Los Angeles excursion options?

[mghmld]

I am sailing on Princess in October from Vancouver to LA and back with stops in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Catalina Island.

 

I was looking at the Princess website today and they only have 5 excursions listed for LA, which seems really low. (Actually, it's really only 4 because one is the same as another but for wheelchair passengers.) Conversely, Catalina Island, Santa Barbara and San Francisco all have 8-10 listed.

 

Is that normal - only 4 different options for Los Angeles? It's either a 4-hour motorcoach tour, a 5-hour motorcoach tour, Universal Studios for half a day (7 hours counting the drive), or Long Beach on your own. That's it.

 

We're in port from 7am until 11pm, and 3 of the 4 options are 4-5 hours in length. What are we supposed to do for the rest of the day? We're in the Port of San Pedro, and I don't believe there's really anything around there to do.

 

Do you think more excursions will be added, or is that normal for LA? Would love to hear from others who have docked at San Pedro. Thanks!

[SadieN]

What do you want to see and do? LA is huge.

 

 

An idea

 

Could take a taxi to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach for the day. Then take the Free Long Beach Passport bus to the Queen Mary. Taxi back to San Pedro. Lots of restaurants near the Aquarium.

 

The USS Iowa shares the port with the cruise ships.

Edited May 29, 2015 by SadieN

[mghmld]

Nothing in particular comes to mind - I've been to LA many times, just not on a cruise. I'm just surprised that there is only 5 options for LA but 10 for Catalina Island. Seems a bit backward because you're right, there is a ton of stuff to do in LA.

 

I'm a bit concerned that we'll be back from a tour at 2pm and spending the rest of the day on the ship staring at warehouses.

 

Thanks for the tip. I assume Long Beach is fairly close to the San Pedro dock?

 

Mike

Edited May 29, 2015 by mghmld

[Cruisin' Chick]

There are a ton of tourism sites (plus you can get the tourbook from the auto club -- it's the Southern California one) and guidebooks you can check out from your library.

 

One thing to be aware of is that Los Angeles (the city and the county) are spread out of several miles. So unless you book a tour (not necessarily one from the ship, but some of the touring companies you'll need to find out where they pick up from), you can narrow down to one area and take a taxi to that area.

 

For example if into art, there's a major museum on Wilshire Blvd in the "miracle mile" but there's also the Getty in Bel Air. If you're into shopping, there are many shopping areas, depending on your budget. If you can get over to the Fairfax area (south of Hollywood), there's Farmers Market, which is considered the number one tourist spot in LA,believe it or not. Next to it is The Grove, an outdoor shopping center (just south of CBS TV City, but they don't have tours there). A little north of there (walking distance) and across the street is Cantors Deli.

 

Just depends on what you're interested in.

[mghmld]

Thanks Cruisin' Chick, and I agree there is a lot to do in LA - it's one of my favourite cities, in fact. I'm just hesitant to book something that isn't through the cruise line because traffic in LA can be challenging and I don't want to risk anything. But, unfortunately, Princess isn't offering much.

 

Mike

[SadieN]

Nothing in particular comes to mind - I've been to LA many times, just not on a cruise. I'm just surprised that there is only 5 options for LA but 10 for Catalina Island. Seems a bit backward because you're right, there is a ton of stuff to do in LA.

 

I'm a bit concerned that we'll be back from a tour at 2pm and spending the rest of the day on the ship staring at warehouses.

 

Thanks for the tip. I assume Long Beach is fairly close to the San Pedro dock?

 

Mike

 

 

Long Beach is the sister port to San Pedro, about 7 miles away.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Maybe Princess hasn't had that much of a demand over the years for excursions in LA. Probably those who aren't heading back home (a large number of locals will cruise from LA or LB) or a hotel or the airport, just tour on their own or go to an amusement park, which you don't need to book through the ship.

[Husky61]

A little north of there (walking distance) and across the street is Cantors Deli.

.

 

I agree, I have had many delicious pastrami sandwiches at Canters. Great Jewish deli.:):)

[Bruin Steve]

My take on this:

Princess has long used Los Angeles as a "home port" (Princess is actually located here--in the LA suburb of Santa Clarita). Their cruises typically start and/or end here...So, most of their shore excursions have been designed around taking disembarking passengers on a quick tour then dropping them at LAX...not really around any sort of day-long activity.

 

Therefore, it may just be incumbent on you to design your own.

If you don't want to hassle with renting and returning a car (fairly difficult in San Pedro except with Enterprise--and, if a weekend, their limited hours present an issue), the other alternative would be to contact a tour provider (most prominent in serving the harbor area is Sunseeker Tours)...Work with them in figuring out an itinerary including those things you want to see or do (their regular tours would typically be a full day to Hollywood and other standard tourist sites). You might consider putting together a small group on your Roll Call to get a nice group price from them.

 

If you wanted to spend the day at, say, Disney or some other similar attraction, you might want to contact one of the shuttle or car service companies and inquire about a round trip car with scheduled pick-up from the pier to the site and back.

 

Long Beach, BTW, is the other side of the very large Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor complex---Your ship docks in San Pedro--on the Western edge of the Harbor--while most of the sights in Long Beach are 7-10 miles away on the Eastern edge of the harbor. Most of the main tourist sights of LA--located in Hollywood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Universal City, Burbank, Malibu--are a good 30-40 miles north of the harbor...

[mghmld]

Thanks Bruin Steve - great info.

 

One area of LA we have never covered is Long Beach, so maybe we'll just plan to spend the day there (hopefully we can get on the Queen Mary). We'd love to get out to Disneyland because it's their 60th anniversary this year, and we were also able to make it down for their 50th, but I know it's fairly far away.

