More Flight to Book - Lima to Los Angeles

Since we have the main flights booked to Peru we were able to rest a bit and take our time searching for flight from Lima to LAX.

What is funny is even though we had a great deal from Vancouver to Lima with that amazing direct flight from LAX to Lima it was not a great deal to fly to LAX direct.  WHY! Oh yes the flight demons.  

All flight options that were remotely reasonable had at least one connection.  

Remember in my blog a few days ago that I said that airlines watch flight routing and dates and price will suddenly jump up.  

Well it happened to us.

There was a great flight with JetBlue that left at midnight from Lima and routed to Fort Lauderdale with a 3 hour layover there and then a flight to LAX for around $450 Canadian each.  A steal we thought, plus that would save us a night's accommodation as we would be in the air overnight. 

Oh but that doesn't sound appealing either.  And leaving at midnight would mean that last day in Lima would be a long one.  We discussed and then agreed that this was the best option and we went to book. 

NOOOOO the fight now has jumped to $650 each.  See even I have frustrations when booking.

Okay back to the drawing board. We knew that if we waited a few days that JetBlue would probably put that flight back down in price (in fact at time of writing this blog a week later the price is back down to $450 Cdn).  I also needed to look for alternatives now too.

Now there was a great flight with Avianca (which I researched and had good reviews and great planes - make sure you check out seatguru.com).  The flight was leaving at a better time of just after 10 am and had only one layover in San Salvador (but we don't change planes) with an arrival in LA that evening for a cost of $650 Canadian. Which was the same price as Jet Blue and was a shorter flight, better plane and flew during the day. So no brainer we booked it.  

Sometimes things happen for a reason.

Flight - Embarkation in Los Angeles

We once again booked a pre hotel at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport with points as our flight the next morning is very early.

We are assigned a room on the 7th floor with a view of the mountains and the gates with planes arriving and leaving.

We head downstairs to the main terminal for dinner at the White Spot.

Back in the room I take advantage of the amazing tub and soak the day's stresses away.

The room is so comfortable and this bed is divine.

Our flight is at 6:35 am.  But with no checked bags we can just head to the security and then customs.

The line for security is very long.  I believe this is because the security just recently opened up.  Thankfully we have Nexus and we are able to bypass the long line and head to a dedicated line.  Two people ahead of us is much better than 100 ahead of us.  Best $50 we ever spent on Nexus (Global Entry).

Flight was easy and smooth.  Seemed like everyone around us was getting on the ship with us.  I sat next to two nice men who were sailing for the first time.  It was great to chat with them and enjoy their excitement.

We arrived in LA and I used Uber for the first time ever.  My friend Monika said it was easy, cost effective and so we decided to try it.  She was so right.  

We requested a car and we met our driver at the Ride Share pick up spot on the Arrival's area.  The final cost came in at $29 US.  Much cheaper than Primetime shuttle ($17 per person) and not having to deal with waiting for a van to fill and deal with others.  A taxi is usually around $70 US!  We will definately use Uber again.  

If you are interested in Uber click here to get a $15 credit on your first ride.  

We had the driver drop us off in San Pedro at the drug store to pick up some essentials and then we walked to the pier (about 20 min.).

We arrived at the pier around 11:30.  Probably one of the worst times to arrive but we knew we just had to go with the flow and enjoy the experience.

Of course we arrived and filled out the necessary health forms.  Up the escalator and a short queue for priority boarding (maybe 20 people).  This time the regular queue for non priority boarders was very very long (at least a 100).

After getting our cruise cards we went thru security -- no issues with us.  But if you do have liqour in your bag they will confuscate it, unless it is wine.  To learn more about bringing wine on board click here.  

They had already started boarding and we were directed to board the ship right away.  

In all it was about 20 minutes from sidewalk to ship.  Not bad considering we arrived at a very busy time.

After dropping our suitcase (we just brought carry on bags) in the cabin we headed to the dining room for lunch.  Boy it has been a long time since we have had lunch in the dining room on embarkation day but boy how nice it is too.

