lucy2mb

13 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

 If you are on NCL. NCL has a free ferry to St. George’s for their passengers. 

13 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

 If you are on NCL. NCL has a free ferry to St. George’s for their passengers. 

No, we are not!  Guess we will need to pay for a ferry to get to St. George.  Would St George be a good place to go for one afternoon?  One morning will be snorkeling excursion and one morning at Horseshoe Bap.

17 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

The minibus vans are $7 per person each way. So for 6 people that would be $42 each way.  A taxi for 6 will cost about $42.50 each way. You have six sharing the cost so that is why I say take a taxi. Most taxis will take up to 7. It will just be the six of you not a shared ride with 30 people for about the same cost. 

 

 

 

 

We will take the taxi to Horseshoe.  Is there a free ferry from where we are docked to St. George.  Seems like I read something about it. 

8 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

The minibus vans are $7 per person each way. So for 6 people that would be $42 each way.  A taxi for 6 will cost about $42.50 each way. You have six sharing the cost so that is why I say take a taxi. Most taxis will take up to 7. It will just be the six of you not a shared ride with 30 people for about the same cost. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the info.  I think we will go there our first morning.  Hopefully, the weather will be good both days.

31 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

You will get the best pictures at Horseshoe Bay.  It is one of the prettiest beaches in the world. Also take a hike to the left and many pretty coves past the end. With a party of six take a taxi. 

Thanks so much.  Hope the taxi won't cost too much.  I read something about taking minivans places to save money.   Do they go to Horseshoe?

We are going to Bermuda for the first time in about 8 weeks.   We have an excursion planned for snorkeling on our 2nd morning there but need advice for our first day in Bermuda and the afternoon after snorkeling on the second day.  We will have to be back on the ship by 5:00 our second day.  Our ship will be docked at King's Wharf.   St. George sounds like a good place to go for half a day but was wondering which beach would be prettiest to go to for 2 or 3 hours to get some good pictures.   I had originally thought Cooper's Island but from what I have read, it would take a long time to get there and be expensive for the 6 of us.  I am thinking now Horseshoe Bay may be a better beach to go to than Cooper's Island.   We probably won't be going to Bermuda again, so would like to get some good pictures while there.   Thank you for any suggestions you can give me.  We are a family of 6 with adult age children.  

9 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

How much is the savings staying in Long Beach? Is it still considerable when you add in transportation to/from Disney?

 

I've stayed at an Embassy Suites in Anaheim that is a Disneyland neighbor hotel. Not right there, but close enough (I could see the fireworks from my room). Includes free breakfast.

I did check out the Embassy Suites you suggested and almost had it booked.  I was chatting on their site and the person I chatted with quoted me good rates for the corner room that would sleep 5.  When he sent me the link for me to book, he had the dates wrong.  I told him the dates again that I had given him at the beginning of the chat.  Again, he sent the wrong dates.    When he sent the correct dates, the rates were a lot higher.    If I had booked the room, it would have cost me $180 more than I paid for the 2 rooms in Long Beach.  I decided to keep what we have so we will have 2 bathrooms.   I still do not know what transportation we will use to get from Lax to Long Beach.   I checked out Uber, but don't think we can use them because none will hold the amount of luggage we will have.  I am guessing Uber will be the best way to get to Disneyland from Long Beach.  Thanks for your suggestions!  I think the rates would have been better if I had looked at hotels around Disneyland when I booked over 9 months ago.  

13 minutes ago, wheezedr said:

You note having made the Long Beach reservation some time ago but do not say whether you have prepaid or if you can cancel.  If you can you really ought to consider staying in Anaheim even if it costs you a little more as you will get a lot more out of the Dland  trip.

I prepaid but I still have free cancellation.   I have been searching many hotels around Disneyland but nothing compares to the rates I paid.   I got 2 rooms for our family of 5 in Long Beach.  One room for two nights around Disneyland would cost more than my 2 rooms I already have in Long Beach.   We are within walking distance to the Aquarium and beach where we are booked now and thought we could spend our first afternoon and night exploring the area and going in the Queen Mary.   Then since we will be on East Coast time, we will get up early the next day and be at Disneyland when they open.  Thanks for your suggestion.  I will still keep searching just in case I find one with very good ratings.

Can you walk to it easily from the gates at Disneyland?   It sounds like a lot of fun!

