

We used Super Shuttle. Didn’t even book it in advance. Just walked up to them as we got off the ship. We had the shuttle all to ourselves with no wait. 

 

We’ve also used Uber many times to go to / from the airport and every time it’s been there within 2-3 minutes 

LAX is a whole different animal then flying out of Orange county. The traffic can be brutal getting to LAX from the port even though it's shorter in miles than John Wayne.  Also you now have the unknown restriction brought about by Covid.  I would have almost no problem booking a 11:30 flight out of John Wayne airport but would not book one out of LAX without a back-up plan.

[Treasure Hunter]

We did the Hawaii cruise two years ago on the Emerald. We were off the ship by 8:00 and took the Princess bus  to the airport for a two o’clock flight. No problem.long time at the airport.  But there were some bad stories about people missing their flights to the east coast that left any earlier. It’s a crap shoot. 

[nocl]

3 hours ago, brenton said:

We are looking into flights out of LAX for our upcoming Hawaii cruise.  It says the ship gets to port at 6:15am.  We prefer doing self disembarkation anyways, so will try and get off as soon as we can.  I see Princess recommends no flights earlier that 6.5 hours, which would be 12:45pm, but we are looking at one at 11:30am.  Do you think we would be ok making that?  We were also considering doing the transfer available through the ship.  Does anyone have any recommendation on that?  Is it easier or quicker (if we are in a rush) to just bank on doing Uber or a taxi?  Thank you in advance for your help.

In the old days no issue.  With the current CDC requirements, with tests before disembarkation, no way.

 

Who knows what disembarkation will be like when cruising actually starts up again.

[JudithLynne]

Brenton......do you really want to spend your 2 week cruise worrying about if you will make your flight home?

LAX can be  nightmare and so can the freeways.

[Daniel A]

3 hours ago, Tapi said:

We were off the ship at 8:00am. We flew out of  Orange County (which is farther that LAX). We were through security and sitting at the gate at 9:30am for a 12:30pm departure.
 

We used Super Shuttle. Didn’t even book it in advance. Just walked up to them as we got off the ship. We had the shuttle all to ourselves with no wait. 

I believe Super Shuttle in the LA/Orange County area went out of business permanently.  Shame, I thought it was an excellent service.  Uber and Lyft killed them.

[jondfk]

I would have risked the schedule OP suggested pre pandemic.  

 

Could there be hiccups, sure, but it would typically have worked.  Post Covid though who knows, I can easily imagine very regimented boarding and debarkation, much more stringent that we've previously known.  If the decision has to be made now, it's probably cutting it too close given the unknowns.

[mtnesterz]

L.A. is our home port.  We've taken several cruises out of San Pedro berth #93. Knowing which day of the week you arrive back is key.

Disembarkation starts around 7:30 or 8 and they really move you along. If you haven't sailed with Princess before, you may request early disembarkation.

Embarkation day is no problem. LAX is western LA and San Pedro south of that. Heading that direction morning or midday is no issue. Arriving back on a weekend, also no worries. Weekdays you might hit traffic heading toward LA in morning drivetime. Lets say your bus leaves at 9 and arrive at LAX at 9:30. The check in lines, the security checks... Cutting it close for 11:45. 

Consider Princess' service. They know the drill to get you there. They deal with it all the time. Be sure to get on the roll call boards here.

 

[cr8tiv1]

Super Shuttle is not longer in service, but Prime Time Shuttle is (Red Van/Shuttle2LAX).  

 

Here's another kink in the plan.  Prime Time is no longer running "shuttle vans" to the airport because of COVID.  They will send you a private car (much like Lyft).  Who knows what will happen when cruising begins.  Will you need a pre-travel COVID test?  Will you need a test before disembarkation?  Will you need to quarantine when you return to your state?  So many unknowns.

 

 

[nocl]

35 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

L.A. is our home port.  We've taken several cruises out of San Pedro berth #93. Knowing which day of the week you arrive back is key.

Disembarkation starts around 7:30 or 8 and they really move you along. If you haven't sailed with Princess before, you may request early disembarkation.

Embarkation day is no problem. LAX is western LA and San Pedro south of that. Heading that direction morning or midday is no issue. Arriving back on a weekend, also no worries. Weekdays you might hit traffic heading toward LA in morning drivetime. Lets say your bus leaves at 9 and arrive at LAX at 9:30. The check in lines, the security checks... Cutting it close for 11:45. 

Consider Princess' service. They know the drill to get you there. They deal with it all the time. Be sure to get on the roll call boards here.

