Day #50…Saturday, March 21, 2015

Los Angeles, California

We arrived in Los Angeles, California early in the morning, but had to wait for immigration and customs authorities to allow us to leave the ship.  We had booked a bus transfer from the San Pedro Pier to the Los Angeles (LAX) airport for our means of transportation.

With five pieces of luggage and our shoulder tote bags in hand, we were directed through customs and immigration without any problems.  The process was so brief and easy and we both thought it would require much more than we experienced.  After looking at our completed customs form, the agent only asked us to explain our major purchases and then let us pass through.

The bus ride to the airport allowed us some time to see some of the LA area terrain.  The bus ride took approximately 45 minutes to get to the airport.  We felt sorry for our bus driver, as he had to load and unload all the passengers’ luggage by himself.  With numerous terminal stops once we arrived at the airport, our trip extended an additional 45 minutes.  Our stop was the Delta terminal #5.

In retrospect, we should have arranged for some private transportation from the pier to the airport.  The Princess transfer bus process needs much improvement before we will ever consider it again.  We noticed a number of our fellow cruise passengers getting into privately arranged services and were told that the pricing was reasonable.

Our non-stop flight took between 4-5 hours.  We have had a wonderful adventure, visited amazing places and made some new friends, but it is good to get back home.  We are excited to see family, friends and our dog, Ming and finally be “home sweet home.”