Long Beach Port

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Sorry Im not sure why that didnt post....my question is if anyone has driven into this port and is it easy to navigate Where to go and to park...Im driving in from AZ and should be arriving around 1 - 2 pm....I plan on just packing an average rolling suitcase and backpack for our wine/drinks...so i dont have to check my bags...Ive heard that most cabins are ready by then so we can go straight to room. ...thoughts??

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It's not difficult at all. If you do want to check your bags, you can drive up and drop off your luggage with the porters and then find a parking spot in the structure. If you don't want to check them, it's really not that far to walk and there's an elevator in the parking structure.

Very easy.

We live off the 10.

We take the 10w - 605s - 105w - 710s then follow the signs to the Queen Mary.

Parking is $17/day.

Very easy.

We live off the 10.

 

We take the 10w - 605s - 105w - 710s then follow the signs to the Queen Mary.

 

Parking is $17/day.

How long does it take you?? Do you live in Phoenix??

Live near ONT.

About an hour from port.

(The few times we've driven to Phoenix it's taken us 5 hours.)

Live near ONT.

About an hour from port.

 

(The few times we've driven to Phoenix it's taken us 5 hours.)

OK, I figured giving ourselves about 5 1/2 to 6 hours of drive time is good, dropping off my baby at daycare and plan on being on the road at 7am, so pending traffic hoping to get to port about 1-2pm:D

Take a look at it on Google maps:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Carnival+Cruise+Terminal,+Long+Beach,+CA&hl=en&ll=33.75371,-118.195338&spn=0.013666,0.027766&sll=33.751329,-118.1905&sspn=0.006833,0.013883&t=h&hq=Carnival+Cruise+Terminal,+Long+Beach,+CA&radius=15000&z=16

That white circle next to the ship is the Terminal...it is a large geodesic dome originally built to house Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose Airplane...

The Square right next to the circle is the Parking Structure...

Were it me, I'd probably be a little paranoid about trying to drive from Phoenix on the same day as the cruise, leaving at 7:00...You never know what you may hit in the way of traffic or delay...What time does the ship actually stop boarding?

My preference would be to leave and make the drive the day before--and stay overnight before the cruise in Long Beach--then get to the ship by noon...My comfort level is that I prefer to make such a drive on a day when there is no stress...when delays wouldn't bother me...Then actually find myself in Long Beach--spend a relaxing remainder of the day, eat dinner at a nice restaurant and get a good night's sleep...knowing that, in the morning, I could arise at my leisure, eat breakfast, check out of the hotel and get a short shuttle to the pier (possibly, with a car, using a park and stay rate at the Maya Doubletree, avoiding that hefty $17 per night at the terminal)...

Of course, I get that, for you, child care is an issue...

Oh, and, getting there...when you get to Riverside, get off the 10 and on to the 91 West...to the 710 South , then, follow the signs...

Take a look at it on Google maps:

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Carnival+Cruise+Terminal,+Long+Beach,+CA&hl=en&ll=33.75371,-118.195338&spn=0.013666,0.027766&sll=33.751329,-118.1905&sspn=0.006833,0.013883&t=h&hq=Carnival+Cruise+Terminal,+Long+Beach,+CA&radius=15000&z=16

 

That white circle next to the ship is the Terminal...it is a large geodesic dome originally built to house Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose Airplane...

The Square right next to the circle is the Parking Structure...

 

Were it me, I'd probably be a little paranoid about trying to drive from Phoenix on the same day as the cruise, leaving at 7:00...You never know what you may hit in the way of traffic or delay...What time does the ship actually stop boarding?

 

My preference would be to leave and make the drive the day before--and stay overnight before the cruise in Long Beach--then get to the ship by noon...My comfort level is that I prefer to make such a drive on a day when there is no stress...when delays wouldn't bother me...Then actually find myself in Long Beach--spend a relaxing remainder of the day, eat dinner at a nice restaurant and get a good night's sleep...knowing that, in the morning, I could arise at my leisure, eat breakfast, check out of the hotel and get a short shuttle to the pier (possibly, with a car, using a park and stay rate at the Maya Doubletree, avoiding that hefty $17 per night at the terminal)...

