San Pedro to San Diego Pier Same Day...?

[a9753]

If I was to disembark a ship in San Pedro, and need to get to the San Diego pier on the same day for a cruise, is this possible? If so, how would you recommend getting there? Thanks!

[LuAnn]

you can do it. I would suggest you rent a car..my understanding is from this board that Enterprise rents cars at a location very near the dock in San Pedro...and the Enterprise return in SD could be done at the SD airport which is only about 2 or 3 miles from the pier. You could then either take a cab to the pier or they may have a shuttle..not sure about that.

 

Once you get on the freeway out of the pier area of San Pedro it's a pretty straight easy shot to SD and the pier. Based on getting off the ship last (since you will have your own transport) you should be leaving San Pedro area around 11:00 am or so. That is a good time to be on the freeways as you would miss the rush hours. But...keep in mind...if you are travelling on the weekends it will take longer as the Highway 5..which is the one you will take to SD is bumper to bumper then. With out accidents/traffic it should take you about 2 hours..maybe a little more..and on the weekends I would plan on longer. I'm assuming that your next cruise pulls out at 5:00 pm which should give you plenty of time to accomplish the trip. Hopefully you can stay in SD when you get back and enjoy our wonderful city! Enjoy! LuAnn

[bahamamomma1]

train??

I don't know where in relationship to San Pedro, but the San Diego station is right across the street from the pier, walking distance.

we are taking the train down tomorrow.

check the Amtrak schedule.

[Fredr]

hello,

 

There are some options for you but so far, I do not see any that are inexpensive.

 

I agree that renting a car is the best option. But you need to go to a car rental office when you get off the ship in San Pedro and from these boards it seems that Enterprise is the only car rental agency close to the cruise terminal. There are others in Long Beach, which is about a 15 minute or so ride from San Pedro.

 

We have carpool lanes on freeways in California, which allow cars with two or more occupants to use a special carpool lane. This really saves you time as these lanes usually are not congested. And there aree carpool lanes on the freeways you would use to go from San Pedro or Long Beach to San Diego. The ride is about two hours on the freeway and you can use surface streets but add at least one additional hour.

 

Another alternative is a combination of Super Shuttle and Amtrak. Have Super Suttle take you to the Amtrak station in Anaheim (there are other Amtrak stations along the way but this station is probably the nicest and easiest to use with luggage. At Anahem you take the Pacific Surfliner to the main train station in San Diego. From this station it is about a 10 minute walk to the San Diego cruise terminal or a five minute ride by taxi. Remember though you have to handle all of your luggage if you walk .

 

The problem with the Super Shuttle - Amtrak combo is that sometimes Super Shuttle will make drops along the way and you have no guarantee as to when you will arrive at the Anaheim Station. There are at least three trains that will get you to San Diego from Anaheim in plenty of time to check in for your cruise (check Amtrak for schedules). And the frequency of Amtrak service does make this not only affordable but doable.

 

Another idea is to have Super Shuttle take you to one of the Disneyland area hotels, and then another shuttle company may have servce to San Diego from here (maybe someone else on this board will be able to help with this option).

 

In closing, what would really help you is the "Walk Off" option, that is, you walk off the ship in San Pedro with all of your luggage rather than wait to be called and then have to pick up your luggage in the cruise terminal.

[Host Kewlguy]

hello,

 

There are some options for you but so far, I do not see any that are inexpensive.

 

I agree that renting a car is the best option. But you need to go to a car rental office when you get off the ship in San Pedro and from these boards it seems that Enterprise is the only car rental agency close to the cruise terminal. There are others in Long Beach, which is about a 15 minute or so ride from San Pedro.

 

We have carpool lanes on freeways in California, which allow cars with two or more occupants to use a special carpool lane. This really saves you time as these lanes usually are not congested. And there aree carpool lanes on the freeways you would use to go from San Pedro or Long Beach to San Diego. The ride is about two hours on the freeway and you can use surface streets but add at least one additional hour.

 

Another alternative is a combination of Super Shuttle and Amtrak. Have Super Suttle take you to the Amtrak station in Anaheim (there are other Amtrak stations along the way but this station is probably the nicest and easiest to use with luggage. At Anahem you take the Pacific Surfliner to the main train station in San Diego. From this station it is about a 10 minute walk to the San Diego cruise terminal or a five minute ride by taxi. Remember though you have to handle all of your luggage if you walk .

 

The problem with the Super Shuttle - Amtrak combo is that sometimes Super Shuttle will make drops along the way and you have no guarantee as to when you will arrive at the Anaheim Station. There are at least three trains that will get you to San Diego from Anaheim in plenty of time to check in for your cruise (check Amtrak for schedules). And the frequency of Amtrak service does make this not only affordable but doable.

 

Another idea is to have Super Shuttle take you to one of the Disneyland area hotels, and then another shuttle company may have servce to San Diego from here (maybe someone else on this board will be able to help with this option).

 

In closing, what would really help you is the "Walk Off" option, that is, you walk off the ship in San Pedro with all of your luggage rather than wait to be called and then have to pick up your luggage in the cruise terminal.

 

We're taking one of the shuttles from San Pedro to Long Beach Airport where we will pick up our rental car and drive to Disneyland for a couple of days and then on to San Diego for another cruise. The price for the rental from Long Beach Airport to San Diego wasn't that expensive.

[mjesf]

Yes, it's doable, but the schedule is tight.

 

It is only 117 miles from the World Cruise Center to the San Diego Terminal by car. Although the drive is relatively straightforward, timing is a crapshoot. I presume you are with a group and can use the carpool lanes which make life much easier.

 

I looked at the Pacific Surfliner schedule between the two and you can catch an Amtrak Thruway bus from the Catalina Terminal next door at 9:05 AM which gets you into LA Union Station at 10:25 AM. You can then catch an 11:10 AM train going to San Diego which gets you there at 1:55 PM. This method would require self debarkation to work and I would not be comfortable with this because one slip up would throw everything off.

 

If you do it, I suggest you drive.

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

I respectfully disagree with the last poster. By taking Super Shuttle, you will be traveling east and then south toward San Diego. What you do not want to do, is to go as far north as downtown Los Angeles and then come south. Your recommendation to take Amtrak's bus from the Catalina Terminal to Los Angeles, is cheaper than taking Super Shuttle but it is much riskier in terms of time.

 

Kewl's suggestion is really the best, but I thought I would talk about the Super Shuttle Amtrak option to give the OP alternatives.

[Host Kewlguy]

I also wanted to add that you can find coupon codes on the net for discounts on your rental cars. We found one for Avis and saved a nice chunk of change.

[mation101]

I would never risk taking the train!!

 

I would ask for early departure, get a cab to the enterprise rental, take the 110 to the 405 it turns into the 5 and you stay on the 5 until you get to SD. Drop the car off at the airport and cab or shuttle to the pier. If its a Sun you should be in SD in less than 3 hrs.

 

When you are making these kind of plans looking for cheapest is never good, go with easiest/fastest, and double & triple check the car resies.