Thanks!  I have never heard of it.   We will check it out!

I should have said that we booked our Long Beach hotel over 9 months ago and got good rates.   When we booked, we had other plans for that day.   When those plans fell through, we decided last week that we would go to Disneyland instead.   

As far as luggage goes, I think we will have about 3 large suitcases and 3 or 4 carry on size.  I wish I had known when I booked that we would be going to Disneyland instead.   I am hesitant about renting a car with all the traffic I have read about but will check it out.

We arrive at LAX around 10:00 am two days before our cruise.  I would like recommendations for transportation for our family of 5 from LAX to Long Beach hotel.  

Also, would appreciate recommendations for transportation  from Long Beach hotel to Disneyland the next day.   Thank you for your help!

Thank you Lucy2mb for a helpful response!

You are welcome!

Hi all... when trying to book a room at this hotel, it's showing the whole months of January and February as "restricted" and won't let me book. Any idea why? Does it usually shut down over these months?

I called them over 6 weeks ago to check on rooms in January because it said no rooms available when I checked online . When I called them, they said the reason it said no rooms available was because they had not starting booking rooms for January yet. At that time, they were only booking through the 2nd week of November. You could call them or just keep checking online.

I have never sailed out of Long Beach, CA so I don't have a clue.................would a 12:55 PM flight out of LAX be too early for a cruise docking in Long Beach on a Saturday in mid-December? I'm thinking that would be plenty of time, but wanted to ask someone who knows the situation there. Also, does anyone know the cut-off time for flights to use the cruise line shuttle from Long Beach pier to LAX (Carnival)?

We booked the 12:55 flight for our January cruise. It was definitely the best time for getting back to the east coast. I had asked our Carnival PVP if that time would be okay and she said yes.

My family of 4 adults and 4 kids will be taking a cruise this summer. We have cruised but never on Carnival. This year we need to watch a closer budget, so we decided on Carnival.

We are having a hard time deciding on these two options

Carnival Dream: Ports/Belize, Rotan and Mexico

Carnival Miracle: Ports/ Belize, Rotan, Mexico and Grand Cayman

 

My problem is that the kids love the food. They are pre-teen and teenage boys, so we come out ahead on a cruise.:D The Dream seems to have more food choices and more kids friendly entertainment. The Miracle will be cheaper and goes to Grand Cayman. We will be in an inside room on the Dream and for the same price, we will be in a balcony on the Miracle.

 

It is more expensive to fly from San Diego to New Orleans, so that makes that option a little more, but there seems to be a lot more fun stuff to do in New Orleans than in Tampa.

 

Please help!

We have been on both ships and liked them both but I would choose the Dream. They both have great reviews but the Dream is one of our favorite ships. Our children were teenagers the first time we were on the Dream and they loved it.

We loved the shows on the Dream the best of any ship, especially since they had the live theater band instead of playlist-at least they did both times we were on it. The last time we went on it, we went out of New Orleans. We loved going down the Mississippi River for the first 7 plus hours. We had a balcony both times. The only thing I would like better on the Miracle would be having the balcony room. Enjoy your cruise!

LA kinda sucks without access to a car. A lot depends on what else you want to do. Maybe use Downtown LA or Hollywood as a base of operations?

We decided to stay in Long Beach and spend first day there. We can get the free shuttle to area attractions or we can walk since we will be close enough according to what I have read on the hotel site. Thanks for your information about the Metro. I will check that out.

I can't tell exactly from that description...but there are some awfully nice high-rise condo buildings along Ocean Blvd...And, if it's the same distance from things as the Best Western, it would actually have some advantages...It's a nice location and you can't beat that view. Those hotel breakfasts aren't worth that much...You could always drop by the Vons Market at Broadway and Atlantic and stock up on enough OJ, Donuts, Croissants, fruit and coffee to top that Hotel breakfast...cheaply enough...If price is the same, I might opt for that over the BW...The BW is nothing special...