 

Of course, I get that, for you, child care is an issue...

 

Oh, and, getting there...when you get to Riverside, get off the 10 and on to the 91 West...to the 710 South , then, follow the signs...

Yes alot of people have suggested that its just not an option for me, the ship doesn't leave until 530pm...so I have until 4pm to be on board...I have looked at some of the hotel options and if I could, I would...but I have the finances of another person to take into consideration too...and at $17pd for parking thats only $50ish dollars and most of the room rates are over $100...I know an extra 50 bucks is a small price to pay for sanity...but my hands are tied so I will have to take my chances. Yes, I have mapquested the route and it told me to go thru riverside so I plan on that...plus the 91 west is a beautiful drive :)

I know of people who don't do that long of a drive, who still end up exhausted on the first day of the cruise. We just have an hour's drive, and we plan to be at the port by 11 or noon at the latest, especially just in case we have a problem with the car (would give us time to get it towed to the fix it shop and for a taxi to get us to the port). Not stressed out about trying to get to the port on that time schedule.

Our first cruise AB (after baby) wasn't til she was 23 months old, and she came with us. She was a month too young for Camp Carnival so she was always with us, but we had a great time watching her explore the ship (especially back then there was a topless sunbathing area and that was funny for us -- but fortunately, she was there when everyone had their tops on). I would just be too obsessed with how she was doing to leave her behind.

Depending on the time of day the 91 can get seriously congested.

If you have a smart phone, add this to your screen for traffic

http://cad.chp.ca.gov

Areas are Inland and Los Angeles.

If you have a smart phone, add this to your screen for traffic

http://cad.chp.ca.gov

Areas are Inland and Los Angeles.

The CHP website is good, but if you aren't familiar with freeways and streets it's difficult to know whether a problem is relevant or not.

I highly recommend the Waze app if you have a smartphone. It tracks the speed of other users, collects reports of traffic or other problems, and routes you "on the fly" based on your choice of shortest time or shortest distance. If a quicker option opens up, it alerts and re-routes you. It also warns about road hazards and cops that users report.

OK, I figured giving ourselves about 5 1/2 to 6 hours of drive time is good, dropping off my baby at daycare and plan on being on the road at 7am, so pending traffic hoping to get to port about 1-2pm:D

Takes us 7 hours from Phx, somes times longer. Also keep in mind the time of year you are leaving. Due to time changes in CA you could lose or gain an hour. I always leave the night before to avoid the stress of possibly missing the ship. For a 7day cruise the parking is $119.00. We have a hotel, with breakfast, parking for the length of the cruise and shuttle to and from the terminal for $119.00.

Like staying for free.

We've driven in from PHX a couple of times the day of the cruise. We've also done the drive the day before and stay at the Hotel Maya a couple of times to.

You'll be fine leaving AZ at 7am and getting to the ship on time. You're going to miss the morning LA rush hour(s), and remember that you're leaving your house at 6am CA time so that puts you getting to the terminal at noon. That gives you 4 hours should anything go wrong on the drive.

Shlupping your bags through the check in isn't bad, but if your room isn't ready when you board you'll need to haul them around with you until it is. It's worth it to drop them off with porter and just carry on a small bag with your wine/drinks and maybe you swim suits.

As someone mentioned you can drop your bags off and park, but the time's I've parked in the garage it isn't any where near full and you can usually get pretty close to the elevator.

EDIT: Just read your departure date. DST starts on March 8th so forget what I said about the extra hour. :-) We are going in feb so I didn't think to check on when we switch back to CA time.

AZT

Very easy.

We live off the 10.

 

We take the 10w - 605s - 105w - 710s then follow the signs to the Queen Mary.

 

Parking is $17/day.

We just moved to California, and we will be cruising Carnival off the west coast for the first time. We have no family or close friends here. Do most of the locals just do the $17/day parking? Or are there other alternatives? (We are in Ontario, and we are doing the shorty 4 day cruise so the $100+ hotel options would be more $)

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We just moved to California, and we will be cruising Carnival off the west coast for the first time. We have no family or close friends here. Do most of the locals just do the $17/day parking? Or are there other alternatives? (We are in Ontario, and we are doing the shorty 4 day cruise so the $100+ hotel options would be more $)

Sis lives near you. She takes the Metrolink to Union Station. Then the Metro Red/Purple Line to the Blue Line to Long Beach. Then hop on the free Long Beach Passport bus to the Queen Mary. We also do this, but coming from the valley.

For the 3/4 day cruises, we take a 21" plus a tote. The largest suitcase we have taken is a 22". I wouldn't do this with anything larger.

Or you can park at Union Station for $6/day at the Patsaouras transit center and then take the colored lines. We have parked here 2x with no problems.

Hi neighbor!

Not too many safe parking options in Long Beach. I've read of a few but I'd rather not keep my car in an open lot.

The price of parking is horrendous at the Long Beach port. It's the same whether you're parking for a cruise, Queen Mary or the Catalina Express.

Whether we take the train in depends on how long a cruise and how many people are going. We'll park at port for a three day and take the train for a 4day with two going.

Train takes almost three hours from Montclair. It's a one hour drive from the Ontario Mills, without traffic. The 605 has been horrible every time we've driven in. HINT for Metro: buy two one way tickets beforehand. Two reasons- the tickets have a time limit, buying a day ahead they are good all day. The single round trip tix are invalid on the Metro Colored Lines for the return trip.

Most do just drive in. Our family is one of the few who do the train/train/train/bus to port.

Information---

This route will also take you to the Aquarium of the Pacific.

The train in from Montclair will get you into Union Station. You can walk to Olvera Street and Chinatown.

We just moved to California, and we will be cruising Carnival off the west coast for the first time. We have no family or close friends here. Do most of the locals just do the $17/day parking? Or are there other alternatives? (We are in Ontario, and we are doing the shorty 4 day cruise so the $100+ hotel options would be more $)

We, generally, just bite the bullet and pay for parking...

The alternative for us is to use a shuttle or limo to the pier...but that ends up at least as costly, depending on the length of cruise...but you don't deal with traffic and your car stays safely at home in your garage...

The third alternative, for us, would be to get a park and cruise rate at the Maya Doubletree or other nearby hotel...The Maya has often offered such rates as low as around $120--which would be the same approximate cost of a week's parking at the pier...If you can get that rate, it's like a free hotel room for a night with your parking tab...

But, for ME, I am willing to pay a little bit for CONVENIENCE, ease, lack of stress...I don't want to turn a one-hour drive to the pier into a three hour adventure in each direction just to save money. The advantage to living withion an hour of the pier is that you can get there...and be onboard a ship...within an hour of home...I just figure it in to the cost of cruising...

Hi Steve!

Understand about the stress. Beginning of the month we were late leaving for port. Hit a massive snarl on the 605 because a gravel truck trailer had overturned. Arrived in port 2.5 hours after we left. No warning as to what it was or its progress on the radio nor CHP app.

At least we have options. It's unfortunate your area doesn't have any alternatives.

I live in Tucson and there is no way I would drive over the morning of our cruise. That's just crazy, there is so much that could go wrong. Plus you're tired and probably emotionally fried from the trip. It's simply not a good idea.

We just moved to California, and we will be cruising Carnival off the west coast for the first time. We have no family or close friends here. Do most of the locals just do the $17/day parking? Or are there other alternatives? (We are in Ontario, and we are doing the shorty 4 day cruise so the $100+ hotel options would be more $)

Re-reading blessed's post again...

A 4-night cruise?

My final take on that: The total parking charge is going to be $68...

To take the Metrorail, here's what you get (using an approximate location in Ontario):

Ontario, CA

Holt @ Lemon

80 Bus towards SB-Montclair-Chaffey College

11:12am - 11:40am (28 mins, 17 stops)

Montclair Trans Center

Walk to Montclair Metrolink Station

About 1 min (25 mins to make transfer)

Montclair Metrolink Station

San Bernardino Line Train 359 towards L. A. Union Station

12:05pm - 1:15pm (1 hour 10 mins, 7 stops)

L. A. Union Station Metrolink Station

Walk to Union Station

About 2 mins (492 ft)

Union Station Stop ID: 80214

Metro Red Line (802) Subway towards 802 - North Hollywood Station

1:22pm - 1:26pm (5 mins, 3 stops)

7th Street / Metro Center Station Stop ID: 80211

Walk to 7th Street / Metro Center Station

About 1 min (9 mins to make transfer)

7th Street / Metro Center Station Stop ID: 80122

Metro Blue Line (801) Light rail towards 801 - Downtown Long Beach Station

1:36pm - 2:34pm (58 mins, 20 stops)

Downtown Long Beach Station Stop ID: 80101

Walk to Ocean & Pine SW Temp Stop

About 3 mins (0.1 mi)

Ocean & Pine SW Temp Stop Stop ID: 2310

Passport Bus towards Passport - Pine Ave South to Queen Mary

2:43pm - 3:00pm (17 mins, 7 stops)

Queen Mary London Town W Stop ID: 4099

Walk to Carnival Cruise Lines

About 4 mins (0.2 mi)

Carnival Cruise Lines

231 Windsor Way

Long Beach, CA 90802

Travel time: about 3 hours 52 mins

That was using Google Maps...I tried using the Metrolink site and it couldn't even give me a route...

So, yeah, you can take the trains...making a few transfers along the way, schlepping your luggage on and off each time...and taking up a large portion of your day on each end of your cruise...

...and for what? To save maybe $50?

How much is your time worth?

What are you willing to pay for CONVENIENCE?

$68 may sound like a lot for 4 days of parking (Yeah, if you wer cruising with another line out of San Pedro, there it would have been only $48)...

But, for me, I would just say "It is what it is"...

Is it worth that extra $50 to you to be able to drive directly from home to the pier in an hour...and, when you get off the ship four days later, to have your car right there, load your luggage in the trunk and be home in an hour?

Or is the small savings here worth taking three plus hours in each direction dealing with getting on and off trains, waiting on trains, etc.?

Steve, they'd only be saving $28 (not including gas and other car expenses)

Metro tickets are $10 each way during the week. Assuming only two are traveling.

Enjoying the train right now. Went to Chinatown for New Years. Didn't have to deal with the traffic.

Steve, they'd only be saving $28 (not including gas and other car expenses)

Metro tickets are $10 each way during the week. Assuming only two are traveling.

Thanks...I don't use the Metro, so I wouldn't know...

That makes the point even more...

All that hassle and extra time to save $28....

Steve, they'd only be saving $28 (not including gas and other car expenses)

Metro tickets are $10 each way during the week. Assuming only two are traveling.

Add $12-$15 for gas (assuming car gets 30mph and gas is $3/gal).

If more than 2 are traveling, I would just park at the port.

Thanks...I don't use the Metro, so I wouldn't know...

That makes the point even more...

All that hassle and extra time to save $28....

Steve,

Since you have never taken the metro, please don't comment on it, pro or con.

I find it more relaxing taking the metro down to Long Beach instead of the hassle of the freeway traffic.

OK!!!!!! After alot of what if's and maybe I could do this...LOL.. Here is what we have planned

Option 1) My sis and I have a hotel booked in Palm Springs for the night before the cruise (its a little more then half way at least) my hubby tutors in the evening most days..so we won't be leaving until he gets home since I have to be home with the baby...which would get us to PS around midnight maybe.. Then we will get up early and drive to the port. hoping to arrive like 11am or noon.

Option 2) BUT if for some reason he doesn't have tutoring then I am considering cancelling my hotel in Palm Springs (free cancellation up to 6pm the day of arrival) and springing to drive the whole way the day before (still not being able to leave until maybe 4pm once daddy gets home from work...and surprising my sister by staying at the Queen Mary instead (its her Birthday weekend after all)...even tho we would get in late...its the suprise that counts right?? So my question is...staying at the Queen Mary is about 50 bucks more then the hotel in PS which is fine... but would we get a better rate on the parking since we would be parking in the same terminal for the cruise???