One day post cruise suggestions

[willoughbyclan]

We will arrive at the San Pedro port on Sunday May 25th and plan to stay over one night before flying home on Monday the 26th. We want to spend Sunday after checking into a hotel, sightseeing on our own. We would like to see any of the following:

 

Santa Monica Pier, Rodeo Drive, Sunset Blvd. Hollywood Sign, etc.

 

? Where would you suggest we stay (what area)? We need a very budget minded hotel considering we will need to book two rooms. We just plan on stowing our luggage and using what little time we have to sightsee so I am not at all concerned with the amenities of the hotel.

 

We were considering renting a car at the port and driving to a hotel in Santa Monica.

? If that is a good idea, which one of the airports that Southwest uses should we fly out of (BUR, LAX, SNA, ONT)? I am not familiar with the area and am not sure which of the above airports would be closest or most convenient.

 

Also, there are (8) in our party. Three adults and five children.

? Our plan was to rent two cars from the port to the hotel so that we could sightsee on our own and then return the car to the airport the next day, is this feasible?

 

Any help appreciated.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We will arrive at the San Pedro port on Sunday May 25th and plan to stay over one night before flying home on Monday the 26th. We want to spend Sunday after checking into a hotel, sightseeing on our own. We would like to see any of the following:

 

Santa Monica Pier, Rodeo Drive, Sunset Blvd. Hollywood Sign, etc.

 

? Where would you suggest we stay (what area)? We need a very budget minded hotel considering we will need to book two rooms. We just plan on stowing our luggage and using what little time we have to sightsee so I am not at all concerned with the amenities of the hotel.

 

We were considering renting a car at the port and driving to a hotel in Santa Monica.

? If that is a good idea, which one of the airports that Southwest uses should we fly out of (BUR, LAX, SNA, ONT)? I am not familiar with the area and am not sure which of the above airports would be closest or most convenient.

 

Also, there are (8) in our party. Three adults and five children.

? Our plan was to rent two cars from the port to the hotel so that we could sightsee on our own and then return the car to the airport the next day, is this feasible?

 

Any help appreciated.

 

If you stay in Santa Monica, then LAX should be the closest. Ontario is off in the desert so that would be out. Burbank is over in the San Fernando Valley and would be convenient if you were staying in Burbank, Universal City, maybe Hollywood.

 

One thing to be aware of is if you find a really low rate on a hotel. That may mean it's in a crummy (read unsafe) area or it's a dump. Check out the various threads in this area and see what others have said about the various hotels.

 

Re rental cars, double check the websites and then call the office that you plan to rent from as some agencies do not handle one ways (drop offs at a different location) and some offices may not be open on Sunday.

[willoughbyclan]

Thanks so much for your advice. We haven't decided on a hotel yet, I thought I would browse the posts here before we decide.

 

Anyone else?

[jon2cruise]

You can get Crown Plaze (via price line) for $65 a night right next to the pier.

 

Then take a guided tour with SunSeekers. They can take your group of 8 up to 9 I believe on a great tour of those areas and you won't miss anything or have to deal with driving 2 cars ! They can get you at the hotel and drop you back there or to the airport if you wish.

http://site205.modernearth.net

[willoughbyclan]

You can get Crown Plaze (via price line) for $65 a night right next to the pier.

 

Then take a guided tour with SunSeekers. They can take your group of 8 up to 9 I believe on a great tour of those areas and you won't miss anything or have to deal with driving 2 cars ! They can get you at the hotel and drop you back there or to the airport if you wish.

http://site205.modernearth.net

 

That sounded like a great idea until I looked at prices on their website.

WOW!!!!:eek: It would be $632.00 for the eight of us. Unfortunately as nice as it would be to take the tour, we don't have that kind of money left in our budget after paying for the 15 night Disney panama canal cruise we will just be getting off of.

 

The $65/night for the Crown Plaza sounds great but for the sights we want to see, I don't think we would want to drive back to San Pedro after touring and then back to LAX the next morning. I am not very familiar with the area but wouldn't that be a little inconvenient? I am not sure.:confused:

[jon2cruise]

That sounded like a great idea until I looked at prices on their website.

