Visiting the Queen Mary on Embarkation Day?

[Carl Nival]

Background: My best friend and I are going to San Diego on December 7, 2012 by air from Dallas. We're renting a car in San Diego. The plan now is to leave early in the morning on December 10, visit the Queen Mary, check-in our luggage at the pier, return the rental car (the Avis office is about 2 miles away by foot), and then complete embarkation on to the Carnival Inspiration. As soon as we get back on the 14th, we are being taken directly to the airport.

 

Does this sound plausible? Or should we leave late in the evening on the 9th and stay in Long Beach the night before?

 

Thank you in advance.

[Keith1010]

It is very doable as you have summarized.

 

However, if this was me I would head up to Long Beach the night before just in case you run into any car breakdowns or something that could delay your arrival.

 

Keith

[Cruisin' Chick]

Unless you're getting up very early that day (which looks like a Monday), you're going to have to take a quickie tour of the QM. And with a two-mile walk back from the car rental place?

[Rosefloater]

The plan now is to leave early in the morning on December 10, visit the Queen Mary, check-in our luggage at the pier, return the rental car (the Avis office is about 2 miles away by foot), and then complete embarkation on to the Carnival Inspiration.

 

Does this sound plausible? Or should we leave late in the evening on the 9th and stay in Long Beach the night before?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Instead of the above, why don't you do early check-in at the QM (I believe it opens at 9:30), give your luggage to the porters, return the car, and then tour the QM. It is only a 5 minute walk from the QM to the security dome for Carnival.

 

Or drop off the car at Avis, walk to Pine and E. Ocean Blvd. (if you are returning the car to the Avis office on Ocean) and catch the free Passport C bus that goes to the Queen Mary. Pine St. is only 2 blocks from the Avis office. Then do the early check-in and then go explore the QM.

 

Here is the website for the Passport bus.

[Langley Cruisers]

Just so you know, we spent the better part of 4 hours exploring the Queen Mary. I don't really believe it's a "quick tour" type of place, since you obviously want to specifically see it and spend time there.

 

Long Beach is beautiful and there are several hotels in the DT area that would suit you well. Our favorite is the Hyatt. Member Bruin Steve has written a "short list" of LB hotels - do not stray from this list or we cannot be held responsible. ;)

 

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[poolreader]

It seems you might be better off staying on the Queen Mary the night of the 9th. I checked the rates and it is $96 - $120 that night. This way you can check in and drop your bags, have a nice drive around Long Beach, return your car that night, and take the shuttle back to the Queen Mary. I have heard you get a special tour if you stay on board, seeing places the regular tour does not see. There is a great review of the Inspiration done in Jan. 2012 that shows pictures and talks about staying on the QM. You can get up in the morning, eat breakfast and just walk a short way to turn in you bags. You can also do an early check in right there in an area of the QM. There is an area with shops that look like an old English village right there between QM and the Inspiration that would give you additional things to do until you want to board.

[Katie Lou]

When we cruised out of Long Beach, we got to the pier early, left our luggage with the porter, checked in and received our number and then walked over to the Queen Mary. We had a couple of hours to wander around and went back to the check in area for a short wait until they started boarding.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Just so you know, we spent the better part of 4 hours exploring the Queen Mary. I don't really believe it's a "quick tour" type of place, since you obviously want to specifically see it and spend time there.

 

Long Beach is beautiful and there are several hotels in the DT area that would suit you well. Our favorite is the Hyatt. Member Bruin Steve has written a "short list" of LB hotels - do not stray from this list or we cannot be held responsible. ;)

 

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Anyone have a link handy for that list? I did a CC search of Bruin Steve & Long beach hotel & came up with 4 pages of hits.

[Carl Nival]

Thank you, everyone, for your input!

 

I've decided to spend the night in the Queen Mary. That will make it a lot easier for us. We can take our time exploring the Queen Mary that morning before we get on the Carnival Inspiration.

 

Bonus Question: Google Maps says it takes 2 hours to get from San Diego to Long Beach, CA. On a late Sunday afternoon, do you think that's accurate? Longer? Shorter?

[kenish]

I was going to jump in and suggest going up to LB on the evening of the 9th. As others commented, the 10th is Monday. If you leave SD very early in the AM you will reach Orange County or LA just in time for Monday morning rush hour on our "linear parking lot" aka the 405 freeway!

