starfish54

I am looking for 2 nights stay in February sailing and both Crown Plaza and Doubletree are giving me $350+ night!

This is more expensive than cruise. I have to look for another alternative somewhere else, it really doesn't matter where we stay as long as it's somewhere we can take a cab from. The issue is we are getting there on Friday evening and we'd like to spend Saturday sightseeing.  If we decide to go to a park (which I know 1 day is nowhere near enough for weekend) then we can stay at Anaheim area, at least even if we spend $300/night, we are near the park and we don't need park for food/etc vs staying at double tree there is nothing much nearby. 

I still would like to get a car so I can pick up the family from airport on Friday evening and make it more convenient for everyone but returning the car is the problem since it's shocking there are no rental agencies near the port that's open on sundays. Unless I drive family to port, then take the car to LGB, take cab back to port.

On 12/18/2023 at 6:50 AM, lx200gps said:

There are two car rental outlets in SP, very near the port. An Enterprise outlet is physically in the Crowne Plaza hotel and a Hertz outlet is across the street from the hotel. It's important to check the operating times and dates on the agency's websites, as IIRC they are not open on certain days, particularly Sunday. We had no issues using the Hertz outlet a few years ago, also after driving down from Vegas.

Thank you but I wanted to remind everyone Hertz is closed on Sundays, unfortanately and they close very early on Saturdays. So back to square one. 😞

I was thinking of using Budget, and dropping the car a day earlier (Saturday) but most places close very early on Saturday as well and most budget places are not open on Sunday. I never realized how most places close early in California. 

I have the same question, I will be driving to Los Angeles from Vegas on Thursday night, picking up family from LAX airport on Friday so we will have Saturday to explore the town, then on Sunday I'd like to return the car to closest place near the cruise terminal then embark on Sunday.

What do other cruises recommend?  Just return the car on Saturday and take uber to terminal on Sunday? 

Update: I went back to complete the purchase. 😞 All staterooms are gone. 

4 hours ago, Aquahound said:

I recommend you go with that Anthem cruise.  The ship is amazing.  In fact, those Quantum Class ships are some of my favorites.  I wouldn't worry too much about being forward. 

We are really excited about it, is there ever any possibilities of balcony or other type of room opening up, or any insider connection maybe different sites getting different types of rooms?  It's not just being in the front but we really love the balcony rooms. Thanks for the suggestion.

What do you think about the RC's ship out of Baltimore? "Enchantment of the Seas", looks line one of their smallest ships.

Hi everyone, we are in New York and we hope to go on a cruise sometime between 3/31-4/10. We can budget up to $1500 (including airfare) per person at least Ocean View if possible, a family of 3 with a small child. I found Anthem of the Seas 4/2-4/9 Bayonne, which is perfect for us. We can drive, park there, and then drive back home on return, it saves a lot of time, but only in front of the ship (literally on bow/nose) on deck 9 and 10.  We cruised several times before but never in the front. Would we be taking a big risk, especially with a long time on the sea on our way down?

Would you suggest any other ships/departures? I think there was one from Baltimore but only Inside cabins were available.

I know we are late but we had other plans that changed. We also consider going to Europe and taking a European cruise, but can't find too many that fit this schedule, that's also another possibility. (I can understand we have to increase our budget, I would do up to $2000-$2500 for European cruises)

Thanks in advance!

Thanks, but I do have the copy of the confirmation from my last booking (2018) showing 75 days. 😞 I always went by that, they never gave me an update stating it's 120 days.

Here is a situation, we put down our deposit back in 2015 and we booked our next cruise for 2016. When we put down our deposit back then, we were told that we can use it for any cruise in the future, and if we don't go on a cruise before the expiration date, we can just rebook/extend and not cancel, in order to retain our deposit.

We went through few things so we couldn't get a chance to cruise, so we kept extending it until December 2019 sailing, so about 3 times.

Today when I called to rebook it again for a later cruise, we were told we can't keep doing this and we will lose our $250 deposit.

I asked if that's the policy or if it's supervisors decision, she said we shouldn't be rebooking this, it's not right to extend so many times, and we shouldn't have been allowed. Also she said I am past the deposit refund deadline of 120 days, while my booking confirmation clearly states 75 days.

It sounds to me like they are making their own decision and not following a policy, so I would like to hear from other NCL cruisers if they heard of anything like this, before i take it up with NCL customer relations team (not the reservations dept).

They are in process of sending me cancellation notice.

Here is a link for the Passport bus. It is a free bus that goes around to the main attractions in Long Beach, WalMart and around north Long Beach. There are many stops along the route, not just the ones that are listed. The drivers are very helpful.

 

The port stop is in the parking lot by the row of trees in front of the Queen Mary.

 

BTW - You do know this is for Carnival and not Celebrity.

Oh, boy, I don't know what's wrong with me, confusing Celebrity & Carnival. I guess I can blame that to never having cruised on anything other than NCL before, and wife asking about Celebrity several times before. This is 2nd time I did that! So sorry about that.

