Long Beach to Hollywood on sailing day - is it feasible?

[Liz]

I'm sailing on Mariner OTS on Sunday, 10/25. I'm arriving at LAX on Saturday afternoon (10/24) and am staying in Long Beach that night. After the cruise I have to get back home and go to work (gotta pay for my next cruise...) so no overnight in LA. I'm not renting a car.

Is it feasible to wake up early on Sunday (I'm an early riser anyway, and will have a three hour time difference on my side) and use public transportation to go to Hollywood, see the Walk of Fame and a few highlights, and get back to Long Beach in time to board the ship by early afternoon? I know there are posts about tours - but I'm looking for the truly condensed on-my-own version. Which metro station(s) are recommended for the best use of time?

Any help is really appreciated- thank you!

 

Liz

[Cruisin' Chick]

I'm sailing on Mariner OTS on Sunday, 10/25. I'm arriving at LAX on Saturday afternoon (10/24) and am staying in Long Beach that night. After the cruise I have to get back home and go to work (gotta pay for my next cruise...) so no overnight in LA. I'm not renting a car.

Is it feasible to wake up early on Sunday (I'm an early riser anyway, and will have a three hour time difference on my side) and use public transportation to go to Hollywood, see the Walk of Fame and a few highlights, and get back to Long Beach in time to board the ship by early afternoon? I know there are posts about tours - but I'm looking for the truly condensed on-my-own version. Which metro station(s) are recommended for the best use of time?

Any help is really appreciated- thank you!

 

Liz

 

If you read many of my posts, you'll see that I advise those unfamiliar to LA to avoid using our so-called "rapid transist." There probably isn't a really good direct route that won't take you through some dicey neighborhoods. And those who tend to use the bus system are locals. Buses don't run as often on Sunday so you may find yourself waiting a long time (which if you have to change buses, won't be a good idea if you're sitting at a bus stop in one of those dicey areas).

 

If you are determined to do a mini-tour of Hollywood, you may have to bite the bullet and rent a car for Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning and do one of Curt's tours he has links to in these threads. Or negotiate with a taxi driver for a tour of Hollywood (not sure if you can do this with LA cabs...we've done this in some of the foreign ports we've cruised to and have lucked out getting a decent "locals" tour).

 

I guess one thing to think about is going to Hollywood Saturday night (when things are jumping anyway), but don't take the public buses.

 

Personally, my family wants to get to the port and on the ship as soon as we can on embarkation day. Any sightseeing we do the day before the cruise and after the cruise. Sailing day is all about getting to the ship.

[deepnite10]

any possibility of changing your hotel reservation to the Hollywood area?..that ll take some traveling time off by putting you in the middle of the sights you want to see..

 

unless your familiar with the public transit system..id just walk around..then have SuperShuttle pick you up at the hotel at 10am..

[yogi2929]

Nope-- Thank GM and the tire companies for the demise of the yellow and red cars throughout LA.

[pvmkmyer]

Fortunately you're doing this on a Sunday morning - not many people out and not much traffic. Taking Metro Rail from Long Beach to Hollywood is simple. Get on the Blue Line in Long Beach (ask your hotel where the station is). Take the Blue Line downtown to the Metro Center station. This is the downtown terminal for the Blue Line so you can't miss your stop! Transfer to the Red Line to North Hollywood (be sure you don't take the Red Line train to Wilshire/Western). The train destination is posted on the front of the train and should be displayed on overhead signs on the platform. For the walk of fame, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Kodak Theatre, etc., get off at Hollywood-Highland. You can walk east on Hollywood Blvd. to Vine Street, see the Capitol Records building along the way, and get back on the Red Line at the Hollywood/Vine station.

 

An all-day pass on Metro is $5 - such a deal. You buy your all day ticket from a machine. It will take coins and bills and will make change for you. It should take you about an hour each way. Remember trains won't run as frequently on Sunday. You should be able to pick up a schedule at the Metro Center Station. Or Google Metro L.A. and they will have the schedules on line. Have fun, and have a great cruise.

