Los Angeles World Cruise Center

San Diego has the best port IMHO, but unfortunately RCI and Carnival don’t really sail out of there anymore. San Pedro is next closest. We’ve never had issues before but on this last cruise, 1000 passengers (including us) were stuck on our ship over 3+ hours because of delays. Not sure if Princess dropped the ball with something (see my 1 star review) or if something to do w/​customs but normally we are off cruises by 10:30 (we like to let crowd go first and be at the end). Our group not let off til 1:45pm. Several on board canceled excursions, transportation etc. I had to cancel 2 appts. that night.
Once off ship, another 30+ min wait in 2 long merging lines. Inefficient. Just have 2 separate ones.
Customs people were nice, but damn it was the LONGEST to get off any cruise in all our years of cruising. Had I been stranded on RCI or Carnival, I wouldn’t have cared. But to be stranded on a ship without working toilets, ugh! Like I said, see my Princess reviews under my «Travel Adventures» list.
Took us 3 hours to get back down to San Diego. Traffic from hell. Paid $ 7.48 for the 73 toll freeway that had traffic anyway. A lonnnnnng a$$ day! I miss sailing from San Diego.

After having taken several cruises (most of which left from San Pedro) I can tell you that this is SO MUCH BETTER than an airport. We were in the terminal and onto the ship in less than an hour including metal detectors and embarkation photos.
If you download and attach your luggage tags to your luggage, all you have to do is give it to the porters on the curbside drop off and the bags will be in your stateroom by the time you get on the ship. Carry-​on luggage will be inspected, but they have plenty of lines and move really fast. Check-​in goes pretty quick too.
I have never been hassled at the terminal in San Pedro, and the cruise line folks are there helping you along every step of the way. They are CUSTOMER ORIENTED and make the government regulations and searches much more palatable.
Once they process you in, you can hang out on the ship while you wait for all the other passengers to embark.
This terminal moves you through pretty much drama free and you don’t wait long to get on the ship. These guys are expert in their job and keep leaving me wondering why airlines can’t do this good a job.

Signs are fairly easy to read, there are tons of parking spaces (although the prices seem a bit exorbitant), and the drop off area is easy to navigate. They may want to consider having more options for exiting, as we had a pretty long line of cars waiting to pay too much money to leave.
It’s really one of the only options if you go on a cruise, so there’s not much that they’ll likely be motivated to change.

VERDICT: Very well organized layout for easy pick-​up/​drop-​off. Corporate ticketing desks and even gov’t security check points were well placed, versed, and numbered to make boarding very efficient with short wait times.
QUALIFIER: The actual line boarding the ship was slow because there was only one way to get onto the boat, while cruise officials recorded picture ID on the cruise cards.
LOCATION: There is only one way you can get into the the place, so don’t miss that freeway exit! When navigating around the lot, this place is laid out like most international airports with the parking entry at the inside lanes, so follow the outside lanes to get all the way around to passenger loading.
SERVICE: The US Customs forms were already there for us to fill out, so it was fast. The cruise porters were also super friendly.

Easy, fast check in service and procedures. Great location if you are a CA resident or for me AZ resident. Now returning to this port… the luggage procedure was a joke. To have priority disembarkation and be Group A… The whole point is to get off the ship and beat the crowds of peoole, grab your luggage and be on your way. Nope took over two hours for us to be able to retreive our luggage and the ship wasn’t even half full. No one could explain why it took so long and put us behind two hours on our drive home to AZ. Not sure i will be uaing this port again!

Summer events from battle ship tour to the big YELLOW Rubber duck Tall ship event. Entrances to the attractions at this location. There restroom inside and parking range from 1 $ an hour to 8 $ daily.

Leaving Los Angeles for a cruise? How about visiting a retired U.S. Navy ship? Yeah, Los Angeles can be stressful, but why travel the world when you can just board a boat close to home and sail out. Welcome to Los Angeles World Cruise Center in San Pedro.
I was invited for U.S. Navy Days to visit an active U.S. Navy vessel. My visit is not to be confused with the U.S.S. Iowa. My visit was to missile guided destroyer called the U.S.S. Spruance. After seeing all the 18 wheelers at the end of the 110 Freeway, it won’t be hard to find the Los Angeles World Cruise Center. Its not too far from San Pedro Fish Market & Restaurant and Crusty Crab.
Parking is $ 12 a day, but if you are visiting on an hourly basis, its just $ 1 per hour for the first 10 hours, then after that you’ll be charged $ 12. Very cool parking rate! There is plenty of parking. If Los Angeles World Cruise Center gets very busy, I wouldn’t be surprised if there will be a huge parking structure for travelers. I haven’t taken a cruise out of here yet, but I plan to soon after my brief visit. I believe the common trip would be to Ensenada, Mexico and this would be the main entry/​exit to head out.
As I mentioned, I was here for Navy Days 2014. Even before entering the Terminal, the whole place reminded me of an empty airport. Almost like living the Langoliers Movie. Of course, I was entering a boat, not an airplane. Through this terminal, you’ll find Berth 91 – 93. Security will be very tight like the airport. No joking around here… especially when you are entering an active U.S. Boat with live missiles on board.
Whatever your reason is to visit the Los Angeles World Cruise Center, have fun to wherever you are going. I don’t care how many days or how long, but just GET OUT! You thought Los Angeles was all about our cars and planes. Well, we do have a port that provides billions of dollars to the U.S. economy. Yup, you wouldn’t get your phone with Los Angeles: P
You think I write too much? Well, you can call me a Unilocal-​O-​Holic!

This is the Los Angeles port if you are taking a cruise out. By mistake I know the LA port is in long beach and end up typing in long beach port that lead me to no where. And finally realized this is the Los Angeles port. it is fairly easy to find if you see the world cruise center sign.
Hugh parking lot and a drop off access that leads to the immediate front of the walk off, so great for last minute comers like me.
Parking is $ 12 per day. And it is right next to the USS ship.

in and out, fast and easy.
they get 3000 people through here very quickly to board a cruise ship. They do it with ease, polite, helpful and no line last forever… nice job.

Only been through once but what it lacked in beauty and amenities it made up for in efficiency. Went through on Princess and the place got us on fast. Don’t expect a lot from the neighborhood in the way of charm — it’s a working port. Although the USS Iowa is next door and you can take the kids if you need to kill some time. A few decent restaurants within walking distance (a real walk, not across the street). No luggage lockers was a downer.

This port run really efficiently!
We came in a bit on the later time but we were able to by pass any traffic and get through the whole check in process and with a quickness.
I wondered to myself if they were working with princess because everyone was so smiley and nice!

It is what it is. And what it is is efficient. You may feel a little like cattle, but this process gets you in the right line, waiting at the right times, and then processed to get aboard the right ship.
Have a great cruise!

I’m going on a seven days cruise to Mexico.
Easy and fast check-​in, friendly services.
There isn’t anything special, just a place to check in.

This is the San Pedro cruise terminal.
This has been my fourth time boarding a cruise ship at this terminal.
The passenger drop off was quick and easy. You can drop off your baggage with a porter or take it directly to the x-​ray yourself.
For those who self drive and park here, the parking charge is about $ 12.95 per day.
Once inside the terminal, you are required to fill out a short health form. Then you are directed to a check-​in counter based on your stateroom floor.
It’s always been an easy boarding process at the Los Angeles World Cruise Center.