We confirmed a table for Daniel's section for 7:45 in Da Vinci Dining room.  He is the whole reason we booked this voyage -- to surprise him.

We had be discussing getting the drink package for a while and we decided to go with it.  On a shorter voyage like this we can justify it, but on a more port intensive longer voyage we just can't manage to continually drink that much.

After Muster Drill we head up for the sailaway.  Great weather, excellent music by the and Nexus and a chance to see Anna again.

At 5 pm we head to the elite lounge in Skywalkers.  We meet a lovely couple -- Arlene and Tim and we chat over a few drinks.  

Travel Day to Anaheim

I am HERE!  Apparently this is the happiest place on earth, and I sure feel happy.

Both of us worked yesterday, and since we work very early we were up at our usual 3 am to start work at 4 am.  Although we had a shorter work day and we both ended at 10 am. 

We gathered our stuff at home, tied up some loose ends and we were on the road.  Our first stop was our recreation center to vote in our advance polls for our municipal elections.  We are just relieved that they started today cause if it didn’t we would not of been able to vote (I guess we could of done mail in votes) as the election is while we are away.

Voting done – and Vickie wearing her proud sticker saying “I voted today” we were on our way to the airport.

Flight was at 4 pm with Westjet directly to Los Angeles.  Even though the flight was delayed a bit due to connecting flights and someone who was not feeling well on board we were up in the air about 30 minutes after 4 pm.

LAX – what is there to say about that airport.  It is not one of my favorites, it certainly is busy.  But it seems to be in constant renovation, there is never enough space there, everything feels crammed in with people everywhere.  It is an airport I dread going to and would of preferred flying into one of the other airports but this time it was not possible.

We had prearranged a ride with PrimeTime Shuttles at a cost of $15 per person to Anaheim.  We easily found the meeting spot and checked in and about ten minutes later a van pulled up and it already h

ad four people in it, we loaded in with another guy and now we are 7, we stop two more times and in the end had 9 people. 

The ride took about 45 minutes (thankfully little traffic due to the hour) and we are arrived at our hotel (The Red Lion) and the front desk attendant Mellissa checked us in and gave us a room on the 7^th floor that faces the park and doesn’t have an adjoining door to another room.  We are happy!

I wish we could saw we did something exciting but we didn’t.  The time is almost 10 pm and we have been up since 3 am and we are tired.  We settle in a bit and Bernie attempts to watch some TV but he can’t keep his eyes open. 

I had a nice bath to relax and calm myself – as you may have guess I get a little over excited.  But the bath does the trick and as I read some of the local guide information I lay my head down and dream about Mickey and Minnie and being at Disneyland.

Disembarkation - April 5, 2014

We prepared for the worst - and boy it turned out a lot better than we expected.

When we disembarked two years ago in San Francisco after our South America trip, and last year's Grand South America trip both experienced horrific disembarkation.  This was mainly because after visiting so many foreign ports where drugs can be an issue and first port back into the US after almost two months sometimes draws a red flag.  Customs agents last time came on board and we all had to clear customs before getting off.  Sniffer dogs were all over checking bags.

This time completely different.  

We were assigned a disembarkation time of 9:00 in Da Vinci.  Of course there was a Platinum Elite Lounge.  But with so many in that category they actually had two lounges.  Club Fusion and Explorers, your location was based on your cabin location.  

We stayed clear of those two lounges as they were packed.  We agreed a quick breakfast in Horizon Court and then we would head to Da Vinci.

Horizon Court was quite quiet... and we grabbed a simple breakfast, may as well get use to smaller meals just like home.

We head back to the cabin to grab our carry on and then down to the International Cafe to grab a coffee and relax until our meeting time.

Things seems to be going smoothly as walk offs are off and a few of the first groups.  There are two gangways on Promenade deck, one just outside of Club Fusion and one right beside Explorers.

We head to Da Vinci and take a seat.  They are a bit behind but nothing too serious.  

