hadleys9538 Posted November 23, 2004 #26 Share Posted November 23, 2004 Your itinerary sounds great. We had looked at going on the Star, but the dates just didn't work out as well for our kids' school vacations and activities here at home. I really like the fact that your cruise is longer. Seven days just never seems quite long enough. As far as renting a car from Budget -- I've heard their office is closed on Sunday (when our cruise departs), and so I would have to leave it without being checked in by one of their representatives, and I'm not really comfortable with that. Leaving on Tuesday, you don't have to worry about that. So anyway, I'm still up in the air as to how to handle getting to the ship after our days in L.A. We're really looking forward to the trip though, and we'll probably see you around the hotel. -- Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sodell Posted March 7, 2005 #27 Share Posted March 7, 2005 Hi Steve, can you help me out please? I have to be near Griffith Observatory on a Mon AM. We leave out of San Pedro that day at 4:00. I have a room (on the beach :) ) Sat & Sun in Huntington Beach, but I really don't want to risk all the driving on Monday so I think I'll switch. I just can't hndle the possibility of bad traffic. I see the many posts for Venice Beach, & Santa Monica. I thought of the beach, but on second thought maybe near a reasonably priced public golf course? Do you have any suggestions? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHayesShip Posted March 7, 2005 #28 Share Posted March 7, 2005 Unfortuanetely, I am not much of a golfer and when I do golf it is when I am with an avid golfer who has a private membership. I do not know the public golf courses by name to make recommendations. Sorry. Steve Hayes Hi Steve, can you help me out please? I have to be near Griffith Observatory on a Mon AM. We leave out of San Pedro that day at 4:00. I have a room (on the beach :) ) Sat & Sun in Huntington Beach, but I really don't want to risk all the driving on Monday so I think I'll switch. I just can't hndle the possibility of bad traffic. I see the many posts for Venice Beach, & Santa Monica. I thought of the beach, but on second thought maybe near a reasonably priced public golf course? Do you have any suggestions? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine426 Posted March 8, 2005 #29 Share Posted March 8, 2005 I live in Venice area between Marina Del Rey and Santa Monica. To answer your questions:Beverly Hills is about 32-37 miles from the port depending on which hotel you stay at, however once you get off the I-405 you will be on surface streets with total travelling time of at least 1 1/4 hours from the port. If you do not want to stay in San Pedro or Long Beach then I would highly recommend Marina Del Rey. MDR is about 25 miles from the port (6 miles north of LAX). There are several good hotels that front the 6,000 berth marina. The 3*Best Western, 4*Marriott and 5*Ritz Carlton would be my picks with varying price ranges. The Best Western fronts Mother's Beach and the Marriott is across the street. The higher floors of the Ritz and Marriott have ocean views. There are bicycle rentals, boat charters and a wonderful variety of restaurants. From the Marriott you are about 1/2 mile from the famous or infamous <g> Venice boardwalk. C&O Trattoria is a fun Italian restaurant that is family friendly and great prices with solid good food. It is located at the Venice boardwalk and Washington Blvd. There are other hotels/motels in the area as the Holiday Inn Express and Ramada Inn but they are further inland about 2 miles from the ocean with no views or water front amenities. Steve Hayes Thanks for the info. We are staying at the Marriott Marina Del Ray, and plan on having a town car transportation to San Pedro the next day. Any good recomendations for dinner that evening. We don't mind walking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHayesShip Posted March 8, 2005 #30 Share Posted March 8, 2005 In the marina are some excellent independent and chain restaurants. The ones closest to you would be:Cheesecake Factory-large variety, Cafe Del Rey-California/Pacific rim fusion, The Warehouse-American, Casa Escobar-Mexican and the Harbor House-Seafood. On Washington Blvd behind your hotel is Killer Shrimp- What else? shrimp and then moving toward the boardwalk C&O Trattoria-Italian and 26 Beach-California mix. There are many more restaurants but these are a few within a 1 mile radius of your hotel. Steve Hayes Thanks for the info. We are staying at the Marriott Marina Del Ray, and plan on having a town car transportation to San Pedro the next day. Any good recomendations for dinner that evening. We don't mind walking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sodell Posted March 9, 2005 #31 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Unfortuanetely, I am not much of a golfer and when I do golf it is when I am with an avid golfer who has a private membership. I do not know the public golf courses by name to make recommendations. Sorry. Steve