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Princess tour in Long Beach


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I'm looking for some previous cruisers that have taken this tour. LGB 120 - Orange County Long Beach tour that includes a tour of the mission, lunch at las Brisas, views of Laguna Beach, stop at Cliff Drive, and a visit to the surf museum. The cost is $159.95. I'm just wondering if it's worth the price. Any info would greatly be appreciated.

 

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Hi. I have not taken this tour, but I figured since you've been waiting more than a week for an answer, you'll probably take anything you can get.

 

I grew up in SoCal and have a coastal cruise scheduled myself, so those are my only qualifications.

 

It sounds like a lot of money to me. Of course, all ship tours are on the high side and it is a long one that includes lunch.

 

Pros: If you've never been to Southern California, it would be a great way to see some of the coast line. Laguna is beautiful, Huntington is interesting. The mission area is pretty. I'm assuming you'd take 101 and not the freeway and therefore see a lot of water.

 

Cons: Besides the cost, that's a looooong time in a bus. They can call it an air-conditioned motor coach if they want, but after two or three hours, it feels a lot like a bus. Traffic crawls through those coastal communities on a good day. On a bad day, it just stops.

 

Bottom line, if you've never been to SoCal or never explored it, this may be a good tour. If you wanted something cheaper, the one to the Chinese Theater and Olvera Street sounds interesting for less than half the money.

 

Jim

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Jim...... Thanks for the reply. You confirmed what we decided to do. We didn't go with the Laguna tour...... We went with the Chinese Theater. We decided to do that before you posted, so it was good to see that you recommended that. Thanks again.

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I'm glad you posted the question: was also debating excursions. Torn between doing that 1/2 day LA tour or just staying in LB. I wish we could do the Sunseeker tour - they offer a full day in LA for about the same price as the ship's 1/2 day that sounds like it hits many more interesting places, but they get back "4:30-5pm" which makes me a bit nervous - one bad LA traffic jam and bye bye ship! We're leaning towards skipping Los Angeles and just staying in LB. Thanks for posting the question!

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We also thought about sunseeker tours but decided against it because of the tight time

 

When is your sailing? Would love to hear what you thought of tour...I can't find many reviews on it. Seems like it's mainly riding around with 3 stops. Doesn't seem to cover some of the things that were most appealing to me from the SunSeeker itinerary, but hoping it's better than it sounds. :)

Edited by Flafun888
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When is your sailing? Would love to hear what you thought of tour...I can't find many reviews on it. Seems like it's mainly riding around with 3 stops. Doesn't seem to cover some of the things that were most appealing to me from the SunSeeker itinerary, but hoping it's better than it sounds. :)

 

 

Long Beach isn't near any of the LA tourist spots. The tourist spots aren't right next to each other. Add in LA traffic, time of day, day of week, construction, sweeper trains and accidents and you'll be lucky to see three and get back to Long Beach.

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Long Beach isn't near any of the LA tourist spots. The tourist spots aren't right next to each other. Add in LA traffic, time of day, day of week, construction, sweeper trains and accidents and you'll be lucky to see three and get back to Long Beach.

 

Thanks for chiming in. You made me glad I didn't book full day sunseeker tour. Sounds like LA excursions need to end with lots of extra time to spare, given the likelihood of running late. Guess we'll find our fun in Long Beach instead.

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Thanks for chiming in. You made me glad I didn't book full day sunseeker tour. Sounds like LA excursions need to end with lots of extra time to spare, given the likelihood of running late. Guess we'll find our fun in Long Beach instead.

 

 

Long Beach has lots to do for the day.

 

The Queen Mary is right next door. Several tours are available along with a submarine.

 

The Aquarium of the Pacific is lots of fun. Easy to get to. The free Passport bus drops off right there. Along the route are also many restaurants and a Walmart.

The bus stop at the Queen Mary is in the parking lot, under the trees. When exiting the Dome, go to the right going past the shops, head for the trees. This stop is where the drivers take a break so there's almost always a (red) bus there.