Johan wanted us to contact him before getting off so we head towards to the aft gangway and get in touch with him. Since our group has just been cleared we head off and give him big hugs and have to say I will miss him dearly.  He is such a sweet man and so kind and even though he has only been on for the last leg you can see how much smoother the ship has run since he got on.  He is very good at his job.  Love you Johan.

We are off the ship.... wow where did those 49 days go?

The line up for customs was divided between US citizens and Non US citizens.  Even both lines were rather long they moved fast and I think it took us about 20 minutes to clear.  

The bags were all lined up in a huge warehouse.  I stood near the front where our first bag was while Bernie went looking for our final bags.  While standing there a few bags behind me fell down. A few minutes later this passenger was trying to get by and said loudly to me "can you please move these bags".  

Well I kind of lost it, I had been holding it in for so long trying to be polite and patient and today I am sad and I am now off the ship and I just look at him and say "why should I have to pick up other people's suitcases" and his snarky response was "well it looks like you would be strong enough" and I said (okay don't hate me) "you seem so full of hot air that you can probably blow them away".  Then turned my back.  

We quickly leave the building which was a zoo with porters, lots of suitcases and passengers in a daze on where to go....   

We have been here so many times we know exactly where to go and we head outside and cross the first lane to the small island where the shuttles and taxis are.

At first we were going to take a shuttle to the airport but when we got there and there was a large group waiting around the shuttle area and not a big queue for the taxis and after seeing the prices for taxis we both agreed that for the small amount extra we would just take a taxi.

Taxi price to LAX from the pier was quoted at $57 and that is just about right I think it came to $55 plus tip.  A shuttle is normally around $17 plus we would of had to pay extra for the added baggage and we would of had to share with others and we just really needed our space right now.

We made it to the airport in great time, only a half hour, but then again it is a Saturday morning.

We are dropped off at terminal 2 for the Air Canada flight.  There is a bit of a queue for check in.  Why is there such a long queue?  Seems check in is still long no matter that we have pre checked in... why is that.   We then drop off our bags for scanning.  Have to say that LAX, at least the few terminals we have been, is poorly designed.  Just is not wide enough at check in for the queues and then the baggage drops.

We head to the Security line and we are disappointed that they don't acknowledge our Nexus Pre Clearance that gives us Global Security Entrance and access to that line in security.  Not sure why, it works fine in Seattle, San Francisco, Fort Lauderdale and New York recently.  ARGH so into the normal security line which took about a half hour to clear.  

Our flight isn't for another two hours so we have time and we head to Wolfgang Pucks for a meal.  Then of course I need a Starbucks, it has been a while but it goes down so well.

I decide to stop in and check out the Duty Free Shop.  Prices here are higher than on the ship but the selection is much bigger.  I decide to buy a bottle of the Hendricks Gin as the ship didn't have that brand and I am now addicted to these Bramble drinks that call for it.  The price was $44 for the bottle, and is a little cheaper than Canada.

The flight was quick, full, and crowded but on time.

We get off and head to the Nexus Line and scan our iris and we are out of there... simple!

Our bags are off and we are out the door and Bernie is off to get the car and an hour later we are at home and starting to unpack and well reality sets in.

To an amazing trip... and yes we would do it again in a heartbeat.

March 9 - Off to Los Angeles

Since we wanted to head to Los Angeles the day prior to our cruise we had to arrange for a flight after our work today.  We managed to get a flight that left at 16:25 out of Vancouver with Air Canada.  So after getting up at 3:30 am for work!  Yup I start work at 4:44 am every day but I am finished by 12:30.  

Friends picked us up and drove us to the airport (thanks Dave and Yvonne).  With only carryons we quickly cleared security and then US Customs and we had about an hour to kill prior to boarding.  Let the mini break start.

We landed on time and made our way to the shuttle pick up area at LAX.  We had reserved a shared ride with Prime Time Shuttle to our hotel in San Pedro.  Our shuttle arrived at 19:30, right on time and we shared the van with four other people.  Unfortunately with a shared ride we had to head all over and it took an hour and a half to get to our hotel after making two stops prior to ours.  Traffic wasn't bad but having to travel on non highways to make the stops slowed us down.  I laughed saying "heck this shuttle is going to take just as long as the flight here took".  I will also comment that this driver was very nice and helpful but his driving was crazy and when you are a professional driver like we are you really sit uneasy when you know you are being driven by someone taking chances.   

