Fly into LAX or LGB??

[2littlegirls]

Hi, planning a MR cruise in April of next year. Would you fly into LAX or Long Beach? Those who have done the MR before any information about transportation would be great!

 

[lilpooh108]

I haven't done the MR Cruise (or any cruise for that matter), but I do live in OC. I think you should fly into Long Beach. LAX is a pain. Long Beach is super easy to fly into. There is no wait to exit the plane--you go down the stairs and you are literally out in the open, 2 steps away from rental car counters, etc.

If you are cruising out of San Pedro (which I think the MR cruise is), you're not very far from the 710 which would take you to the port (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

If you fly into LAX, you'll have to get on the 405 and that's where the traffic jams up completely by Howard Hughes parkway. Then you have to take the 405 south to the 710 south which is about a 1.5 hour drive in traffic.

So I vote Long Beach all the way.

 

[szubieta]

Only took us about 30 minutes driving past the LAX on our last cruise out of San Pedro. Though getting out of LAX can be a big nightmare. See which is cheaper? Are you staying over night at the airport or port, or are you going straight to the ship? I think it might go back to the original question...which is cheaper. Good Luck! And if your going to MR on the 10nt, join our meet.

 

[lilpooh108]

Only took us about 30 minutes driving past the LAX on our last cruise out of San Pedro. Though getting out of LAX can be a big nightmare. See which is cheaper? Are you staying over night at the airport or port, or are you going straight to the ship? I think it might go back to the original question...which is cheaper. Good Luck! And if your going to MR on the 10nt, join our meet.

Come to think of it, I vote cheaper as well. I see that you're from Seattle. I flew Jetblue from Seattle to LGB once, and it was cheaper than flying into LAX. If it's about the same price, I still vote LGB

 

[NancyIL]

I flew into Orange County (SNA) a few weeks ago for a cruise out of San Pedro. We stayed at an airport hotel that night, then took Prime Time Shuttle to the port the next day. We spent 2 days at Disneyland at the end of the cruise, so returning to SNA from Anaheim very early in the morning worked just fine.

 

[jilljill]

We flew into Long Beach, rented a car for the night and returned it at the Hertz location in Long Beach the morning of the cruise and took a cab to the port. It was very easy and so much nicer than flying into LAX.

 

[NancyIL]

We flew out of Long Beach in 2006 after a cruise, but I really disliked that airport. American Airlines apparently had only two flights per day (to Dallas), and ours wasn't until early afternoon. We couldn't check our luggage until about 90 minutes before our flight time, so we had to sit with it in their tiny terminal for several hours. Fortunately, American no longer flies into Long Beach.

 

[stitchy626]

Another vote for Long Beach-it is really easy to get in and out of. I avoid LAX at all costs. Everytime I fly to Disneyland I choose John Wayne or LB even if LAX is cheaper.

 

[M2DD's]

Hi, planning a MR cruise in April of next year. Would you fly into LAX or Long Beach? Those who have done the MR before any information about transportation would be great!

Were also booked on the MR april cruise(10 day) and I have started looking into flights and were going to fly into LAX, LB, or SNA depending on whats cheaper and works with our scheldule.
If there the same price I would book LB since its a smaller aiport. We flew to LAX in 05 and had no problems getting our luggage or out of the airport.

For getting to the port(depending which day we fly in) we are using limo.com which is cheaper than using the disney shuttels (which we were told were going to run 49pp RT from LAX). That way were not renting a car to pay to park it for 10 days. We are doing DL and the end of our cruise and will go back to the airport and rent a car for the remainder of our trip

I flew into Orange County (SNA) a few weeks ago for a cruise out of San Pedro. We stayed at an airport hotel that night, then took Prime Time Shuttle to the port the next day. We spent 2 days at Disneyland at the end of the cruise, so returning to SNA from Anaheim very early in the morning worked just fine.

Nancy-Glad to see your back Did you enjoy the MR?
I'll have to send you a PM and we can chat

 

[toescat]

We have done both LAX and LB several times and prefer LAX. It has always been very quick for us but you do need to take into consideration the day of the week and time you will be flying in. During the week traffic anywhere is LA is bad, I mean bad. So if you are flying in on the weekend I would pick LAX over Long Beach. Monday thru Friday I wouldn't go there, but if you don't have a choice then do Long Beach.

 

[NancyIL]

Nancy-Glad to see your back Did you enjoy the MR?
I'll have to send you a PM and we can chat

Hi! Yes, we enjoyed our MR cruise (on RCI Mariner of the Seas) plus our time at Disneyland. Thanks for asking!

 

[2littlegirls]

Were also booked on the MR april cruise(10 day) and I have started looking into flights and were going to fly into LAX, LB, or SNA depending on whats cheaper and works with our scheldule.
If there the same price I would book LB since its a smaller aiport. We flew to LAX in 05 and had no problems getting our luggage or out of the airport.

For getting to the port(depending which day we fly in) we are using limo.com which is cheaper than using the disney shuttels (which we were told were going to run 49pp RT from LAX). That way were not renting a car to pay to park it for 10 days. We are doing DL and the end of our cruise and will go back to the airport and rent a car for the remainder of our trip:

Thank M2DD for the limo.com tip. We will be flying in the day of the cruise out of Seattle. We might pick LAX for the "every hour" flights out of Seattle.
My hope is that Limo.com can stop so we might be able to pick up bottled water and adult drinks before we get on the cruise....am I jamming to much into that morning??

 

[NancyIL]

Thank M2DD for the limo.com tip. We will be flying in the day of the cruise out of Seattle. We might pick LAX for the "every hour" flights out of Seattle.
My hope is that Limo.com can stop so we might be able to pick up bottled water and adult drinks before we get on the cruise....am I jamming to much into that morning??

Though many people do fly in the day the ship sails, I sure wouldn't! It's worth the peace of mind and one night's hotel cost to fly in the day before.

 

[IzzysMom]

I would fly into whatever is cheaper. I live in RPV which is right next to San Pedro and fly in and out of LAX and never have a problem. I have flown out of Long Beach only once - it is a very small airport, very easy to get in an out of but very few amenities.

Leaving LAX you don't really need to get on the 405 (which I agree is a big mess), you can take PCH to Palos Verdes Dr. and follow that down to San Pedro - it will take about an hour.

So that said - pick the cheapest flight!

 

[AhoyCaptainMickey]

Another vote for Long Beach here.

 

[szubieta]

Though many people do fly in the day the ship sails, I sure wouldn't! It's worth the peace of mind and one night's hotel cost to fly in the day before.

My thoughts exactly ...flying in the same day makes toooo much of a rush and everyone get sooo tired by 2p. Need to be able to enjoy the ship and not pass out before dinner. IMHO

 

[tvguy]

Going to Disneyland, we've flown into LAX, Burbank and Orange County. I've never had a problem with any of those airports, not even LAX. LAX as a hub airport tends to be cheaper. Never flown into Long Beach.
It's 14 miles from Long Beach airport to San Pedro (a 21 minute drive), and 20 miles from LAX to San Pedro (23 minute drive) according to Google maps.
I'd decide based on cost myself.

 

[remlap]

LONG BEACH all the way. The best airport in Southern California.

However, if you don't live somewhere Jet Blue flies your scheduling can be hit of miss and it might be better to go to LAX.

Jet Blue being your number 1 option, you can fly US Air to Phoenix and that is a major hub for US Air and can get to the rest of the country.

However, adding a stop generally means I'd rather go to LAX and fly nonstop.