Jump to content

Breakdown of cruise from Los Angeles


appletinine
 Share

Recommended Posts

Please excuse my midwestern ignorance. I have A cruise out of Los Angeles and I have been looking for hotels and ways to get from the airport around to the hotels and stuff.

 

Can someone please break down to me is there a difference between Los Angeles and Long Beach what is San Pedro or where it is and if I am cruising from Los Angeles where do I look for a hotel.

 

I just don't even know where to start to find my details.

 

Thank you in advance for your help, guidance and direction!!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like your sailing the Mexican Riviera on NCL? They sail out of San Pedro.

 

When are you arriving? What do you want to see beforehand? Los Angeles has everything. Not exactly yoursituation, but this thread has some things to consider

One day in LA area with teens....ideas??

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2473971

 

Be careful of cheap hotels in the LA area. Read reviews carefully. Lots of suggestions on this board and the California Coastal board. Use 'Pedro' in your search. Seems like half of our cities are San somethingorother, lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am sailing Norwegian. It just me sailing. I was going to find stuff to do when I figured where I was going to be.

 

Thank you for the link.

 

Are there two different ports? Los Angeles and Long Beach? Or three with San Pedro? Are they close enough to stay wherever?

 

I promise I really am smart enough to travel alone.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two cruise ship ports. San Pedro is Los Angeles- they are one and the same. Long Beach is a fairly short distance away- maybe a couple of air miles.

 

If you look at Google maps, you can see the World Cruise Center, near the USS Iowa, and the Long Beach port, where the QM is docked, as well as a Carnival ship.

 

A little reading on this board would give you hotel and transport suggestions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach is the third busiest port in the world...and it is a very large harbor in terms of size. The port's location spreads across two cities--Los Angeles and the neighboring City of Long Beach. The parts of the port that are located within the Los Angeles city limits are in two neighborhoods of Los Angeles which were, historically, both separately incorporated cities-- San Pedro and Wilmington--which were absorbed into Los Angeles over 100 years ago now. San Pedro is at the Western side of the harbor, Long Beach is at the Eastern side of the Harbor. There are TWO separate cruise terminal facilities...one in Long Beach which is used virtually exclusively by Carnival (on rare occasions it is used by ships of other Carnival-owned lines such as Princess or Cunard)--it has space for the docking of only one ship at a time...the other, called the "World Cruise Center" is located in San Pedro and has room to fit, on typical days, two cruise ships--but also has a couple of alternate berths to accommodate more if a busy day in port. So, most non-Carnival cruises--Princess, NCL, Hal, Oceania, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and others, when docking in Los Angeles, use this facility. The two terminals are about 6-8 miles apart, depending on route and require crossing over the Vincent Thomas Bridge and Terminal Island--which span across the harbor mouth.

 

Since you are on NCL, your ship will sail in and/or out of San Pedro. The World Cruise Center, San Pedro, is located approximately 20 miles from LAX, depending on which airline you arrive on. There are a few alternate airports to fly into, but LAX has the most flights to and from the most cities at the most times...but some people like to fly into the much smaller Long Beach Airport (LGB) which is approximately 16 miles from the World Cruise Center--but has far fewer flights and times and fewer transportation choices. John Wayne (Orange County) airport and Burbank Airport are both around 33-37 miles from the port, usually a more expensive ride, but, again, smaller than LAX and are a choice for those spending pre- or post-cruise stays at Disneyland/the "OC" or in the Hollywood/Universal area respectively.

 

If you are only doing a short stay--say the night before the cruise--best place to stay in terms of convenience is San Pedro. There are two hotels that I would most highly recommend in San Pedro--the Crowne Plaza and the Doubletree. The Crowne Plaza is in Downtown San Pedro, close to a large number of restaurant choices and even a reasonable walk of about 3/4 of a mile to the Cruise Terminal...and near most of San Pedro's attractions--like the USS Iowa tours and the Maritime Museum. The Doubletree is in a serene setting on a yacht harbor down channel from the cruise terminal and a little less convenient to most restaurants--but the hotel will shuttle you to restaurants and to the cruise terminal.

 

There are a few other hotels in San Pedro which I don't particularly like, but some do. Next in line would be the Best Western on Gaffey--it is more of a motel and has a less attractive location on a busy commercial street, a moderate distance from port with only a few fast food places nearby. It really goes downhill from there.

 

Getting from LAX (or any of the airports) to San Pedro usually entails one of the following methods: 1) Shared shuttle (Try Super Shuttle or PrimeTime Shuttle--typically $17 per person), 2) A private car service (Super Shuttle's Execucar Express usually makes a lot of sense--especially if there are 3 or 4 of you)--more efficient time-wise than the shared shuttle, 3) Uber, 4) taxi (I don't recommend taxis here as fares tend to be high and unpredictable).

 

There are several very nice hotels across the harbor in Long Beach (My A list--the Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Centric at the Pike, Renaissance and Westin)...with lots of well-known chain restaurants nearby and attractions such as the Queen Mary and the Aquarium of the Pacific...But staying there also means needing additional transportation to get to the World Cruise Center the morning of your cruise--typically an Uber or a costly taxi. Still, some prefer to stay there even if cruising from San Pedro--usually if one has a little more time to kill in the harbor area.

 

If you are spending multiple nights pre- or post-cruise here, it may be more attractive to stay in another area of town. My top recommendation is Santa Monica, but depending on what you want to do, the Universal City/Hollywood Area, Anaheim/Disney or some beach areas such as Marina Del Rey/Venice or Manhattan/Redondo may be a good choice. Also important in making a location choice is an idea as to how you plan to get around--some locations may require you to need to rent a car. If you only have the one night, chances are you will have no time to visit any of the typical tourist sites of LA...The Port is located about 20 miles SOUTH of LAX, while the major tourist sites are mostly 10-20 miles NORTH and NORTHEAST. 30 mile round trips in LA traffic typically take a lot longer than you might think, making it difficult to stay in the Harbor area for a short time and spend any time touring out of that area.

