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San Pedro Port


maureen B.
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Hi,

We are taking a California Coastal Cruise leaving from San Pedro. We will be flying in from Newark, NJ. We have about three days pre cruise. From what I have read, the area surrounding the port is not that nice. What would be our best option, fly into LA then travel to Long Beach to spend our three days? What is the best way to get from LA to Long Beach and then back to LA the morning of the cruise. It seems easier to get a flight into LA rather then into Long Beach. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! This will be our first time in California.

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have done this a couple of times...we normally stay by the airport...free shuttle from the airport to the hotel (Radisson but serveral in the area). took a shuttle that stopped in front of the hotel and went to Manhattan beach. Also booked a bus tour that picked up at the hotel and did the basics of LA (ie Hollywood Sign, Chinese theatre, observatory) Then on cruise day did shuttle to port (forget the name blue van that services most port cities).

 

other folks on CC suggest staying by Long Beach for better restaurants etc then shuttle to ship

 

You could also do Disneyland for a day and take a shuttle from there to the port. only issue is travel time with traffic and time of day but normally weekend departures so not as big a deal

 

have fun

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For three days in LA I would scope out what you want to see and do and then consider renting a car. You could stay wherever makes the most sense for your variety of places to visit. Neither, San Pedro, LAX or even Long Beach would likely end up as a number one choice. The LA basin is huge, many sites to see are distant from one another and public transit is not a great option, especially for touring. Really look for what interests you and then sit with a map or an Angeleno to plot out your best routes. Be careful as to how long some trips can take, time not miles, as traffic is likely worse than most other places you have been.

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Personally I wouldn't stay at a hotel in the LAX area unless one has an early morning flight the next day. There's nothing but strip malls in that area (and you can take that literally:eek:).

 

Maybe if you can tell us what you want to do and see on the pre-cruise part of your trip. Then we can help you come up with an area(s) to consider staying in.

 

Just for clarification sake, you're going on a line other than Carnival, which means you're sailing out of San Pedro which is the Port of LA (Carnival uses the port of Long Beach). So you really mean, though, that on the day of your cruise, you need to get to San Pedro (LA is pretty big and I'm guessing you were talking about flying into LAX, but that isn't near the port).

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maureenB,

 

I am one of those who do not care for San Pedro under any circumstances. I know some don't agree with me. For two days Long Beach would be an option but for three days you might run out of things to do unless you arrange a tour for one of the days to another areas of Southern California or rent a car.

 

Let's start with the flight.

 

Long Beach airport is closer to where the ship will leave out of San Pedro but flight are limited so that is the advantage of Flying to LAX.

 

If you fly to LAX and want to stay in Long Beach then to get to Long Beach if you are not renting a car (we never rent a car) a good option is a private vehicle. We use execucar and their website is http://www.execucar.com

 

On the day of the cruise we take a taxi or UBER from Long Beach to the pier in San Pedro which is about a fifteen minute drive.

 

On the day of disembarkation if we are flying from LAX we make a reservation with execucar to take us to the airport. The drive between the pier and the airport can vary depending on day of week and time of day but we figure about an hour and more recently even pad that a little beyond the hour because of construction at the airport.

 

You have other options as to where to stay and other places that we have stayed at depending on the length of the pre cruise stay include Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and even Anaheim for Disneyland.

 

I would do some reading on this.

 

Again Long Beach is still an option but I would fill one of the days with a tour of some sort that you could arrange in advance or the hotel could arrange for you that takes you to another area.

 

Keith

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Hi,

We are taking a California Coastal Cruise leaving from San Pedro. We will be flying in from Newark, NJ. We have about three days pre cruise. From what I have read, the area surrounding the port is not that nice. What would be our best option, fly into LA then travel to Long Beach to spend our three days? What is the best way to get from LA to Long Beach and then back to LA the morning of the cruise. It seems easier to get a flight into LA rather then into Long Beach. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! This will be our first time in California.

 

First time here, there are a lot of variables to consider...

1) By three days, do you mean three FULL days...or is it, for example, flying in Thursday afternoon and embarking a ship on Saturday? If it's the former, I'd go somewhere other than the harbor area...if the latter, you are likely only looking at one day of sightseeing...

2) Being that it's your first visit, what do you want to see/do? The standard tourist spots --Hollywood Walk of Fame, Chinese Theater, Hollywood Sign, Rodeo Drive? Amusement Parks? Movie/TV studios? Museums? Or will you be satisfied just hanging out in the Harbor area and seeing the sights there? (Aquarium of the Pacific, Queen Mary, USS Iowa)...

3) Will you rent a car...or be dependent on tours/public transportation/walking and taxis/Uber?

4) What sort of hotel budget do you have? More desirable parts of town and nice hotels can come with a hefty price tag. Cheaper hotels might mean some very undesirable neighborhoods and/or bad hotels.

 

Personally, if I had a friend visiting LA for the first time, I would highly recommend staying in Santa Monica and only getting a shuttle, town car or Uber down to San Pedro the morning of the cruise. With multiple days, I'd recommend taking a tour to Hollywood and the tourist sights on one day (most tour companies do pick-ups in the main Santa Monica hotels)...and spending the rest of the time, enjoying the Santa Monica area--beach, Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Pier, Palisades Park, Venice Beach Boardwalk...maybe, if time, a trip to the Getty Villa or Getty Center Museum...most of it reasonably walkable or short Uber rides...

 

That plan would give you the most complete LA experience (less amusement parks and studio tours) and take away the need to rent a car.

 

Of course, one downside for some is that nice hotels in Santa Monica can be a bit pricey...but, IMHO, it is well worth it...especially for a first visit...

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First time here, there are a lot of variables to consider...

1) By three days, do you mean three FULL days...or is it, for example, flying in Thursday afternoon and embarking a ship on Saturday? If it's the former, I'd go somewhere other than the harbor area...if the latter, you are likely only looking at one day of sightseeing...

2) Being that it's your first visit, what do you want to see/do? The standard tourist spots --Hollywood Walk of Fame, Chinese Theater, Hollywood Sign, Rodeo Drive? Amusement Parks? Movie/TV studios? Museums? Or will you be satisfied just hanging out in the Harbor area and seeing the sights there? (Aquarium of the Pacific, Queen Mary, USS Iowa)...

3) Will you rent a car...or be dependent on tours/public transportation/walking and taxis/Uber?

4) What sort of hotel budget do you have? More desirable parts of town and nice hotels can come with a hefty price tag. Cheaper hotels might mean some very undesirable neighborhoods and/or bad hotels.

 

Personally, if I had a friend visiting LA for the first time, I would highly recommend staying in Santa Monica and only getting a shuttle, town car or Uber down to San Pedro the morning of the cruise. With multiple days, I'd recommend taking a tour to Hollywood and the tourist sights on one day (most tour companies do pick-ups in the main Santa Monica hotels)...and spending the rest of the time, enjoying the Santa Monica area--beach, Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Pier, Palisades Park, Venice Beach Boardwalk...maybe, if time, a trip to the Getty Villa or Getty Center Museum...most of it reasonably walkable or short Uber rides...

 

That plan would give you the most complete LA experience (less amusement parks and studio tours) and take away the need to rent a car.

 

Of course, one downside for some is that nice hotels in Santa Monica can be a bit pricey...but, IMHO, it is well worth it...especially for a first visit...

 

I agree with you. Nice plan.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Downtown Long Beach to LA Cruise Center is about 6 miles. I am assuming your renting car for first few days. Most major hotel should offer shuttle to LA cruise port. I would not recomend staying in SAN PEDRO

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