San Pedro to LAX travel time after cruise?

[Cessna140]

Hi

I am in the process of booking flights for our January cruise and I was wondering if someone could let me know how early a flight do you think I could make on my return? I am presuming it must take 20 or 30 minutes to get to LAX and I imagine the security lines must be very long.So would 10:30 am flights be pushing it? First time in California so I have no idea. Thanks in advance.

Marcia

[nhcruiser]

Marcia,

 

We have cruised out of the Port of LA (San Pedro) twice during the last two years. This year we were off the Regal Princess in Red Group One (1st group off) and made it to LAX right at 10:30AM. Then we had to check-in and clear security. We were at our gate and ready for our 12:30 flight by 11:45 but we encountered no real delays. I recommend that you avoid scheduling any flight earlier than noon, some people will recommend 1PM. I guess it comes down to your tolerance for anxiety and possible change.

 

Rod

[Toto2Kansas]

Some will depend on the day you are arriving back. I know that it took us over 1 1/2 hours to get to LAX on a Friday morning, and that was driving ourselves. You never know what the freeways will be like and trying to book a 10:30 flight would be dangerous IMHO. Give yourself at least a couple of hours to arrive in LAX in plenty of time. Also, if the ship should be hung up for any reason (i.e. customs clearence) then it could take longer to disembark.

I don't think I would consider any flights that left even a few minutes before noon from LAX.

[bcs819]

It only took us about 30 minutes to get to LAX last week and then maybe 20 minutes to get checked in and get thru security (we had printed our boarding passes in the internet cafe before leaving the ship). The real delay was getting off the ship. We were called off at 8 am but customs and the bottleneck at the gangway was almost 45 minutes. I wouldn't schedule anything earlier than noon.

[Pam in CA]

It can take 30 minutes, it can take two hours. It really all depends on the traffic and whether there's an accident, weekday rush hour, etc. I would recommend using transportation that has multiple passengers. Vans and busses go in the high speed lane, passing miles of backed-up traffic.

[cnmiranda]

I made a 10:30 flight but I was on RCI and carried my own luggage.

[Pam in CA]

It's always possible to make an earlier flight. I had a 12:15 flight and everything went so smoothly that I was at LAX before 10AM. BUT, it could have been very different. You just never know so I wouldn't recommend anyone schedule a flight for earlier than Noon.

[merela]

Even though San Pedro is not far from LAX, but you'll encounter highway traffic and if there is an accident ahead of you, then you may get stuck on the highway for quite awhile. Without traffic, it'll take you about 1/2 hour to get to the airport. But you need to factor in getting off the ship, going through customs, getting your bags, then finding a taxi.

 

Once you get to LAX, more lines. The security at LAX is pretty tight so that's more lines. You need to get to the airport no less than 90 minutes before a domestic flight and give yourself 2 hours for international flights so you don't feel so rushed.

 

HTH.

[Cessna140]

Hi all,

Thanks to those of you who answered my question. We have decided on 12:55pm flights, so we should be okay. I think I read somewhere on the boards that it took 5 hours to get off the Diamond today!! Yikes!

Marcia

[dalwhitt]

Think I'll just stick around for an extra day and take my grandson to Disneyland.