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Thanks,SadieN...will definitely keep your tips re: bus and things to do in my CA vacation file for the upcoming trip! Seems like a really nice place to spend the day. We'll definitely stop by the Queen Mary in morning - right next door is just too convenient! Also read on the boards somewhere that if you show your sea pass card, you can walk around? We'll probably skip the paid tour though. Then it's a toss up between aquarium or 3 hr segway tour. Kinda like the idea of being outside and seeing LB sights. Never rode one before, so we'll see how brave I'm feeling.:D

 

Looking fwd to seeing the area no matter what we do. Thanks again.

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Hi. I have not taken this tour, but I figured since you've been waiting more than a week for an answer, you'll probably take anything you can get.

 

I grew up in SoCal and have a coastal cruise scheduled myself, so those are my only qualifications.

 

It sounds like a lot of money to me. Of course, all ship tours are on the high side and it is a long one that includes lunch.

 

Pros: If you've never been to Southern California, it would be a great way to see some of the coast line. Laguna is beautiful, Huntington is interesting. The mission area is pretty. I'm assuming you'd take 101 and not the freeway and therefore see a lot of water.

 

Cons: Besides the cost, that's a looooong time in a bus. They can call it an air-conditioned motor coach if they want, but after two or three hours, it feels a lot like a bus. Traffic crawls through those coastal communities on a good day. On a bad day, it just stops.

 

Bottom line, if you've never been to SoCal or never explored it, this may be a good tour. If you wanted something cheaper, the one to the Chinese Theater and Olvera Street sounds interesting for less than half the money.

 

Jim

 

The 101 isn't anywhere near Orange County. It's about 45 minutes north of long beach and you won't see water until you get to Ventura, almost 2 hours away.

Edited by YubaSutter
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The 101 isn't anywhere near Orange County. It's about 45 minutes north of long beach and you won't see water until you get to Ventura, almost 2 hours away.

 

 

Probably a mis-type and meant the 1 or 5.

 

The 101 ends in downtown.

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  • 1 year later...
Long Beach has lots to do for the day.

 

The Queen Mary is right next door. Several tours are available along with a submarine.

 

 

We have some people with knee problems in our group. Here's what Google shows as directions to get from the cruise terminal to the Queen Mary:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Long+Beach+Cruise+Terminal,+231+Windsor+Way,+Long+Beach,+CA+90802/The+Queen+Mary,+1126+Queens+Hwy,+Long+Beach,+CA+90802/@33.7518094,-118.1924985,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dd30d91e0d9225:0xd1aaa9af28e70669!2m2!1d-118.188752!2d33.7513521!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dd30d89c406b95:0x55db333697f8fe34!2m2!1d-118.1903235!2d33.7526356!3e2?hl=en-US

 

Is there a short cut from the Long Beach cruise terminal to the Queen Mary? Can we come out of the cruise terminal, turn right at the first walkway, and cut through the lot? See the attached screen shot of the walkway I'm talking about. It seems that we can cut across there. What do you think?

 

By the way, someone suggested taking a taxi. Do you know where would you pick up the taxi?

Thanks!

1752156319_WalkwaynexttoCruiseTerminal.jpg.8b7ac96bf68d405f723167895537165f.jpg

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We have some people with knee problems in our group. Here's what Google shows as directions to get from the cruise terminal to the Queen Mary:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Long+Beach+Cruise+Terminal,+231+Windsor+Way,+Long+Beach,+CA+90802/The+Queen+Mary,+1126+Queens+Hwy,+Long+Beach,+CA+90802/@33.7518094,-118.1924985,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dd30d91e0d9225:0xd1aaa9af28e70669!2m2!1d-118.188752!2d33.7513521!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dd30d89c406b95:0x55db333697f8fe34!2m2!1d-118.1903235!2d33.7526356!3e2?hl=en-US

 

Is there a short cut from the Long Beach cruise terminal to the Queen Mary? Can we come out of the cruise terminal, turn right at the first walkway, and cut through the lot? See the attached screen shot of the walkway I'm talking about. It seems that we can cut across there. What do you think?

