Disney Wonder - San Diego Disembarking Timing question

[DrHickenlocher]

I've never cruised before but have read that it can take many hours to actually disembark a cruise ship. I thought I read somewhere that Disney does not recommend booking any air travel out of San Diego any earlier than 11:45am to factor in the time to travel to the airport and go through security. But we are not flying out, but rather intend to take the Amtrak train.

Google Maps says it's a 0.3 mile walk from the SAN station (Santa Fe Depot) to the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal. My family already booked the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner arriving at 11:21am (and we have a 11:30am-12noon Port Arrival Time). But I'm just trying to figure out what time to book our train to head back home. Will I be able to disembark, collect my luggage, and walk back to the train station in time for a 9:20am departure? Or should I book the next train at 10:41am to be on the safe side? I'd rather not have to somehow keep my travel-weary little ones occupied for an extra hour and a half standing around if I don't need to and can make the 9:20am time if they kick us off the ship early.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I've never cruised before but have read that it can take many hours to actually disembark a cruise ship. I thought I read somewhere that Disney does not recommend booking any air travel out of San Diego any earlier than 11:45am to factor in the time to travel to the airport and go through security. But we are not flying out, but rather intend to take the Amtrak train.

Google Maps says it's a 0.3 mile walk from the SAN station (Santa Fe Depot) to the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal. My family already booked the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner arriving at 11:21am (and we have a 11:30am-12noon Port Arrival Time). But I'm just trying to figure out what time to book our train to head back home. Will I be able to disembark, collect my luggage, and walk back to the train station in time for a 9:20am departure? Or should I book the next train at 10:41am to be on the safe side? I'd rather not have to somehow keep my travel-weary little ones occupied for an extra hour and a half standing around if I don't need to and can make the 9:20am time if they kick us off the ship early.

We got tickets for a noon train after our cruise that ended in San Diego, but arrived early enough to take the train at 11. Just used our tickets already purchased. It's my experience you're not locked into the specific train/time, just the particular train/destination.

 

[apathetic]

I would advise the later one. We've seen some ports can take a long time to disembark. Each terminal is different and we have spent 2 hours waiting for our group to be called after they started disembarking.

 

[DCSWO]

I wouldn’t risk a 9:20 train in case there is a port delay or some other unknown. 10:41 seems like the safer bet.

 

[nancyjo1998]

Last year were able to make the 9:20am train out. We did express walk off, so we carried our own luggage off the ship. We had breakfast in Cabanas as opposed to our assigned dining room that morning. We arrived at the train station with about 30-40 minutes to spare before the train boarded.

 

[gometros]

While it is walking distance, you might consider grabbing a cab. It's just far enough that dragging your luggage could be a hindrance.

 

[DrHickenlocher]

Thanks all! 10:41 looks like a winner. My wife doesn't want to depend on express walk off. And I'll see how it goes walking in from the station with our luggage on Day 1. We travel fairly light, and everyone is young, but if it's a pain to drag our suitcases we can get a Lyft or something to go back to the train station after disembarking.

 

[nancyjo1998]

On a side note, make sure you sit on the right hand side of the train going down. You will be able to see the Wonder when the train is approaching the station.

 

[DrHickenlocher]

On a side note, make sure you sit on the right hand side of the train going down. You will be able to see the Wonder when the train is approaching the station.

Most definitely. We were already planning to stay on that side to view the coastline, but it's great to know we'll be able to see the ship from the train as well!

 

[DrHickenlocher]

We returned yesterday. Woke up early for the 7:00am breakfast seating (Main Dining), and had we hurried, we probably could have made the 8:21am Amtrak. As it was, we ate breakfast, said goodbye to our servers and handed them their tip envelopes, went up to Cabanas to pick up more snacks and drinks, returned to Deck 3 to disembark, walked off without any "waiting for groups", found our luggage in the terminal, went through customs, and walked to the train station, arriving at 8:30. So we had a bit of a wait until the 9:20am train. One thing to note: most train stations we wait on the platform, and we started off waiting on the platform at San Diego. But one of the agents came to get us and told us we had to wait in a queue by the main building and not on the platform, because when the train comes in the Engineers and mechanics do some work around it first.

After boarding, I presented the conductor with my 10:41am ticket and he scanned it without a second thought. No issues with the ticket being for a different time. Also, I overheard a different conversation with another passenger who boarded the train without having purchased a ticket yet. The conductor told him to buy any ticket he could on his phone for the correct origin/destination ("Book a later train, book one this afternoon, book one for *tomorrow*... I'll scan it," said the conductor).