Well, the price was going to be $30 more at the Ocean Suite but when I looked at the Best Western rate tonight, it has gone up from what it was earlier this afternoon. Now it is almost the same as Ocean Suite. I will talk to my husband when he gets home later tonight and we may decide to book the Ocean Suite. I just wish I knew if it had two bathrooms or not. It says it has 2 bedrooms with one having 2 Queen beds and one bedroom having one Queen. The Living Room has 2 sofa beds which we would not need. It doesn't say anything about number of bathrooms. I will book one of them tomorrow and it will probably be the Ocean Suite but I really do want 2 bathrooms now. Thank you so much for your help. I am glad I found out the airport hotel was not a good location to stay. Now we won't have to worry about a taxi or Uber to get to Long Beach from the hotel. We will just walk every where in Long Beach. I never have trouble finding a hotel going out of Florida because I am more familiar with areas we cruise out of. Even going out of Seattle for our Alaskan cruise was easy. After I book one of these, I won't change because of them both being non-refundable. Thanks again for your help and everyone else who gave me information.

First, $200 won't get your family to Disneyland...maybe just one of you...Disneyland admission just went up to $135 per person on a "peak" day...Add in a burger, fries and a coke...and a souvenir mouse ears...and you're up to about that $200!

 

We all choose hotels for different reasons. When I choose hotels, I look carefully at location and convenience. You don't really have a lot of time in the area, so you need to ask yourself how you are going to spend your time. If it's going to Disneyland, it probably doesn't matter that much where you stay...or what you spend--because your bill for the park is going to dwarf that...

 

If you want to head all the way back up to LA for the typical tourist sightseeing, it matters little where you stay--you are going to have a busy day getting back and forth (Though you could book a tour with Sunseeker tours and they are likely to ppick you up at any Long Beach area hotel)...

But, if you are just going to hang around in Long Beach...maybe tour the Queen Mary and visit the Aquarium...and have a couple of nice dinners at a large choice of restaurants...and take some nice walks around...then I would stay in the Convention Center area. Your logistics would be simple. You could get to the Queen Mary using the free Passport shuttle...use that or even walk to get to the Aquarium and to Seaport Village...You would have a wide choice of restaurants--most casual, reasonable and family-appropriate in close walking distance...and, on embarkation morning, you would be very close to the pier...

 

If you stay by LGB, you would likely be dealing with logistics to get anywhere...You'd be in the middle of a very industrial area--Your walkable eateries would be Habit burgers, Jersey Mike's and Starbucks...or a few other fast foods within walking distance--like Jack in the Box and Pizza Hut...

 

So, only you can make that value judgment--Is the convenience and atmosphere worth $200 to you? BTW, did you check out the Maya Doubletree asking for the Carnival rate?

Yes, I did check out the Maya Doubletree but with Hilton Reward rates which has gotten me the lowest rates in past, it would be $600 more than the Best Western Convention Center but it did have queen beds. The Ocean Suite Apartment that I mentioned is on East Ocean Blvd Long Beach and is about same distance to Queen Mary as Best Western. It is 1.0 miles and Best Western is 1.1 miles. The Ocean Suite you can book on different sites like American Airlines and has 3 queens and 2 bedrooms and I am not sure how many baths-1 or 2. Like I said, it did say ocean view and 8 minute walk. It had a good rating also but only had 5 reviews. It is about same price as Best Western, just no breakfast. Which would you choose-Best Western or Ocean Suite Apartment? By the way, I did know the price of Disneyland but did decide not to do that. We have been to Disney World a couple of times with our children when they were younger and I doubt they would want to go to Disneyland.

Now you are just looking way too far afield...

Nothing particularly wrong with Downey...it is "okay"--not great, just okay...it's just not really convenient for anything you may want to do. It is very far from LAX, very far from the cruise port and very far from any sightseeing you may want to do...

 

However much I dislike LAX, you'd be much better off there...at least you wouldn't have a long and expensive trip from the airport...and your shuttle or Uber to the port would be reasonable...and, at least you could Uber to a decent restaurant and maybe find a tour company that would pick you up there if you wanted to do a tour. Even that Redondo Beach 405 freeway offramp would be better than going to Downey...at least it is between LAX and the port...

 

I guess what you are finding is that decent hotels in decent locations in the LA area are not cheap...

If you are still searching...here are some other suggestions:

 

Look at the area immediately surrounding the Del Amo mall in Torrance...there are shopping and restaurants nearby and it's midway between LAX and the port--though not convenient to sightseeing...