WOW!!!!:eek: It would be $632.00 for the eight of us. Unfortunately as nice as it would be to take the tour, we don't have that kind of money left in our budget after paying for the 15 night Disney panama canal cruise we will just be getting off of.

 

The $65/night for the Crown Plaza sounds great but for the sights we want to see, I don't think we would want to drive back to San Pedro after touring and then back to LAX the next morning. I am not very familiar with the area but wouldn't that be a little inconvenient? I am not sure.:confused:

 

Ya thats alot. 632 - I'd drive myself ! Call them for a group rate.

[willoughbyclan]

OK, so now our airfare is booked. That was more painful than I had expected. Southwest only has 4 flights going from LA to Louisville on Memorial Day and as luck would have it, the only decent flight (leave LAX 8:25am arrive SDF 7:45pm) is not available for award travel. Other three flights that day have us leaving LAX mid afternoon and arriving SDF at either midnight or 1a.m. :( Kind of a toss up, don’t you think?

 

Anyhow, now I was hoping for some help with a hotel. I see a couple of hotels that have been mentioned on here for Santa Monica (Holiday Inn, etc.) but I was hoping for a few more options. Am I on the right track in selecting Santa Monica as a good “home base” for our sightseeing options? I don’t care if the hotel is near the beach at all since we won’t be spending time at the hotel other than to drop luggage prior to sight seeing and returning to sleep a few hours later that night.

[Jules215]

I'll be following this thread...I'm in Louisville as well, and considering a 4 day on the Monarch in Sept...So I'll be interested in where you end up staying and doing your final day, as we plan on staying an xtra day too to sightsee...By the way, does anyone know what port RC sails from, and would that effect which airport I might want to fly into/out of??...Thanks

[vjblk]

I've stayed in Santa Monica at the Ambrose and it's a very nice hotel. It is not close to the beach. It is around $240 a night though. Other hotels closer to the beach were way more expensive. In my research for Santa Monica hotels I read alot of good things about the Travelodge on Pico Blvd. Check out the reviews at tripadvisor.com. It sounds like a nice budget hotel. Does have free parking. Daily parking fees at most of the hotels are steep! I think the Holiday Inn charges $23 a day for parking!

 

We were only in Santa Monica for a weekend but did manage to get to the Farmers Market, the Grove and the LA County museum of art. We also visited the Santa Monica Pier and walked down to Venice beach which was interesting to see.

 

It will all depend on how much time you have to sightsee as to the best place to stay. As someone else mentioned you might have difficulty finding a place to rent a car on Sunday other than the airport. I don't think San Pedro has many rental options. Enterprise used to be open on Sunday but not sure if they are anymore. And the drop off at another location might be a problem too. Getting a rental car could eat up some of your sightseeing time.

 

Hopefully, you will find something that works for you so that you can see some sights.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I'll be following this thread...I'm in Louisville as well, and considering a 4 day on the Monarch in Sept...So I'll be interested in where you end up staying and doing your final day, as we plan on staying an xtra day too to sightsee...By the way, does anyone know what port RC sails from, and would that effect which airport I might want to fly into/out of??...Thanks

 

All the cruiselines, other than Carnival, uses the World Cruise Center, which is the Port of L.A. in San Pedro. The best choices of airports are LAX (which has the most different airlines, but can be quite intimidating) and Long Beach, which may be easier to get to and from, but a limited number of airlines use it.

[maxamuus]

Take a cab to Long Beach and spend the day at the Aquarium.

 

http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/

[jandjfun]

Be very careful, and aware of your surroundings. Especially if you go to Santa Monica Pier. LOTS of homeless and druggies down there. Stay off the beach. Broken glass, needles etc. it is a very interesting place but also can be dangerous. Also, if you are going to drive anywhere in the LA area, make sure you have a good map, and navagator! Or mapquest everywhere you want to go.