Los Angles

[acpcruiser3]

We will be flying into Los Angles for a Mexican Rivera cruise on the Miracle. We are flying in a couple of days early so any suggestions of hotels and shuttle service is greatly appreciated.

[Miller_KC]

Depends on what you like. We had a great time at the Hilton at Universal Studios. It was central to what we wanted to see Hollywood and we could shuttle over for dinner on the City Walk each night.

[Tapi]

We stayed at the Hyatt The Pike right on Long Beach. Absolutely wonderful hotel and rated as one of Southern California's Top Resorts by a reputable travel magazine. Absolutely the best start to our vacation. Photos in my Golden Princess review below.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Tapi

[riffatsea]

Where you stay will depend on what you wish to see/do in the area. The Long Beach cruiseport is a good hour's drive from the city of Los Angeles and its attractions.

I'd first read a little about the possibilities in LA and in Long Beach and then decide where you want to stay.

You'll have to pay to go from LA to Long Beach as the hotels are too far apart from the dock to have shuttles.

IF you decide to forego LA attractions and just stay in Long Beach then you can go to the aquarium and the Queen Mary there easily.

[fuzzmane]

We used Super Shuttle from LAX and stayed at the Hotel Maya in Long Beach, very nice place. They are a little pricey, so look for deals. They have free shuttle to the restaurants etc. Close enough to walk to the Queen Mary and the port (if you want). Have a great cruise.

[Bsbllmom]

I love staying at the Queen Mary the night before a cruise. I don't live far from Long Beach but will stay the night there. You just have to get up, get ready and walk over the terminal. :)

[USNUZULOOSE]

I loved staying at the Queen Mary, got to walk around and take pictures of her. Had dinner on her as well. Took the free shuttle around town.

[welldone60]

Not sure when you are sailing, but if you decide to stay in Long Beach, the Queen is a great place to stay. There is a travel club for "last minute travelers" (Google) that is free to join and we have booked the Queen Mary 3 times for around $90. They do charge $19 a day for parking, (most hotels in Long Beach charge for parking) but that still put's you in under $125 a night. There is a free trolley that stops at the Queen that will take you to most of the sites to visit.

If you are staying in LA, better get a rental car. Taxi fares would kill you. If you do rent a car, pick it up at LAX and drop it off in Long Beach. You just drop off your bags at the port, then return your car and Taxi back to port.

Edited March 19, 2015 by welldone60

[SadieN]

What do you want to see and do. Museums, hiking, rock climbing, Hollywood, beaches, old West? Outside of LA there are two Presidential museums, amusement parks etc.

Took me two hours to get from one end to the other today during no rush hour.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Just in case Steve doesn't see your question, I'm going to take the liberty and copy his info about Long Beach hotels here:

There is a very limited area of Long Beach in which you want to stay...and, therefore, a limited number of hotels.

 

"A" List: The BEST places to stay are the Hyatt, Westin, Renaissance and Hyatt at the Pike …These put you right in the heart of the tourist area with very convenient walks to restaurants, shops and attractions and easy access to the free "Passport" shuttle...and those ARE the nicest hotels in town. Doesn't necessarily mean they are higher priced, though...and you can often get a real deal via Priceline...

 

http://www.longbeach.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

 

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin...ropertyID=1003

 

http://thepikelongbeach.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...g-beach-hotel/

 

"B" List: Slightly further away, but still in decent walking distance, is the Hilton. Just across the bridge (on the same side of the channel as the Carnival Pier) are the Marriott Residence Inn Downtown and the Maya Doubletree...

 

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/cal...HHF/index.html

 

http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hot...YDT/index.html

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...each-downtown/

 

"C" List: Slightly outside the prime area and/or not necessarily the nicest hotels for one reason or another, but options if all else fails are the Marriott Courtyard and the Best Western Long Beach Convention Center...The Queen Mary is across the bridge ...and right next to the Carnival Terminal...however, I am not a big fan of the Queen Mary--unless you are on there for nostalgia's sake...It's not exactly a first class hotel by today's standards--the rooms are small, condition questionable, etc.