[zephyr17]

Nope-- Thank GM and the tire companies for the demise of the yellow and red cars throughout LA.

 

As a long time Pacific Electric (aka Red Car) fan, I honestly don't think San Pedro to Hollywood would have been a lot faster or easier back in "the day" than it is today. You'd have to ride the San Pedro line to 6th and Main PE Buiding in downtown LA, then get from 6th and Main to 4th and Hill Subway Terminal building to get a Hollywood Blvd line car to Hollywood. Although there was the "Hollywood Subway" (aka Belmont Tunnel), it was only about a mile long and only went as far as 2nd and Glendale. After that it was local street running in pretty heavy traffic on Glendale Blvd, Sunset Blvd. and Hollywood Blvd. The present day Red Line subway to Hollywood and Highland is a lot faster, and I don't think the San Pedro line was a lot slower than current express bus service. The route would have been roughly the same -- into downtown LA, then out to Hollywood. I love the PE, but it wasn't nirvana.

[mation101]

I have lived in So Cal my whole life and I would not even do this on a bet. If you had a rental car maybe, but you would want to leave Hollywood by noon and no later, Just because its Sun doesnt mean lite traffic.

 

Is seeing Hollywood worth missing the ship????

[yogi2929]

As a long time Pacific Electric (aka Red Car) fan, I honestly don't think San Pedro to Hollywood would have been a lot faster or easier back in "the day" than it is today. You'd have to ride the San Pedro line to 6th and Main PE Buiding in downtown LA, then get from 6th and Main to 4th and Hill Subway Terminal building to get a Hollywood Blvd line car to Hollywood. Although there was the "Hollywood Subway" (aka Belmont Tunnel), it was only about a mile long and only went as far as 2nd and Glendale. After that it was local street running in pretty heavy traffic on Glendale Blvd, Sunset Blvd. and Hollywood Blvd. The present day Red Line subway to Hollywood and Highland is a lot faster, and I don't think the San Pedro line was a lot slower than current express bus service. The route would have been roughly the same -- into downtown LA, then out to Hollywood. I love the PE, but it wasn't nirvana.

 

By the time I came around it was almost all gone. I think the closest was on Sherman Way. Chatsworth had nothing when my parents moved there. Still doesn't have much.

[Liz]

I guess I am thinking it might be less crowded on a Sunday morning - for both the metro ride and the "touring" portion. Changing hotels or renting a car will not work for me - I have a non-refundable hotel room and I can't imagine driving in a city like LA without a copilot (I don't trust my GPS!). It's probably the one time I'll cruise from the west coast, so I'm trying to jam as much as I can into the trip. I guess time will tell... I have 6 weeks to decide!

 

Liz

[yogi2929]

Here is the link for LA's trains and busses-

 

http://www.metro.net/index.asp

 

I know from LB you would take the C shuttle to the Blue Line to the 7th street transfer station, but I think you are looking at an hour there and back. The weekend schedule is very drawn out.

 

Long Beach has some wonderful things in it, much closer and less worry. Check out the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/

[yogi2929]

Just for the fun of it I mapquested this car route for you-

 

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Long+Beach&1s=CA&2c=Hollywood&2s=CA

[kenish]

OP- If you're absolutely determined to see Hollywood, I agree with other posts you should stay in Hollywood instead of LB. You can wake up in HW and make one trip between the LB and HW instead of a round trip. Your original plan is LAX-LB-HW-LB-Ship but staying in HW will reduce it to LAX-HW-Ship. Recommend a shuttle van if you aren't renting a car, since this does mean you will have luggage. The cost and time savings of not messing with transit should cover the cost of either a shuttle van or rental car.

 

Also, I believe Mariner OTS leaves from San Pedro....getting there from a LB hotel will require 30-60 minutes.

 

There is a PE Red Car running along the waterfront in San Pedro...very cool ! As a tot, I vaguely recall Red Cars running down the center of LA streets when we visited downtown LA from the OC suburbs.