In the future we will not make prior reservations but will wait till we arrive and then weigh the options between Prime Time and Quick Shuttle to see who offers the best routing/fastest time.  Because we booked ahead of time we were stuck with Prime Time and their routing.

We booked our hotel - the Crowne Plaza LA Harbour at San Pedro - thru Priceline about two weeks prior for $78 for one night (Thursday night).  

When we finally arrived we were greeted by a friendly front desk person who quickly checked us in and gave us a room on the seventh floor.  

Since we hadn't really eaten anything since around 2 pm we dropped the bags and crossed the street to eat at the Green Onion - A Mexican Restaurant that really feels odd, sort of a pub atmosphere/restaurant.  We shared a combination meal and Bernie had a beer.  Although I had to return the glass I was given cause it was dirty, then the plate I was given was also dirty and had to get that replaced.  The food was okay, the taco was very good and also the enchilada too, but the Chili Rilenos was blah and mushy certainly premade and then re heat.  But the price was very reasonable.  Would I go again, probably not but it met our needs for the night.

I will add that the next morning when we had a chance to explore the area of San Pedro we came across numerous restaurants that we could of eaten at and would definitely go to the next time.

Back at the room we curl into a very comfortable bed and crash.  We both commented after waking up relatively early that we slept like a baby and found the room to be very quiet.  Other things we liked about the room was the size was good.  Loved the toiletries and have to comment on the water pressure which was amazing and a great way to start the day.  The restaurant served a very nice breakfast with great service the next morning and reasonably priced.  We would definitely stay here again.

Like I mentioned above we strolled around the area a bit on Friday and were pleasantly surprised at the lovely area we encountered.  Travelling along 6th Street we came across a street market with tables set up selling various items, fruits, vegetables, crafts, food, flowers, oils, and other things.

We stopped at Off the Vine (link to their facebook page) wine store which came highly recommended on the Cruise Critic site.  The owner assisted us by suggesting a few bottles.  Make sure you check out their page and tell them you learned about them from Vickie.

We made our way back to the hotel to grab our bags and even though the ship offers a free shuttle we both agreed with very little bags to drag we could easily walk to the ship and we did.  It was a lovely walk along the harbour to the ship, about 15 minutes.

hard to see but our hotel is the higher building on the right

Check it was very smooth and we were going up the gangway within 10 minutes but that is where the line up started.  On the Promenade deck they had a queue of about 100 waiting to board and scan your card and have your picture taken by security.  When we made it to the front of the line we noticed they only had two scanners and really felt Princess should of accessed the situation and added another scanner.  In the end it took 10 minutes to board, then another half hour lining up for security picture.

Now about boarding with wine - when we went thru the security scanner with our carry on bags which had a knapsack with two bottles in it.  The person reviewing the screen commented that there was wine and directed us to a table nearby.  We carried our bag there where we were asked to show them the bottles.  I am guessing to confirm that they were wine/champagne and not hard liquor.  They asked for our cabin number and our cruise card and they took our folio number down and that was it.  We did not sign anything and I just assumed that they had charged us the $15 corkage but was not sure.  Read more later to find out how it all played out.  

Our cabin E712 a balcony near the aft on Emerald deck was quick to get to and was ready and everything was set up, including our mini bar.  Our cabin steward Nate introduced himself and we put in our request for extra towels, two extra pillows and two more pillows (really wish Princess would change those skimpy little pillows for better/bigger ones, or at least offer a choice).

Officers are as follows:  Captain Marian Manfuso, Staff Captain Goran Favro, Hotel General Manager Richard Harry, Cruise Director Richard Joseph, Customer Services Director Paolo Rellini, Executive Chef Joel Directo, and Maitre d'Hotel Jacques Ghennai.  We are excited to see Richard Joseph - CD and Chef Joel Directo again.