 

By the way, someone suggested taking a taxi. Do you know where would you pick up the taxi?

Thanks!

 

Probably. But, I'm not sure.

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We have some people with knee problems in our group. Here's what Google shows as directions to get from the cruise terminal to the Queen Mary:

 

 

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Long+Beach+Cruise+Terminal,+231+Windsor+Way,+Long+Beach,+CA+90802/The+Queen+Mary,+1126+Queens+Hwy,+Long+Beach,+CA+90802/@33.7518094,-118.1924985,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dd30d91e0d9225:0xd1aaa9af28e70669!2m2!1d-118.188752!2d33.7513521!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dd30d89c406b95:0x55db333697f8fe34!2m2!1d-118.1903235!2d33.7526356!3e2?hl=en-US

 

 

 

Is there a short cut from the Long Beach cruise terminal to the Queen Mary? Can we come out of the cruise terminal, turn right at the first walkway, and cut through the lot? See the attached screen shot of the walkway I'm talking about. It seems that we can cut across there. What do you think?

 

 

 

By the way, someone suggested taking a taxi. Do you know where would you pick up the taxi?

 

Thanks!

 

 

They're a 5 minute walk apart from each other. Go right as you exit the Dome. Go thru the little seaport village area. Sometimes the far gate is closed. You can walk in the bus lane if need be. The QM will be on your left. (Seems that your Google directions are for driving not walking ;))

Taxis are located to the left as you exit the Dome.

 

****

New info

The Walmart along the Passport route has closed.

Edited by SadieN
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Probably a mis-type and meant the 1 or 5.

 

The 101 ends in downtown.

 

I thought the same thing...

 

The tour could do PCH (aka "Coast Highway" aka highway 1) from Long Beach down through, Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, stop at Huntington Beach (the Surf Museum), through Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Newport Coast to Laguna Beach (quick stop at Cliff Drive overlook and lunch at Las Brisas), through Dana Point to San Juan Capistrano (the Mission) and then hop on 5 North to the 405 North (aka Santa Ana and San Diego Freeways) and off to the port. Or do it in reverse. It still makes for a long day. Plus, the traffic now on PCH is hellacious and slow from Long Beach down to Newport Coast. Just driving via the freeways from Long Beach to SJC is listed as 45 minutes on Maps. I'd triple that for PCH...

 

I grew up in NB. The area used to really nice. But, now it's been overrun by The Real Housewives. Beach bungalows are being bought and torn down for McMansions. The green hills from Corona del Mar down to Laguna are mostly gone, overrun with the megaMansions on the Newport Coast... Huntingdon Beach used to be a cool surf town, now it looks like a mini Times Square with all the tourist junk... Laguna is a little more rebellious (always has been) and still retains some of its beach town vibe. As always, IMHO.

Edited by slidergirl
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  • 1 year later...
I thought the same thing...

 

The tour could do PCH (aka "Coast Highway" aka highway 1) from Long Beach down through, Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, stop at Huntington Beach (the Surf Museum), through Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Newport Coast to Laguna Beach (quick stop at Cliff Drive overlook and lunch at Las Brisas), through Dana Point to San Juan Capistrano (the Mission) and then hop on 5 North to the 405 North (aka Santa Ana and San Diego Freeways) and off to the port. Or do it in reverse. It still makes for a long day. Plus, the traffic now on PCH is hellacious and slow from Long Beach down to Newport Coast. Just driving via the freeways from Long Beach to SJC is listed as 45 minutes on Maps. I'd triple that for PCH...

 

I grew up in NB. The area used to really nice. But, now it's been overrun by The Real Housewives. Beach bungalows are being bought and torn down for McMansions. The green hills from Corona del Mar down to Laguna are mostly gone, overrun with the megaMansions on the Newport Coast... Huntingdon Beach used to be a cool surf town, now it looks like a mini Times Square with all the tourist junk... Laguna is a little more rebellious (always has been) and still retains some of its beach town vibe. As always, IMHO.

 

 

 

[emoji26]

 

 

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