Hayes Thanks Steve.. (I name you the resident North Coastal LA advisor... if there is such a thing :) ) It looks like I'm not going to Griffiith after all, so I'm back down near Huntington. Thanks again for your help & all your other posts. btw... any tips for HB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHayesShip Posted March 9, 2005 #32 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Well, I don't know about advisor but I do have my opinions. When I go to HB it is strictly for the beach. The area around the pier and small downtown are nice for the day. I also recommend that you drive south on PCH about 10 miles to Newport Beach. This is the "Beverly Hills" of Orange County. There are many good to great restaurants, beaches, piers, shopping and great sightseeing. If you are really adventuresome go another 9 miles and you are in one of my all time favorite beach towns - Laguna Beach - with a huge variety of artists from sculptures to oils to watercolors. Very laidback. The drive from HB to Laguna and back on Pacific Coast Highway is a beautiful drive. You will see everything from multimillion dollar homes and yachts, luxury cars down to beach bums. Steve Hayes Thanks Steve.. (I name you the resident North Coastal LA advisor... if there is such a thing :) ) It looks like I'm not going to Griffiith after all, so I'm back down near Huntington. Thanks again for your help & all your other posts. btw... any tips for HB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sodell Posted March 9, 2005 #33 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Well, I don't know about advisor but I do have my opinions. When I go to HB it is strictly for the beach. The area around the pier and small downtown are nice for the day. I also recommend that you drive south on PCH about 10 miles to Newport Beach. This is the "Beverly Hills" of Orange County. There are many good to great restaurants, beaches, piers, shopping and great sightseeing. If you are really adventuresome go another 9 miles and you are in one of my all time favorite beach towns - Laguna Beach - with a huge variety of artists from sculptures to oils to watercolors. Very laidback. The drive from HB to Laguna and back on Pacific Coast Highway is a beautiful drive. You will see everything from multimillion dollar homes and yachts, luxury cars down to beach bums. Steve Hayes Thanks!!!! We'll be there all day Sunday before our sailing on Monday. Plenty of time to have a beach day & drive south. ( Any ideas for fresh crab?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine426 Posted March 9, 2005 #34 Share Posted March 9, 2005 In the marina are some excellent independent and chain restaurants. The ones closest to you would be:Cheesecake Factory-large variety, Cafe Del Rey-California/Pacific rim fusion, The Warehouse-American, Casa Escobar-Mexican and the Harbor House-Seafood.On Washington Blvd behind your hotel is Killer Shrimp- What else? shrimp and then moving toward the boardwalk C&O Trattoria-Italian and 26 Beach-California mix. There are many more restaurants but these are a few within a 1 mile radius of your hotel. Steve Hayes Thank you so much for the tips. Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine426 Posted March 10, 2005 #35 Share Posted March 10, 2005 In the marina are some excellent independent and chain restaurants. The ones closest to you would be:Cheesecake Factory-large variety, Cafe Del Rey-California/Pacific rim fusion, The Warehouse-American, Casa Escobar-Mexican and the Harbor House-Seafood.On Washington Blvd behind your hotel is Killer Shrimp- What else? shrimp and then moving toward the boardwalk C&O Trattoria-Italian and 26 Beach-California mix. There are many more restaurants but these are a few within a 1 mile radius of your hotel. Steve Hayes Thanks. One more question regarding that area. Is their a nice wine or liquor store within walking distance. We really don't want to carry any wine on the plane from Atlanta, but would like to pick up a few of our favorites to take on board. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHayesShip Posted March 10, 2005 #36 Share Posted March 10, 2005 There is an EXCELLENT wine and liquor store on Washington Blvd. It is about 1/2 mile east (away from the boardwalk) on Washington Blvd on your left side. If you have gone to Lincoln Blvd. you have gone to far. Steve Hayes Thanks. One more question regarding that area. Is their a nice wine or liquor store within walking distance. We really don't want to carry any wine on the plane from Atlanta, but would like to pick up a few of our favorites to take on board. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine426 Posted March 10, 2005 #37 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Steve, You are the man with the answers!;) Do you know the name of the store? I might want to call them ahead of time. Karen Thanks a bunch!