[lovevacadays]

Wouldn't suggest you do it. I live in So Cal and have done the metro with some friends from Long Beach to LA just to have the experience. We enjoyed it but took all day to see the sights. I know you want to "pack it all in" but I think you might end up being pretty stressed. As one of the previous posters stated, there is actually alot to do in the Long Beach area. Certainly, not the "walk of fame" type of things but still can have a really nice morning there before boarding your ship.

[Cruisin' Chick]

OP- If you're absolutely determined to see Hollywood, I agree with other posts you should stay in Hollywood instead of LB. You can wake up in HW and make one trip between the LB and HW instead of a round trip. Your original plan is LAX-LB-HW-LB-Ship but staying in HW will reduce it to LAX-HW-Ship. Recommend a shuttle van if you aren't renting a car, since this does mean you will have luggage. The cost and time savings of not messing with transit should cover the cost of either a shuttle van or rental car.

 

Also, I believe Mariner OTS leaves from San Pedro....getting there from a LB hotel will require 30-60 minutes.

 

There is a PE Red Car running along the waterfront in San Pedro...very cool ! As a tot, I vaguely recall Red Cars running down the center of LA streets when we visited downtown LA from the OC suburbs.

 

Gosh, I can't believe I didn't catch that the other day. And last night I was trying to post but CC was crashing (which it often does for me late Pacific Time). Liz, you will be leaving from the Port of LA in San Pedro. Only Carnival uses the Port of LB. Many people who are going on other lines might stay in Long Beach as it's pretty close to both ports, but you would need to make sure that you actually go across the bridge to the World Cruise Center in San Pedro.

But I would go along with the idea of staying in Hollywood the night before your cruise and touring that area Saturday night. You are probably not planning to go inside any locales anyway.

 

By the time I came around it was almost all gone. I think the closest was on Sherman Way. Chatsworth had nothing when my parents moved there. Still doesn't have much.

 

Still doesn't have much. There's a Metrolink station (the memorial for the Metrolink crash that happened near Topanga Blvd/Chatsworth St. 9/12/08 was held last night), a high school and middle school, some fast food places (Panda Express, McD's, Burger King), Trader Joe's, a couple of hotels. Usually pretty quiet area, except it still gets a lot of rush hour traffic on Devonshire around 5pm. We did find a pretty good Indian restaurant that opened a few months ago (I had trouble eating it because of my stomach problems, but hubby and the girl liked it).

 

 

I have lived in So Cal my whole life and I would not even do this on a bet. If you had a rental car maybe, but you would want to leave Hollywood by noon and no later, Just because its Sun doesnt mean lite traffic.

 

Is seeing Hollywood worth missing the ship????

 

I would agree with this. LA isn't a place to try to see in a few hours, especially if you are going to be depending on the bus system. And I'm guessing that bus routes are going to be cut down, at least for the weekend, in the coming months. Orange County's system just announced reduction in service on Sundays.

I wouldn't trust GPS or even mapping programs a 100 per cent either. I know if someone inputs in my address, these programs will take them about a half mile away. I always have to stress to repairpeople, parents dropping off kids for a playdate with my girl, etc., to go by my directions and not use their GPS. Usually I'll get a phone call saying, "we're here but your house isn't.":rolleyes::eek: At least I know that the city's emergency services has the right address as I had hubby check at his workplace (911) when I first discovered this. They use a more accurate system.

[kenish]

Yes, OC Transit is sharply reducing their services, especially on weekends. Since almost everyone in OC has a car or knows someone to carpool with (or so it seems), the majority of riders are HS students, domestic help, and people working at restaurants, hotels, etc. That's not meant to sound elitist, just the reality. Many riders do not need the bus on weekends so they have studied ridership and are tailoring routes, especially now that school is back in session.

[Desert Cruizers]

I personallly would not attemp a drive to Hollywood the day of embarkation, it would be best done the day before. It would not allow you much visiting time before having to return to the ship. I agree with mation.