LA help needed for after cruise

[cruzluver2]

Where to stay after cruise

We will be extending our stay for a couple days after our cruise in April. Was planning on staying in Long Beach due to Sunseekers tour on Sunday. Was also thinking about Knots Berry Farm on Saturday after departing the ship. Looks like Grand Prix is going on during his time and hotels are expensive! Have 8 am flight out of John Wayne Monday so will get shuttle. Any suggestions on where to stay would be appreciated. Unfamiliar with theaea. Thanks.

[Bruin Steve]

Where to stay after cruise

We will be extending our stay for a couple days after our cruise in April. Was planning on staying in Long Beach due to Sunseekers tour on Sunday. Was also thinking about Knots Berry Farm on Saturday after departing the ship. Looks like Grand Prix is going on during his time and hotels are expensive! Have 8 am flight out of John Wayne Monday so will get shuttle. Any suggestions on where to stay would be appreciated. Unfamiliar with theaea. Thanks.

 

Does your cruise return on a Saturday? And you have Sunseekers set up for the next day? And also want to visit Knott's?

 

Here's the deal: You could stay near Knott's...but you'd have to check with Sunseekers to see if they would still pick you up. There for an LA sightseeing tour. It's a little bit away from Sunseekers' Long Beach base...and in the other direction from the typical Hollywood and West Side sights on the tour...

 

Or, perhaps, you could switch it to Saturday, have them pick you up at the ship and drop you in Buena Park...and do Knott's on Sunday?

 

Buena Park is no great shakes...it's mostly an older middle class residential suburban town...but, the main drag--Beach Boulevard--has Knott's, some restaurants and some other tourist attractions...and some reasonably priced hotels/motels. I think there's a Radisson and a Courtyard along Beach just north of Knott's which would be reasonable to stay at...along with some cheaper (and maybe not as nice) hotels in the area as well...

 

But, with it being Grand Prix weekend in Long Beach, it may be a better option--if Knott's is something you want to visit...

 

Other tourist attractions along this strip:

 

http://www.medievaltimes.com/buenapark.aspx

 

http://www.titanictheexperience.com/buenapark/

 

http://www.piratesdinneradventure.com

 

All a little hokey...but, if you have kids to entertain, well, what can I say? I've actually done the Medieval Times thing with the daughters a few times over the years! These are all near that Radisson and Courtyard, north of Knott's...

 

If you just want a normal dinner, there's the Claim Jumper just across the street on the north side of Knott's...

 

OTOH, there's also the original Knott's Fried Chicken restaurant...

That's actually how Knott's got its start...Walter Knott was a berry farmer...the original developer of the boysenberry. They started a roadside stand to sell berries and preserves. Then, Cordelia Knott started selling Fried Chicken...and it became so popular that they couldn't handle the crowds without a wait...So, Walter built a small railroad to keep the kids entertained while the families waited for a table...and that continued with him adding other "rides" and attractions...to keep the waiting diners entertained...

 

I remember, when I was a kid, the whole "park" had the following attractions: the original train, a stagecoach ride with "bandits" staging a fake holdup, a ghost town, a covered wagon arena for music shows and the "haunted shack" where things defied gravity! Soon, they added a mine train ride...and it grew from there into a major amusement park with loads of thrill rides...

The place was a staple of my childhood...

[cruzluver2]

Yes retuning from ship on Saturday. Knotts isn't an I have to do it thing . No kids all adults. Would do a sunseekers on Saturday but will have luggage with us after cruise. Adult daughter wants th Hollywood thing but other than that no have to do thing. She would like to see surfers if possible. Casual eaters as well. Monday morning will be early shuttle to John Wayne.

[Bruin Steve]

Yes retuning from ship on Saturday. Knotts isn't an I have to do it thing. No kids all adults. Would do a sunseekers on Saturday but will have luggage with us after cruise. Adult daughter wants th Hollywood thing but other than that no have to do thing. She would like to see surfers if possible. Casual eaters as well. Monday morning will be early shuttle to John Wayne.

 

I guess the logistical problem here is John Wayne--which is way to the south of Hollywood...Otherwise, I would suggest staying in the Universal City area or on the West Side (Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Culver City, West LA, etc.)...which would open up a lot of other tour choices for Hollywood...but that would put you a great distance from John Wayne...