Thanks for the link. I might be able to utilize this on the way there, actually. I'll arrive on Sunday 8/13, arriving around noon, although I can change to arrive around 9AM.

What is the earliest they allow passengers on board Carnival ships in Los Angeles?

Going back to the cabin selection, it looks like we might save about $240 total if we let Carnival pick the staterooms for us. If we book two rooms at the same time with this method, is it possible to request them to select two rooms close to each other?

Which airport are you flying into? LAX and LGB are completely different. LGB is in Long Beach.

 

Google 'Long Beach Passport Bus'. It has stops at the Maya and Queen Mary.

 

Las Vegas is a good 5-6 hour drive from Long Beach.

Thanks, not worried about the drive to Vegas, we can take all the time we need and I prefer at night so hopefully 4 year old DS can sleep.

If I can pick up the car on 16th early morning, I can just then drive to Aquarium.

Yesterday the OP began a thread about sailing Carnival's Imagination (on the Carnival forum) on that date which sails a 3 day cruise from LB. Apparently they are confused today about it being a Celebrity cruise because Celebrity does not sail from the LA area through at least November 2016.

 

But I'm confused about why the OP has 2 threads about the same dates & on 2 different cruise lines. :confused:

 

The Carnival site says LA but it's actually from Long Beach.

I am so sorry everyone, it's Carnival, not Celebrity! :( I apologize for the confusion.

Astro, this thread was meant for rental information for the port area, and the other one was for specific carnival, in fact I also mentioned in that thread if I should start a new one for rental info in LAX/LGB area. I don't think we discussed rental info in that thread, but I know in this thread we somehow got into discussing ship.

So, I'd like to correct, it is not Celebrity (Thank the wife for nagging me "Isn't there any celebrity in august a few times), it is Carnival.

PS: I booked my rental for picking up my car on 8/16 at their 333 EAST OCEAN BOULEVARD location, hopefully it's not terribly far.

PPS: I want to start a thread on parking a vehicle in long beach area, unless you guys can help me here, 2nd family will arrive from Las Vegas in their car on 8/13, so they need to park for 3 nights in port area.

Last off is around 10am. The CD usually begs the last 50 of us to get off the ship. :D.

 

Check out the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. They'll hold your luggage and you can take the free Long Beach Passport bus to it. ( get the number of a taxi at port) The bus stop is in the parking lot, under the trees. Many of the crew take this. Your son would love the touching pools. You can see it all in less than four hours.

Thank you so much!

I am changing my schedule, I'll plan now on flying directly to LGB/LAX then take 8/13 sailing instead of 8/20, spend 8/16 in LAX/LGB area (suggestions/sightseeing is welcome! I will have a rental on 8/16) then drive to Las Vegas 8/16 evening/night, and fly back to NY on 8/21.

What do you think? So we can spend 8/16 (Sunday) in LAX area, if the aquarium is open. You said number of a taxi at port, but what is LGB Passport? Is it something I can take from port?

Aquarium of the Pacific is absolutely a great suggestion by SadieN. I'm not sure when they are open, but is very worthwhile. I think AAA and others have discounts to it.

I have AAA, thank you so much.

Does Celebrity have AAA discount as well?

There must be a problem with their website because I recently viewed the October 2015 schedule. :confused:

Could it be another terminal? It has nothing on August.

Aug 20-23

Thank you so much for all the info!

SadieN, I won't do Enterprise, they are very expensive. I was trying to figure out what to do in Los Angeles after arriving at 7AM. Last time NCL allowed us to stay on board until high noon, but I heard Celebrity may not allow that, is this correct? What's the latest we can disembark? I guess with later disembark, chances of getting on board shared shuttle will be less.

My flight will most likely be 4PM ex LAX.

Thanks for the tip on Deck 6!

I found this on the Princess website: http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/pre_cruise/travel.jsp#Port-Driving_Directions

 

FROM/TO LAX Airport / San Pedro Pier DISTANCE & TIME 18 Miles - - 35-50 minutes TAXI FARE* $35 - $40

Wow,

Thank you! That's big savings. Does Celebrity use San Pedro too?

Celebrity wants $30/pp for LAX and $22/pp for LGB, regardless of age.

Thanks! Checking with them now.

How much is the taxi cost expected to/from Los Angeles cruise terminal to LAX or LGB airports? I just thought $90 for family of 3, one way shuttle to be pretty pricey.

According to Budget, the closest counter is 5 miles away with no easy access from port, what do fellow cruiser do when they rent a car and have to drop it off (or pick it up) when arriving or embarking from Los Angeles pier?

We just learned Budget doesn't have rental counter anywhere close to the port, this is a problem because we are using Budget to pick up in Las Vegas and drop it in LAX/LGB (if we do vegas before cruise), or pick up at LAX/LGB and return in Vegas after cruise.