 

Also I'd leave around 2-4pm on Sunday afternoon...sometimes traffic can get heavy on I-5/405. Also the drive is very scenic. If the weather is good, consider leaving I-5 in San Juan Capistrano. Visit the historic mission, then take Hwy 1 along the coast through Dana Pt., Laguna Beach, and Newport Beach. A side trip to Balboa Island is another thing to consider, as well as a few huge, upscale malls if you're a shopaholic. From Newport Beach you can continue along Hwy 1 (a bit slow-going through Huntington Beach), or easily rejoin I-405.

 

If it's cold and pouring, just jump on the freeway and get the trip over with (except for maybe the malls).

[Langley Cruisers]

Anyone have a link handy for that list? I did a CC search of Bruin Steve & Long beach hotel & came up with 4 pages of hits.

 

Sorry, yes - here is his list:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=28742158&postcount=6

 

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[CanWeGoYet?]

Sorry, yes - here is his list:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=28742158&postcount=6

 

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Thank You! :)

[FunNut]

Very smart decision to stay on the QM the night before your cruise. Sometimes it can take more than 2 hours for the drive you're going to make. On a Sunday evening there isn't any way to tell.

 

By staying on the QM you will get a much richer experience, I've done it twice and it's really wonderful. You'll have time to thoroughly explore the ship and the cabins are very nice - a thoroughly deluxe experience. Your trip and morning of departure will be much much better because of your decision.

[PennyAgain]

It seems you might be better off staying on the Queen Mary the night of the 9th. I checked the rates and it is $96 - $120 that night. This way you can check in and drop your bags, have a nice drive around Long Beach, return your car that night, and take the shuttle back to the Queen Mary. I have heard you get a special tour if you stay on board, seeing places the regular tour does not see. There is a great review of the Inspiration done in Jan. 2012 that shows pictures and talks about staying on the QM. You can get up in the morning, eat breakfast and just walk a short way to turn in you bags. You can also do an early check in right there in an area of the QM. There is an area with shops that look like an old English village right there between QM and the Inspiration that would give you additional things to do until you want to board.

 

This is a really good plan.

 

I've spent hours on the old QM at Long Beach and it wasn't enough time. Plan to make more visits with a stay over.

[Langley Cruisers]

OP replied in post #9 with their plans.

[CKon57]

When we cruised out of Long Beach, we got to the pier early, left our luggage with the porter, checked in and received our number and then walked over to the Queen Mary. We had a couple of hours to wander around and went back to the check in area for a short wait until they started boarding.

 

I have never cruised before but am looking to cruise. How many cruiselines depart from Long Beach? Being able to see or even stay at the Queen Mary appeals to me.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I have never cruised before but am looking to cruise. How many cruiselines depart from Long Beach? Being able to see or even stay at the Queen Mary appeals to me.

 

The quick answer is that Carnival is the only cruiseline that uses the Port of Long Beach. As far as I know, there's only one berth there. Some cruiselines, such as Princess, use the Port of Los Angeles, which is in San Pedro and has a few berths. That port is not too far away from LB. Most of Carnivals cruises from LB are to Baja California (three and four day cruises to Ensenada, and also Catalina Island on the four day ones) and to the Mexican Riviera, the 7-day cruises. They also go to Hawaii, either from there or San Diego (I would have to look this up), but only a few sailings a year. I wouldn't recommend the Hawaii cruise for newbies to cruising as it could often involve rough seas (I'm prone to motion sickness, but have done two round-trips, LA to Hawaii on Princess, and will put up with having to ingest a lot of ginger because it is a fun cruise).

 

I strongly recommend to you as someone who wants to book their first cruise to seek out the advice of a travel agent who's a "cruise specialist." If you don't have a friend or family member who can recommend one (we're not supposed to help you out on this on this site), look in the yellow pages for one that has that phrase in their heading or ad. Then go in and meet with the travel agent and ask about what cruises they've been on. If he or she won't, or can't, talk about his/her experience, find another one who can talk about cruising with enthusiasm. Then talk about what you're looking for (embarkation port, time of year you can travel, budget in mind, etc). The TA can book your choice for you.

 

I also recommend coming in to Southern California at least a day before your cruise. In fact, this is good advice no matter where you're cruising from, as air travel is getting more unpredictable all the time. If you search on threads about hotels (Bruin Steve has great recommendations), you'll find which ones to look into and which to avoid. DON'T scrimp on this as you don't want to book a hotel in a scruzzy part of town and/or a dump. What might seem like a bargain, might not be.

 

You can start your own thread once you've booked your cruise and ask in the subject line about hotel advice for (put city name).