 

disembarkation pre Covid was as you described post Covid who even know if they will have early, self disembarkation.

[mtnesterz]

33 minutes ago, nocl said:

disembarkation pre Covid was as you described post Covid who even know if they will have early, self disembarkation.

This is news to me, but all the more reason to go with a later flight. Having said that, LAX is an unpleasant place to hang out, as someone else mentioned above. Food is pricey etc... But, better to play it safe time wise. Hopefully, brenton will receive advisories on this from Princess.

[rdsqrl]

3 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

 

Disembarkation starts around 7:30 or 8 and they really move you along.  . . .

 

Wow, could not disagree more with this.  I have returned to LA more than once and each time, the lines for immigration were the longest and slowest I've ever experienced (exceeding even the hellscape that is JFK passport control).  Maybe the ship staff "move you along," but the movement comes to a screeching halt once you've stepped across the gangway.  

[mtnesterz]

2 minutes ago, rdsqrl said:

Wow, could not disagree more with this.  I have returned to LA more than once and each time, the lines for immigration were the longest and slowest I've ever experienced (exceeding even the hellscape that is JFK passport control).  Maybe the ship staff "move you along," but the movement comes to a screeching halt once you've stepped across the gangway.  

Just offering tips from a local as brenton requested. If I ever cruise out of New York, I'd post on CC and hope to get tips from locals too. Next time in L.A., if it's available, request self-disembarkation, carry your own luggage and be one of the first groups off the ship. They don't put many at customs here and I can see that later on it would really back up. Sorry you had a bad experience.

[jennybenny]

Don’t know what day your cruise ends. I did first AM walk off, carrying my own luggage, on a Monday. Getting off the ship was easy enough, as was immigration pass through. I Took a Taxi from the ship because I didn’t have the time to wait for Uber or Lyft and I almost missed my 11:30 AM flight at LAX. Plus, it was the only flight that would get me to my destination that day. Missing my flight would have meant missing my connection. There were lines to get into LAX, lines to put tags on luggage, lines to check in luggage, lines for security. It was super stressful. All that said, I’ve heard stories of people making it with plenty of time and to spare. I’m no longer local to LAX, but when given the choice from a cruise, Long Beach airport is way more doable traffic and airport wise than LAX. That could mean an extra connection and more expensive flight for some depending on where your final destination is.

Pre Covid I would fly to Southern California a lot for work and I would avoid LAX if I could.

[KruzPrincess]

I’ve cruised out of San Pedro several times and returned to LAX after those cruises. I just want to add something about Princess transfers. The bus doesn’t leave until it’s full. You might be the first person off the ship, but it can take awhile for the bus to fill up. You will just have to wait while everyone’s luggage is loaded and people find seats. I wouldn’t count on the Princess transfer to be really fast. I’ve also hit traffic heading to LAX is dead stopped. As others have said, it’s risky. 

[cr8tiv1]

American, Delta, and Southwest fly out of Long Beach Airport.  Politically, it was stupid (sorry) of the City of Long Beach to let Jet Blue leave.  All of these airlines need connections at their hubs.  I try to fly out of LGB on Hawaiian whenever I can.  During COVID, LAX was my only option.  I hated it.  

[caribill]

7 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I believe Super Shuttle in the LA/Orange County area went out of business permanently.  Shame, I thought it was an excellent service.  Uber and Lyft killed them.

 

PrimeTime is now also using the SuperShuttle name.

https://www.supershuttle.com/locations/losangeles-lax/

[JF - retired RRT]

Last time we sailed out of LAX, we sat in our transport vehicle for almost an hour from the entrance to LAX to our terminal.

The constant construction really screws up traffic.

[Daniel A]

13 hours ago, caribill said:

 

PrimeTime is now also using the SuperShuttle name.

https://www.supershuttle.com/locations/losangeles-lax/

Thanks, that's good to know.  We are hoping to book another R/T LA/HI/Tahiti/LA next year as this year's got cancelled.  (Such a shame, we had a great deal!)  

 

I did note on their web site that they apparently do not service John Wayne Airport.

[nocl]

18 hours ago, rdsqrl said:

Wow, could not disagree more with this.  I have returned to LA more than once and each time, the lines for immigration were the longest and slowest I've ever experienced (exceeding even the hellscape that is JFK passport control).  Maybe the ship staff "move you along," but the movement comes to a screeching halt once you've stepped across the gangway.  

closed loop cruises usually clear pretty quickly.  Ships coming in on one way cruises that originate in a foreign port (trans-pacific for example) seem to take quite a while.