 

Hotels in Santa Monica can be pricey (but the location cannot be beat)...Marina Del Rey is a very good alternative and closer to LAX--though it sounds it may also be outside your price window...Maybe to get inside your budget, take a look at El Segundo--just south of LAX...or the area of Culver City just south of the Westfield Mall--where Sepulveda Blvd. crosses under the 405--just north of LAX...You may find a less expensive alternative in those areas--short ride to LAX and you might find tours to pick you up--or catch an Uber to Venice or Santa Monica to catch the HOHO bus tour...

I am glad you are checking cruise critic today. You will probably think I can't make up my mind. lol.

I just went back and looked at the Best Western at the Convention Center that you had told me about. I had ruled it out because of double beds but I have changed my mind I think. I am not looking at anything else if I book this because to get the best rates, I will have to book non-refundable. In your opinion, would you keep the newer Homewood Suites Hilton Long Beach Airport for 6 adults in a one bedroom suite with 2 queen and one sofa bed and one bath (we have stayed in those rooms before) or would you choose the Best Western Convention Center Long Beach and get 2 rooms with 2 double beds in each and we would have 2 bathrooms? Both have free breakfast but the Best Western will cost us $200 more than we are paying at Homewood Long Beach Airport. One family member wants to rent ocean Ocean Suite Condo that is 8 minute walk to beach and there is ocean view. It is almost the same distance to the attractions as the Best Western but it is $220 more without breakfast. Our last option is staying where we are and saving $200 and using that money to go to a big attraction like Disneyland which looks like is 20 minutes from our hotel. Sorry for all the questions. Thanks again for your help!!!

Best Western Hotels are individual franchises, but they must adhere to certain standards or they can't be a Best Western. I've always found them to be clean and comfortable. Now, as for the surrounding neighborhood, that may be a different story.

 

The only time that you will want to be on Southern California freeways is between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. or after 8:00 p.m. That's how bad the commute traffic is, and weekends aren't much better. Even the 405, with six lanes in each direction, is stop-and-go during busy periods. You may want to factor that into your plans.

Thanks for the info! Someone suggested a Best Western that was in a good area. I would have booked it but the rooms were double beds and we want queen size. I see the Embassy Suites has good reviews in Downy. I am not sure if it is in a good location or not. I do know it is a lot further from the port than the Homewood Suites Hilton Long Beach airport that we have booked right now--with free cancellation if I find something closer to Long Beach port area. I just don't know if I want to switch to the Embassy Suites closer to LAX or not. Reviews of Embassy Suites were not as good as the Homewood Suites at the airport. Both include free breakfast.

Actually not a great location...just a generic freeway offramp off the 405...industrial area...nowhere near the beach. I had to check twice to imagine that it's actually got a Redondo Beach address. There's not much within walking distance at all...unless you count crossing under the freeway to the In and Out Burger...

This will be my last question for the night because it is getting late. Are you familiar with the Embassy Suites by Hilton Los Angeles Downy? I found some good rates there. Just wondering if it would be a good location and what is around the area. Thanks for your help!

:)

Actually not a great location...just a generic freeway offramp off the 405...industrial area...nowhere near the beach. I had to check twice to imagine that it's actually got a Redondo Beach address. There's not much within walking distance at all...unless you count crossing under the freeway to the In and Out Burger...

I am so glad you told me. I was thinking about switching. I was getting ready to call and ask them what was within walking distance. I did see it would take us a lot longer to get to the port. When I looked back at the Best Western, it was only double beds. I will keep what I have for now. At least it is a new hotel and closer to the port. I will let you know if I find something else and if I have any more questions. Thanks!

I would take that over Long Beach Airport...It's not right on the beach (about 5-6 blocks walk) or near most of the better restaurants (wish it were closer to King Harbor)...but there are some eateries nearby...and it's a much nicer neighborhood.

If all things are even, I'd take that over LGB...

I found Homewood Suites at Redondo Beach is available. It will cost a little more than the airport but it looks nice. Do you think it is a good location and would there be places we could walk to. I hope it is still available.

I would take that over Long Beach Airport...It's not right on the beach (about 5-6 blocks walk) or near most of the better restaurants (wish it were closer to King Harbor)...but there are some eateries nearby...and it's a much nicer neighborhood.

If all things are even, I'd take that over LGB...

Thanks for your help! I will look at it later tonight when I get home.

Agree with Sadie. NOT a desirable location. I would not stay there.

What about Best Western Plus Redondo Beach? Is Redondo Beach a good location-better than airport?