 

That makes a lot of sense about Princess being "at home" in LA - it probably explains the lack of options. We've done a fair bit of cruising and are low-risk people, so we tend to book through the cruise line, but this may be one time where it's better to find our own. Thanks again!

[Bruin Steve]

Thanks Bruin Steve - great info.

 

One area of LA we have never covered is Long Beach, so maybe we'll just plan to spend the day there (hopefully we can get on the Queen Mary). We'd love to get out to Disneyland because it's their 60th anniversary this year, and we were also able to make it down for their 50th, but I know it's fairly far away.

 

That makes a lot of sense about Princess being "at home" in LA - it probably explains the lack of options. We've done a fair bit of cruising and are low-risk people, so we tend to book through the cruise line, but this may be one time where it's better to find our own. Thanks again!

 

You could probably get a taxi cheap enough from San Pedro into Long Beach--though you may have to keep a cab company phone number handy so you can call for pick-up. Once in Long Beach, getting around is easy...

There is a FREE shuttle bus service called the "Passport" that has stops at the Queen Mary, at the Aquarium of the Pacific and at Shoreline Village, among other places...There are a ton of restaurants on the strip along the water between the Aquarium and Shoreline Village--including a lot of major chain eateries plus also some local chains and some one-of-a-kinds...You can find just about anything you may want to eat for lunch from burgers up to lobster...I'd recommend having a cab drop you at the Queen Mary, tour that, then take the Passport over the bridge to either the Aquarium or the Shoreline Village stop...Find someplace to eat some lunch, then visit the Aquarium or walk over to Shoreline village for the tourist shopping...For a Taxi back, might be easiest to go over to the Hyatt or the Hyatt at the Pike--both in that immediate area--where they may have taxis waiting...Or, just pull out the cell phone and call one...

 

Have fun...

 

PS: The cruise line's "Long Beach on Your Own" shorex is really just transportation from the ship to this area and back--and, IIRC, costs more than a taxi would...and you're in a bus with 40 others and stuck with whatever limited timeline they give you...Doing it by taxi gives you far more flexibility...It can also be done with a rental car by Enterprise--depending on the day of the week and Enterprise's San Pedro hours...but you'd also have to deal with parking in Long Beach...

Edited May 30, 2015 by Bruin Steve

[mghmld]

Awesome - great info, thanks Steve!

 

By the way - we just got off the Celebrity Millennium last week. Enjoy Alaska!

Edited May 30, 2015 by mghmld

[Cruisin' Chick]

My take on this:

Princess has long used Los Angeles as a "home port" (Princess is actually located here--in the LA suburb of Santa Clarita).

 

Being picky here as you're usually correct, but Santa Clarita is not a suburb of Los Angeles, but its own city. It is in the county of Los Angeles. Albeit, a half hour (if you're lucky) drive north from Granada Hills.

Edited May 30, 2015 by Cruisin' Chick

[Bruin Steve]

Being picky here as you're usually correct' date=' but Santa Clarita is not a suburb of Los Angeles, but its own city. It is in the county of Los Angeles. Albeit, a half hour (if you're lucky) drive north from Granada Hills.[/quote']

 

Patty, it IS a "suburb" of LA. A suburb does not mean it's a part of LA or not a part of LA politically...It means that it is an adjoining, mostly residential area, typically outside the city limits from where residents often commute to jobs within the larger city...Suburbs may be wholly incorporated cities, unincorporated county or even remote areas within the city limits of the larger metropolis...

Santa Clarita is almost stereotypically a suburb of Los Angeles...

[Husky61]

And it used to be called Newhall at one time.:)

[Bruin Steve]

And it used to be called Newhall at one time.:)

Not exactly...

There were three different unincorporated communities--Newhall, Saugus and Valencia--combined in 1987 to incorporate as one city...and settled on Santa Clarita as the name of the new entity...

The Princess corporate headquarters is NOT in the former Newhall...it is located in what was Valencia...

[Husky61]

Not exactly...

There were three different unincorporated communities--Newhall, Saugus and Valencia--combined in 1987 to incorporate as one city...and settled on Santa Clarita as the name of the new entity...

The Princess corporate headquarters is NOT in the former Newhall...it is located in what was Valencia...

 

When I lived there it was called Newhall, and Saugas was an area in the unincorporated area.:) Yes, I lived in the old Newhall.

[Bruin Steve]

When I lived there it was called Newhall, and Saugas was an area in the unincorporated area.:) Yes, I lived in the old Newhall.

 

Assuming you lived there pre-1987...and that you lived in "Newhall", what you lived in was never an officially incorporated city...BOTH Newhall and Saugus were "unincorporated communities" under the jurisdiction of the County of Los Angeles...

Valencia was a master planned community, developed in the 19602 by the Newhall Land and Farming Company adjacent to but outside of the traditional boundaries of "Newhall". Princess Corporate Offices are on Town Center Drive, just off Magic Mountain Parkway, adjacent to the Westfield Mall in what was clearly the master-planned community of Valencia--which was never considered to be in "Newhall"...

[Husky61]

Assuming you lived there pre-1987...and that you lived in "Newhall", what you lived in was never an officially incorporated city...BOTH Newhall and Saugus were "unincorporated communities" under the jurisdiction of the County of Los Angeles...

Valencia was a master planned community, developed in the 19602 by the Newhall Land and Farming Company adjacent to but outside of the traditional boundaries of "Newhall". Princess Corporate Offices are on Town Center Drive, just off Magic Mountain Parkway, adjacent to the Westfield Mall in what was clearly the master-planned community of Valencia--which was never considered to be in "Newhall"...

 

Seems like you have all of the answers, but yes, I lived there long before 1987, and my mail was addressed to "Newhall". With that, I see no reason to continue to discuss with you what the name of the town I lived in.:)