 

Sunseekers would be able to hold your luggage with you on the vehicle, I believe...but you really should check with them...Also check with them as to where they might be willing to pick up and drop off from...

 

It may be an idea to stay in the Seal Beach or Huntington Beach areas--those put you in the direction of John Wayne, but not too far from Long Beach and Sunseeker's home base...and there are some major surfing beaches in that vicinity...Seal Beach may be affected by that Grand Prix hotel crunch, though, as it is close to Long Beach...

 

Newport Beach would be very nice as well and put you very close to John Wayne...but may be a problem with getting a tour to Hollywood...

 

Good luck...

[kenish]

John Wayne Airport (SNA) is my local airport. As Bruin commented, it sounds like you may not realize that LA is a huge, spread out city. It's difficult to realize until you've been here.

 

Regardless of what you plan to do, I would stay in a hotel near SNA on Sunday night. Otherwise you will have to leave enough time to deal with Monday morning rush hour traffic and that will mean a very early departure from the hotel and an even earlier wake-up. For a hotel near Knott's Berry Farm I would leave for SNA no later than 515am. Also you will have significant ground transportation costs to the airport unless you have a rental car already.

 

If you must stay in the KBF area, I'd stay in the nearby Disneyland/Anaheim area. There are more ground transport options to the airport.

 

The ideal is to stay in a hotel around SNA. You should be able to get a pretty good rate since most are business hotels and pretty empty on weekends. Most should have a free airport shuttle. There's a full range from 1-5 star hotels within 5 miles of the airport. Lots of restaurants, the beach, and the regional mega-mall (South Coast Plaza).

Edited January 28, 2014 by kenish

[cruzluver2]

You are so right. I have never been to CA. I am open to suggestions! What would be good to do on Sunday and close to SNA. Would Seal Beach be closer? I am thinking Disneyland would be far away as well? I would be happy to kick back but adult daughter wants to do something! Thanks!

[skandls]

Disneyland and California Adventure are not too far - especially if you are looking at Knotts Berry Farm. There are a lot of hotel choices around Disney.

[kenish]

First question is if you will have a rental car. I highly recommend one. LA is the world's first city whose growth was oriented around the car. So you're at a serious disadvantage without one. On weekends rates should be pretty reasonable and traffic generally will be fine.

 

I'd pick up a car after your Sunseeker tour. Depending on where that is, drive down to a hotel near SNA and establish "base camp". Disneyland and KBF are 25-35 minutes away on weekends. Afterwards return to your hotel and either turn in the car Sunday night or on Monday morning.

 

SNA rental car return is in the bottom of the parking structure and it's a 100 yard walk to the ticket counters. If you walk into the terminal 90 minutes before scheduled departure that's plenty of time. Keep in mind SNA is busy on Monday with business traffic.

 

If you look on Tripadvisor for things to do in Orange County, there will be plenty of ideas. Cities immediately around SNA include Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, and Santa Ana.

[cruzluver2]

Thanks! I really appreciate your help!

[Cruisin' Chick]

You also want to check out the costs of DL, et al. I had a chance to go to Disneyland the other weekend on a discount ticket -- which was $82!:eek: There are some Disney fans (fanatics?) who think nothing of spending their whole time in Southern California or Orlando at the parks, so they'll look for specials on a multi-park discount. I think there's a regional special going on now, but that's for those who live here.

 

One thing to be aware of about our local beaches: it's not beach weather til June. So if your daughter wants to just see some surfers and not necessarily dip her own foot in the Pacific, you can probably check out the weather conditions for high surf (this last week, I think -- I don't keep track of this, we had some high waves).

[cruzluver2]

Won't have to get in the water. We have looked at Newport Beach. Would that be close to John Watne Air? Also what type of clothes are needed for this time of year? Shorts and capris?

[Splinter]

April is usually cool, but with the drought we are having, and lots of Santa Anas (warm dry winds from the desert) we are having, it could be warm enough for shorts. I wouldn't bet on it though. Most likely in April you will have days in the 60s and evenings in the low 50s. Rain is unlikely, but overcast and fog close to the coast are common. The ocean water will be in the low 50s or high 40s in April (all of these temperatures are of course F, not C).

 

John Wayne Airport it right next to Newport Beach, and also close to Laguna (a town I love) and not far from Anaheim (Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm).

 

Also, I missed that you had double posted this topic, so responded on your duplicate, here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1979298

Edited February 4, 2014 by Splinter