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHayesShip Posted March 11, 2005 #38 Share Posted March 11, 2005 Marina Del Rey Liquormart 753 Washington Blvd (310) 821-3452 also Wolf's Liquor 536 Washington Blvd (310) 822-0955 Steve Hayes Steve, You are the man with the answers!;) Do you know the name of the store? I might want to call them ahead of time. Karen Thanks a bunch!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHayesShip Posted March 12, 2005 #39 Share Posted March 12, 2005 I hesitate to recommend this place NOT because of the food, the seafood is EXCELLENT, but because the place is a little onorthodox. Everything is served on paper plates, cups and plastic utensils. There is a story behind this that I won't spend the bandwidth here to explain. This place is a favorite for locals and visitors. I recommend The Crab Cooker in Newport Beach - not the one in Tustin. It is a funky building converted from a Bank of America that is painted red. This place is extremely popular. All of the seafood is excellent. Much of the food is cooked over a mesquite wood grill. The breadsticks on the table are as hard as a rock - the clam chowder is very good - the coleslaw is fresh. The Crab Cooker has a website, just put in it your "search" category. BTW, parking is metered so have quarters. Steve Hayes Thanks!!!! We'll be there all day Sunday before our sailing on Monday. Plenty of time to have a beach day & drive south. ( Any ideas for fresh crab?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sodell Posted March 13, 2005 #40 Share Posted March 13, 2005 Wow... Thanks Steve. Perfect location for us, we'll be up the road, & it's mid point to Laguana Beach. Is it considered tacky to grab some to go & eat on the beach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHayesShip Posted March 13, 2005 #41 Share Posted March 13, 2005 Not tacky at all. They also have a fish market inside also. Have fun! Another tip......On your way down PCH just as you have left the busy areas of Newport Beach and Corona Del Mar there is a funky stand on your right which you can miss easily if you are not looking out for it. They have great date (the fruit) shakes and smoothies. Just past the stand there are parking areas ($6-$8 flat rate depending on season) on both the right and left that have tremendous views from the bluffs looking down to the sea. I would recommend that you look over the area from PCH and then decide where you want to hang-out. A lot of variety depending if you choose to hike, sightsee or lay on the beach. Steve Hayes Wow... Thanks Steve. Perfect location for us, we'll be up the road, & it's mid point to Laguana Beach. Is it considered tacky to grab some to go & eat on the beach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karfest Posted April 8, 2005 #42 Share Posted April 8, 2005 We just returned from a fantastic cruise on the Star! We really enjoyed our stay at the Inn of Venice Beach. The front desk people were perhaps the nicest we have ever encountered and the location was great. If you don't mind driving a bit to the pier, this is a nice alternative to the San Jose hotels. We were 1 block from the canals, and about 3 blocks from the beach. we spent the evening before our cruise in Santa Monica (just a few miles away) and went for a walk through the canals and a jog on the beach before leaving for our cruise. It was about 30 minutes to the pier from the hotel. It was a great way to start our vacation. We rented a car at Hertz at LAX and returned it in Lomita. They called a town car to take us to the port, and credited us $15 on our rental. We paid $20 plus tip for the ride. (Lomita was maybe 15 minutes from the port) Thanks to SHayesShip for the suggestion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RvrCrzr Posted April 10, 2005 #43 Share Posted April 10, 2005 Thanks for coming back with a review! Is it possible to reserve a SuperShuttle (or Primetime) to pick you up at the INN at VENICE BEACH and bring you to the Port in San Pedro? How did you like the boardwalk area? What day of the week did you travel (30 minutes) to San Pedro's Port? Thanks! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karfest Posted April 10, 2005 #44 Share Posted April 10, 2005 I'm not sure about the Shuttle, I would guess they would pick you up anywhere for a price! Did you check their website- they should give you a rate. We were in Venice on a Monday evening so there wasn't much excitement on the boardwalk, but the Santa Monica Pier was hopping. We also walked around the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, there were lots of "acts" and excellent people watching. The next morning we wandered the canals and picked out the homes we would buy when we win the lottery! There were several surfers out in the ocean that we watched for awhile and just had a nice morning walking on the pier and beach. We left about 10:30 on a Tuesday morning and hit ZERO traffic. Hubby lived in OC for several years and was expecting a crush so we wound up getting to the port earlier than planned. I think you Californians exaggerate your traffic issues;) or perhaps we were just lucky:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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