Which Airport for Long Beach

I'm flying from Detroit.

Is LAX the best choice for a Norwegian Jewel cruise from Long Beach? Is Ontario or Santa Ana better? I will be flying in the day before. Each airport is equivalent in price and flight time, and they look equidistant on google maps for driving, so all else being equal, which would be easiest to navigate?

I'm flying from Detroit.

 

Is LAX the best choice for a Norwegian Jewel cruise from Long Beach? Is Ontario or Santa Ana better? I will be flying in the day before. Each airport is equivalent in price and flight time, and they look equidistant on google maps for driving, so all else being equal, which would be easiest to navigate?

First off, the Norwegian Jewel should be sailing out of San Pedro, NOT Long Beach...Only Carnival uses Long Beach to begin or end cruises...with the rare exceptions being port visits by other ships from the Carnival Corp roster--ie Princess or Cunard.

As to Airports, Ontario is 60 miles from port--not convenient at all. Only use it if you have reason to visit the "Inland Empire" before or after the cruise (relatives? misguided?)...

There are four other airports...Two more--John Wayne (Orange County) and Burbank are each about 35 miles from port--good if you want to visit the OC (Disney, Newport Beach) or Hollywood/Universal respectively...

The two closest airports are Long Beach (about 16 miles from the port) or LAX (20 miles from the port)...

The distance is not the big determining factor in choosing between those...

The benefit to Long Beach is that it is a very small airport--easy to maneuver your way around, not very intimidating...

The negatives are that there are few flights to few places at fewer times and that transportation options to and from the pier can be limited--harder to get a shuttle or cruise line transfer--You are likelier needing to use Uber or taxis...

LAX is one of the five busiest airports in the world...Pluses are that there are several flights a day in and out to anywhere you can think of on just about every airline known to man...and all of the cruise lines run transfers from LAX and you have the cheap option of the shuttle companies which all run cheap shared shuttle services to and from the pier. The negatives are that it is very large, very busy and, often, very crowded. You have longer distances to walk to and from your gate and, at times, but not always, may encounter longer lines for check-in and security...

If you have found equal priced acceptably timed flights from Ontario, John Wayne (What you've called "Santa Ana") and LAX, I'd choose LAX...It's easily the closest of those three and ground transportation will be faster, easier to find and cheaper...I'd only pick John Wayne if the cost was significantly lower. I'd almost NEVER choose Ontario.

BTW, I fly in and out of LAX a lot of the time, though I also use Burbank quite a bit since it's a little closer to my home and smaller than John Wayne and WAY smaller than LAX--I just can't fly everywhere from there. I used to fly from John Wayne a bit as I lived and worked out that way for about 12-13 years earlier in my life...I've never really found those lines to be all that bad at LAX...

We live 20 minutes from ONT. FIL says we live in Detroit. Why? Because we are the same distance, time wise, as Toledo is from Detroit. Lol

I'd fly Delta since it flies direct Detroit-LAX. No change of planes, less chance of luggage getting lost.

Taxi from ONT would be expensive ($170, taxifarefinder.com) and there are no shared shuttles to San Pedro. Super Shuttle would run in the $90 range. Not many taxis or shuttles waiting here, might be one. Best to pre-arrange something.

*****

Are you renting a car? Watch out for the one way, drop off fees.

Bruin Steve has covered it well but the biggest hassle at LAX can be connecting as you often have to switch terminals. Since this is an end airport for you the best choice should be tied to timing and cost. From Detroit that will most likely be LAX. Skip the cruise line transfer and just walk out the front of the terminal and grab a shuttle.

Long Beach is a wonderful little airport. If you can get a reasonable flight in and out from there, I'd suggest it. But budget wise I am sure that LAX will be more reasonable.

Definitely double check on which port you're sailing out of. I can't imagine a NCL ship leaving from Long Beach as it's not Carnival nor a sister line (like Princess, HAL, Cunard) to Carnival.

If you stay in a hotel in Long Beach, make sure to let your driver (taxi or shuttle) know that you need to be taken to the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro.