Activities Near Long Beach Port

Hi,

My husband and I will be on the Star Princess (10/18 sailing). What can we do on our own during the port stop in Long Beach? We would prefer not to rent a car. We would like to find shopping/museums/restaurants that are within walking distance of the cruise port.

Thank you for your help.

MinnieCruiser:D

Next to the pier is the Queen Mary. There is a free bus (http://www.lbtransit.com/Services/Passport.aspx) that goes to the Aquarium of the Pacific and restaurants around the Pike area.

The stop for the free bus is in the parking lot at the row of shrubs and trees in front of the QM (In Google maps, there is a blue bus symbol at the stop). If you tell the driver where you want to go, they will tell you which stop to get off at. Also, ask where to catch the bus to get back to the port as some stops have been temporarily changed.

Thank you for the information.

MinnieCruiser

@Minnie- Just making sure you're clear on whether Star Princess docks in San Pedro or Long Beach. The default answer is San Pedro, which is about 8 miles from Long Beach across the LA Harbor complex. Long Beach is almost always for Carnival- but since Princess is part of their "family" it's possible your cruise is one of the rare exceptions.

Princess itinerary lists it as "Los Angeles (Long Beach)" but the photos in their website show San Pedro. Port calendars for both cities do not show Star Princess at all ! I'm sure your up to speed on this, just "making sure you're sure".

According to the Princess website, the Star will be in Los Angeles (Long Beach) on October 21. But then I looked at both the Port of LA and the Port of LB cruise calendars, and neither of them list any ships on that day. I would think that if San Pedro doesn't have several ships on that day, why wouldn't the Star dock there?

According to the Princess website' date=' the Star will be in Los Angeles (Long Beach) on October 21. But then I looked at both the Port of LA and the Port of LB cruise calendars, and neither of them list any ships on that day. I would think that if San Pedro doesn't have several ships on that day, why wouldn't the Star dock there?[/quote']

 

The Star Princess is stopping in Long Beach for the day. The cruise starts and ends in SF. According to the cruisett website, the Star is scheduled.

 

When there are no Carnival ships in port, then Princess (and sometimes HAL) will use the Long Beach pier, which is the case on the 10/21. Maybe Princess might not dock at SP for the day because it might cost more to dock there than at Long Beach.

I will have to verify with Princess. Everything I have read so far from Princess says Long Beach. The cruise reviews also say Long Beach. Thank you for the information.

MinnieCruiser

The Star Princess is stopping in Long Beach for the day. The cruise starts and ends in SF. According to the cruisett website, the Star is scheduled.

 

When there are no Carnival ships in port, then Princess (and sometimes HAL) will use the Long Beach pier, which is the case on the 10/21. Maybe Princess might not dock at SP for the day because it might cost more to dock there than at Long Beach.

I would definitely check with Princess on this, but I wouldn't trust that cruisett website as I found errors on just a couple of sailings, so I don't trust them (unless they've become more reliable).

I'm surprised that Princess hasn't gotten the port stay listed on the cruise calendars. It does make sense if the port stay is less money at Long Beach, but it seems that Princess avoids LB for actual embarkation.

If a passenger doesn't want to rent a car and explore the LA sites (or buy an excursion), the LB waterfront, IMO, would be a nicer place to spend the day than the SP one. Neither port has a beach really close so someone who wants a beach day (and I would only recommend this between June and October), they'll need transportation.

I'm surprised that Princess hasn't gotten the port stay listed on the cruise calendars. It does make sense if the port stay is less money at Long Beach' date=' but it seems that Princess avoids LB for actual embarkation.

[/quote']

 

The Star is starting and ending in San Francisco. The Star is only having a port day in Long Beach. (There other ports are Ensenada, San Diego and Santa Barbara).

 

Stop confusing the issue of embarkation and a port day in the middle of a cruise.

 

For my cruises, I have never seen a problem with the cruisett site.

my understanding of these 10 day cruises is that they are using Long Beach because it's a ""port of call" .

Hence not tying up San Pedro. Also as a port of call, there is much more to do at LB for the passengers.

The Star is starting and ending in San Francisco. The Star is only having a port day in Long Beach. (There other ports are Ensenada, San Diego and Santa Barbara).

 

Stop confusing the issue of embarkation and a port day in the middle of a cruise.

 

For my cruises, I have never seen a problem with the cruisett site.

I just ran a check on the Crown Princess 10 day to Sea of Cortez 1/9/2015 on cruisett and will have to refer you to it if you want to see a schedule mess.

As far as things to do at the ports, San Pedro has the Iowa ship for tours, the fire ship museum, Ports of Call, and a Catalina terminal all within walking distance, so it is not a wasteland !!

You can shop in Long Beach at Shoreline Village, and there are plenty of places to eat there as well. You might also consider visiting the Aquarium of the Pacific. The is the closest museum type place, unless you want to take a cab over to San Pedro and visit the Los Angeles Maritime Museum or the USS Iowa.

http://www.shorelinevillage.com/

http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/

http://www.lamaritimemuseum.org/

http://www.pacificbattleship.com

The Star is starting and ending in San Francisco. The Star is only having a port day in Long Beach. (There other ports are Ensenada, San Diego and Santa Barbara).

 

Stop confusing the issue of embarkation and a port day in the middle of a cruise.

 

For my cruises, I have never seen a problem with the cruisett site.

I'm well aware that this is a port stop and not final disembarkation. I happened to look on another Princess ship's itinerary that was doing a coastal itinerary and that specific one doesn't mention Long Beach at all. So maybe some of the ships stop at Long Beach if the Long Beach berth is available, and some don't.

I don't usually go on cruisett, but as I said, a couple of times I did check it to see for a couple of cruises I've gone on, and did find at least a few mistakes. I imagine it's correct most of the time, but personally I wouldn't bet the farm on the info there.

Next to the pier is the Queen Mary. There is a free bus (http://www.lbtransit.com/Services/Passport.aspx) that goes to the Aquarium of the Pacific and restaurants around the Pike area.

 

The stop for the free bus is in the parking lot at the row of shrubs and trees in front of the QM (In Google maps, there is a blue bus symbol at the stop). If you tell the driver where you want to go, they will tell you which stop to get off at. Also, ask where to catch the bus to get back to the port as some stops have been temporarily changed.

Next to the Queen Mary is a Soviet era submarine.

http://www.queenmary.com/tours-exhibits/tours-exhibits-attractions/scorpion-submarine/