 

Hope that helps as a start...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You sir, are a rockstar this is the perfect info. Thank SO SO much for taking the time to share this information.

 

Agree, most helpful and well thought out post ever! Should be a sticky. I'm a native Californian and appreciated that thorough explanation laid out in one post!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Definitely Steve's post is very helpful as is Sadie's advice not to just stay anywhere (if it's a low rate, there's often a reason: it's a dump and/or in a dicey area). The San Pedro Doubletree and Crowne Plaza hotels are the most recommended and have free or inexpensive shuttles to the port the day of your cruise. If you stay in Long Beach, you would need to tell your driver to take you to the Port of LA in San Pedro so that you're not dropped off at the Carnival port in Long Beach.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...
The Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach is the third busiest port in the world...and it is a very large harbor in terms of size. The port's location spreads across two cities--Los Angeles and the neighboring City of Long Beach. The parts of the port that are located within the Los Angeles city limits are in two neighborhoods of Los Angeles which were, historically, both separately incorporated cities-- San Pedro and Wilmington--which were absorbed into Los Angeles over 100 years ago now. San Pedro is at the Western side of the harbor, Long Beach is at the Eastern side of the Harbor. There are TWO separate cruise terminal facilities...one in Long Beach which is used virtually exclusively by Carnival (on rare occasions it is used by ships of other Carnival-owned lines such as Princess or Cunard)--it has space for the docking of only one ship at a time...the other, called the "World Cruise Center" is located in San Pedro and has room to fit, on typical days, two cruise ships--but also has a couple of alternate berths to accommodate more if a busy day in port. So, most non-Carnival cruises--Princess, NCL, Hal, Oceania, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and others, when docking in Los Angeles, use this facility. The two terminals are about 6-8 miles apart, depending on route and require crossing over the Vincent Thomas Bridge and Terminal Island--which span across the harbor mouth.

 

Since you are on NCL, your ship will sail in and/or out of San Pedro. The World Cruise Center, San Pedro, is located approximately 20 miles from LAX, depending on which airline you arrive on. There are a few alternate airports to fly into, but LAX has the most flights to and from the most cities at the most times...but some people like to fly into the much smaller Long Beach Airport (LGB) which is approximately 16 miles from the World Cruise Center--but has far fewer flights and times and fewer transportation choices. John Wayne (Orange County) airport and Burbank Airport are both around 33-37 miles from the port, usually a more expensive ride, but, again, smaller than LAX and are a choice for those spending pre- or post-cruise stays at Disneyland/the "OC" or in the Hollywood/Universal area respectively.

 

If you are only doing a short stay--say the night before the cruise--best place to stay in terms of convenience is San Pedro. There are two hotels that I would most highly recommend in San Pedro--the Crowne Plaza and the Doubletree. The Crowne Plaza is in Downtown San Pedro, close to a large number of restaurant choices and even a reasonable walk of about 3/4 of a mile to the Cruise Terminal...and near most of San Pedro's attractions--like the USS Iowa tours and the Maritime Museum. The Doubletree is in a serene setting on a yacht harbor down channel from the cruise terminal and a little less convenient to most restaurants--but the hotel will shuttle you to restaurants and to the cruise terminal.

 

There are a few other hotels in San Pedro which I don't particularly like, but some do. Next in line would be the Best Western on Gaffey--it is more of a motel and has a less attractive location on a busy commercial street, a moderate distance from port with only a few fast food places nearby. It really goes downhill from there.

 

Getting from LAX (or any of the airports) to San Pedro usually entails one of the following methods: 1) Shared shuttle (Try Super Shuttle or PrimeTime Shuttle--typically $17 per person), 2) A private car service (Super Shuttle's Execucar Express usually makes a lot of sense--especially if there are 3 or 4 of you)--more efficient time-wise than the shared shuttle, 3) Uber, 4) taxi (I don't recommend taxis here as fares tend to be high and unpredictable).

 

There are several very nice hotels across the harbor in Long Beach (My A list--the Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Centric at the Pike, Renaissance and Westin)...with lots of well-known chain restaurants nearby and attractions such as the Queen Mary and the Aquarium of the Pacific...But staying there also means needing additional transportation to get to the World Cruise Center the morning of your cruise--typically an Uber or a costly taxi. Still, some prefer to stay there even if cruising from San Pedro--usually if one has a little more time to kill in the harbor area.

 

If you are spending multiple nights pre- or post-cruise here, it may be more attractive to stay in another area of town. My top recommendation is Santa Monica, but depending on what you want to do, the Universal City/Hollywood Area, Anaheim/Disney or some beach areas such as Marina Del Rey/Venice or Manhattan/Redondo may be a good choice. Also important in making a location choice is an idea as to how you plan to get around--some locations may require you to need to rent a car. If you only have the one night, chances are you will have no time to visit any of the typical tourist sites of LA...The Port is located about 20 miles SOUTH of LAX, while the major tourist sites are mostly 10-20 miles NORTH and NORTHEAST. 30 mile round trips in LA traffic typically take a lot longer than you might think, making it difficult to stay in the Harbor area for a short time and spend any time touring out of that area.

 

Hope that helps as a start...

 

 

 

Wow !

That is the best description of the various cruise ports for the Los Angeles area.

Thanks

 

—Don

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...