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...each-downtown/

 

http://bestwesterncalifornia.com/index.html

 

http://www.queenmary.com/stay-aboard/stay-aboard/

 

Getting to ANY of these hotels from LAX, you'd either have to take a taxi, car service or a shuttle...Try Super Shuttle or Prime Time Shuttle or Super Shuttle's Execucar...From hotel to pier, some of these hotels may have free shuttles, but policies change time to time, so I would check individually with the hotel...All would be a very short taxi ride from the Carnival Pier...From the Maya Doubletree, Residence Inn Downtown or Queen Mary, one could even walk...

 

One word of warning: Do NOT go looking for bargains outside of this short list of hotels...Long Beach is a BIG city...there are lots of different areas, some better, some worse...some not so close to the port or the tourist areas...That bargain hotel MAY tell you it's near the Convention Center or near the port...but it may not be...it may be in an undesirable area or location. You want to have a pleasant stay--stick to this list.

 

This area of Long Beach means you will have a large choice of restaurants nearby, you will have nice shops and picturesque scenery and places to walk and enjoy...You will be close to sites like the Aquarium and the Queen Mary if you want to have a little sightseeing...Long Beach runs a free shuttle service called the "Passport" which will take you all over the Downtown area: One word of warning: Do NOT go looking for bargains outside of this short list of hotels...Long Beach is a BIG city...there are lots of different areas, some better, some worse...some not so close to the port or the tourist areas...That bargain hotel MAY tell you it's near the Convention Center or near the port...but it may not be...it may be in an undesirable area or location. You want to have a pleasant stay--stick to this list.

 

This area of Long Beach means you will have a large choice of restaurants nearby, you will have nice shops and picturesque scenery and places to walk and enjoy...You will be close to sites like the Aquarium and the Queen Mary if you want to have a little sightseeing...Long Beach runs a free shuttle service called the "Passport" which will take you all over the Downtown area:

 

http://www.lbtransit.com/services/passport.aspx

[Cruisin' Chick]

So to address more of the question about Los Angeles...

If you're going on a Carnival cruise, 99.99 per cent sure you'll be leaving from the Port of Long Beach.

 

Long Beach is one segment of the County of Los Angeles, which is spread over a major distance (think of some small countries;)). LA includes the City of Los Angeles, Burbank, Beverly Hills, and many, many other cities and communities. Even the City of LA is very widespread...my hubby used to work downtown at the City Hall and that's a good 30 miles away from where we live, which is still officially the COLA.

 

One reason many of the above are asking about what you want to do in the day or two before your cruise is that they want you to think about narrowing down where you stay to what you want to see. Two places I would suggest NOT staying is by the LAX airport. Think strip malls in the literal sense. Also don't stay in downtown LA. You'll probably be far from anything you'll want to see and it's not a great place to stay -- seedy areas and any decent hotels are business-oriented (for Convention Center events) tend to be pricey.

 

Do you want to see Hollywood? Do you want to see the typical tourism sites, beaches, fancy storees, museums?

 

Also what time of year? Beach weather is best between late June and early October. Otherwise it could be overcast or even rainy (we had rain last night around here just as I was leaving a night meeting).

[acpcruiser3]

We are cruising in January, by the time we get there we will really only have one day to sight see. Maybe something like Sea World.

[SadieN]

Sea World is in San Diego, about two hours south.

If you want to see marine life check out the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

If you stay in one of the Long Beach hotels, most are on the free Passport bus route.

[Cruisin' Chick]

The Aquarium of the Pacific has an excellent reputation and is pretty fun to explore. If you have membership in the Auto Club, bring your card as I think they still have a Show Your Card discount.

 

You can get your hands stamped if you want to leave for a while (take advantage of the free shuttle bus and check out restaurants at Shoreline Village for lunch).