Hotel Long Beach Carnival Cruise Port

[macdon221]

Good Day All,

 

Arriving at LAX and renting a car for 1 night prior to Cruise.  Wanting to stay in the Safe/Touristy area close to the cruise port.

 

Any recommendations for a place to stay?

 

Also any ideas for things to do/favorite restaurants you like in this area?

 

Thanks

 

 

Macdon221

[Husky61]

You can find all of this info on Google.😄

[Bruin Steve]

3 minutes ago, macdon221 said:

Good Day All,

Arriving at LAX and renting a car for 1 night prior to Cruise.  Wanting to stay in the Safe/Touristy area close to the cruise port.

Any recommendations for a place to stay?

Also any ideas for things to do/favorite restaurants you like in this area?

Thanks

Macdon221

 

Okay, I'm going to post my standard Long Beach hotel answer below...But first, some more advice...

 

Getting in just the day prior to your cruise, you will not really have a lot of time to do any sightseeing in the greater LA area...Most of the tourist sights are a good 30 miles or more from the port in Long Beach...and, in LA, that could take a lot of your time just dealing with traffic.  For that short a time, probably best to head straight to Long Beach by whatever means (typically Uber or shuttle) and just stay there.

 

There are a few things to see and do right in Long Beach near the port and you can get to those without dealing with a rental car--depending on where you stay, on foot or using the free "Passport " shuttle--the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Queen Mary and some touristy shopping at Shoreline Village...

 

As to restaurants, there are many in the areas of the hotels I recommend...There is a strip of large restaurants along the shoreline--most are major chains:  Bubba Gump, Chili's, PF Chang's, Hooters...or more local small chains or one of a kind local places--Tokyo Wako, Yard House...Gladstone's, Tequila Jack's, Parker's Lighthouse...Plus several more in the Pike complex and walking up Pine Street--Islands, California Pizza Kitchen, Pier 76 Fish Grill, L'Opera, Rock Bottom, Allegra, King's Fish House, George's Greek and many more on neighboring streets...It all depends on what you want to eat...

 

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My standard hotel answer:

There is a very limited area of Long Beach in which you want to stay...and, therefore, a limited number of hotels.

"A" List:  The BEST places to stay are the Hyatt, Westin, Renaissance and Hyatt Centric (also known as Hyatt at the Pike) …These put you right in the heart of the tourist area with very convenient walks to restaurants, shops and attractions and easy access to the free "Passport" shuttle...and those ARE the nicest hotels in town. Doesn't necessarily mean they are higher priced, though...and you can often get a real deal via Priceline...

https://longbeach.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

http://www.westinlongbeachhotel.com/

http://thepikelongbeach.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lgbrn-renaissance-long-beach-hotel/

"B" List:  Slightly further away, but still in decent walking distance, is the Hilton.  Just across the bridge (on the same side of the channel as the Carnival Pier) are the Marriott Residence Inn Downtown and the Maya Doubletree...

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/california/hilton-long-beach-LGBLHHF/index.html

http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/california/hotel-maya-a-doubletree-by-hilton-LGBMYDT/index.html

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lgbri-residence-inn-long-beach-downtown/

"C" List:  Slightly outside the prime area and/or not necessarily the nicest hotels for one reason or another, but options if all else fails are the Marriott Courtyard and the Best Western Long Beach Convention Center...The Queen Mary is across the bridge ...and right next to the Carnival Terminal...however, I am not a big fan of the Queen Mary--unless you are on there for nostalgia's sake...It's not exactly a first class hotel by today's standards--the rooms are small, condition questionable, etc.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lgbcy-courtyard-long-beach-downtown/

https://www.bestwestern.com/content/best-western/en_US/booking-path/hotel-details.05642.html?propertyCode=05642&arrivalMonthYear=&arrivalDay=&departureMonthYear=&departureDay=&sob=C05&disablenav=false

http://www.queenmary.com/stay-aboard/stay-aboard/

Getting to ANY of these hotels from LAX, you'd either have to take a taxi, car service or a shuttle...Try Super Shuttle or Prime Time Shuttle or Super Shuttle's Execucar...From hotel to pier, some of these hotels may have free shuttles, but policies change time to time, so I would check individually with the hotel...All would be a very short taxi ride from the Carnival Pier...From the Maya Doubletree, Residence Inn Downtown or Queen Mary, one could even walk...LAX is 20 miles from the San Pedro World Cruise Center, 23 miles from the Carnival Terminal in Long Beach…could take anywhere from a half an hour to an hour depending on day, time and traffic…

One word of warning: Do NOT go looking for bargains outside of this short list of hotels...Long Beach is a BIG city...there are lots of different areas, some better, some worse...some not so close to the port or the tourist areas...That bargain hotel MAY tell you it's near the Convention Center or near the port...but it may not be...it may be in an undesirable area or location. You want to have a pleasant stay--stick to this list.

This area of Long Beach means you will have a large choice of restaurants nearby, you will have nice shops and picturesque scenery and places to walk and enjoy...You will be close to sites like the Aquarium and the Queen Mary if you want to have a little sightseeing... One word of warning: Do NOT go looking for bargains outside of this short list of hotels...Long Beach is a BIG city...there are lots of different areas, some better, some worse...some not so close to the port or the tourist areas...That bargain hotel MAY tell you it's near the Convention Center or near the port...but it may not be...it may be in an undesirable area or location. You want to have a pleasant stay--stick to this list.

This area of Long Beach means you will have a large choice of restaurants nearby, you will have nice shops and picturesque scenery and places to walk and enjoy...You will be close to sites like the Aquarium and the Queen Mary if you want to have a little sightseeing...Long Beach runs a free shuttle service called the "Passport" which will take you all over the Downtown area:

http://www.lbtransit.com/services/passport.aspx

*********************************

Good luck...

[macdon221]

Bruin Steve,

 

thanks so much for detailed reply. Exactly what I was looking for.... and the reason I use this forum to make our holidays great. 

 

Macdon221

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Stay on the Queen Mary.  It reeks of history, has great food, and is a short walk to the cruise port.  You could save the rental car and UBER from LAX to QM.  

[PekingeseLady]

My suggestion would be staying at the Hotel Maya, they have a free shuttle to port, but it is almost next door, My DH always rides his scooter back to the hotel why I ride the shuttle with our luggage.  You can ride the Free Bus,The Passport it's called I believe right from the hotel over to Shoreline Village.  I would just take a Uber to the hotel and skip the Rental Car if you only have the one night.  

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

I forgot to add about the Queen Mary, once a month they do a "ghost tour" or "para-normal" tour/show onboard.  They invite well known TV ghost hunters, mediums/psychics to host the shows done throughout the ships most haunted spaces.  We were onboard last weekend for a cocktail before going over to Catalina for the weekend.  They were doing one that night.  The bartender told us that some people attending the shows get so freaked they will walk off the ship mid-show.