I read in some posts that only Enterprise has counters close by and possibly shuttle. Is this correct? Should I start a new thread asking for car rental shuttle from Los Angeles cruise terminal? This is a huge inconvenience because we will already be paying $30/person for shuttle from (or to) airport.

Be careful on Deck 7, cabins around 150 through 170 can have noise problems from the galley. We learned this the hard way on the Imagination, 15 days from Port Canaveral to LA, every other night they woke us up with crashing and banging coming from above and we had to call guest services and complain.

Thanks! I figured Deck 6 or even Deck 5 would be our best bet (other than the suggestions made in earlier posts).

Summer cruises are always higher.

This weekend is the last hurrah! for many as many schools start the next week.

Go to carnival.com for availability. It shows cabins in groups of 10. Any less and you know it's selling fast.

Thanks for the info, I'll check it ASAP. I was thinking about waiting until Aug 1st week then decide but that's way too close especially since there are no other options (just one more boat that week, that's all).

It's just I can't make up my mind because the other option was to stay somewhere in California for the vacation instead of cruise, but turns out Cali is not as beach friendly in terms of resorts as I thought. I figured it would be like SoBe but it's not. :confused:

I checked the rooms, not much left (or not listed) and on the inside cabins only 4,5,6 is left. I assume Deck 5 should be OK, anything I should be aware of? It seems like 5 and 6 are the ones covered by rooms on above and below.

I can't find anything on upper decks, nothing inside or even ocean view.

Thank you all.

Hopefully we are not too late to get the good cabins. Does August cruises sell out fast? Is there a way to check how much has been sold so far so we can know if we should wait or not. I just find near $400 per person to be on the higher side for 3 night cruise, but there is nothing else in August from west coast, so we have no other choice.

The deck plans on carnival.com are very good. Scroll and click to see what is in each cabin.

 

Note--- only suites have fridges and hair dryers in this class. Bring your own hair products.

We prefer low and aft. Others will chime in on other locations.

 

Verandah should be deck 11.

Deck 11 has only 8 inside cabins! I doubt they are still available, but I will ask. On NCL I actually didn't want to choose higher decks because on decks like 11 (with foot traffic on above and below) people used to use these hallways to go from one end to other and use the exists at the forward or back of the ship. Does 11 also have doors leading outside at the forward end?

Decks 5, 6, and 7 seems to exclusively for cabins, would that make deck 6 the quietest with nothing happening above or below it?

[ATTACH]353747[/ATTACH]3 beds separated. Cot under the dresser

 

I still cruise for Warm Chocolate Melting Cake (with 2 sugar-free vanilla ice-creams)

That's a great picture, is that inside cabin? Looks OK for 3 night cruise, although I'd prefer 2 + 1 combination, this would be great for 3 kids in next cabin.

We've done many triples on the Fantasy class ships out of Long Beach.

 

Most triples are two twins (pushed together for a large bed) and a bunk bed.

If you do not want your son in an upper, you can ask for a rollaway or trundle. Book this way over the phone. The rollaway is what you'd have at home. A trundle will store under the bed during the day. All are comfortable.

You'll have more 'room' in the cabin if the lower beds are split, one under the window and the other along the wall. (The insides have a faux window).

 

Stay away from the bunk bed (1A) only cabins don't even know if they'll hold three. Ocean View and Inside cabins are identical. The aft facing ones are slightly deeper.

 

FWIW--- the redone bathroom vanity is horrible. They are much better on other Carnival ships.

 

For cabin location....

Stay clear of cabins near the center stairwell. The Casino bar smoking area is at the top and the smoke travels down this shaft.

 

****

This class was designed before everyone had to have a balcony. Some of the 8 have added on balconies, otherwise only suites have them.

Thanks for the info, I think two twins will be just fine, looking at the ship plan, it's hard to tell, but based on the pictures and details, Port Hole rooms are about same price as inside ones and they seem to have two beds separated, but while they list "some up to 4" for inside cabins, port hole has only "up to 2".

Is 4E recommended?

Thanks for the info on Balcony.

Really like the inside's on the Verandah deck. Close to everything. Not very many so need to book early.

Thanks, which one is Verandah deck?

Here it doesn't mention anything about Verandah.

http://cruise.expedia.com/Ship5.aspx?item=937099&tab=2

We are a family of 3, my son is 4 years old.

We are planning Aug 20th LAX 3 night cruise on Imagination and I noticed some of their cabins are pretty small and has half-bunk style beds.

Are there actually any inside cabins with King beds (for 3 of us to sleep in same bed) or 2 bed (2 full or twin) options?

What type of cabin would you choose in order to fit comfortably? Since it is a short trip, I prefer not to spend too much for balcony or suite. (I don't even see any cabins with balcony)

Thanks in advance.

PS: We cruised with NCL in the past, this would be our first time on Carnival, are there any suggestions?