Long Beach

[rlkubi]

We have 6 of us cruising out of Long Beach next year and flying into LAX. Trying to decide if we should just take a shuttle or rent a van. We are planning to fly in two days before. What is there to see in the area? Is there public transportation so van wouldn't be needed?

 

Thanks!

[Keith1010]

If you like to walk then you won't need to rent a vehicle.

 

There are many nice restaurants and stores, the aquarium, the boardwalk, the Queen Mary and other things to do.

 

You could look at having a private SUV pick you up at LAX and drop you off at the hotel in Long Beach and then on embarkation day take two taxis over to the cruise terminal.

 

Keith

[jklc123]

There is a free red bus (Passport) which goes between many attractions (Queen Mary, aquarium, Pine Avenue (restaurants & shops), Shoreline Village, many downtown hotels and more. Also the $1 AquaBus which runs between various attractions in the harbor. Beautiful area, especially on a sunny day.

[Bruin Steve]

We have 6 of us cruising out of Long Beach next year and flying into LAX. Trying to decide if we should just take a shuttle or rent a van. We are planning to fly in two days before. What is there to see in the area? Is there public transportation so van wouldn't be needed?

 

Thanks!

 

It depends a lot on what you want to do...

 

Long Beach is a separate city from Los Angeles, but on the periphery of Los Angeles...

 

There is enough to keep you busy in that short a time just in Long Beach...for which you don't need a car...

 

OTOH, if you want to tour...and jam in a lot...of what else there is to see and do in the greater LA area, then a rental car might be worth it...

 

Long Beach is about 20-25 miles Southeast of LAX...Santa Monica/Beverly Hills/Westwood is 10-15 miles north of LAX...Hollywood/ Burbank/Universal is 30-35 miles North of Long Beach...Disneyland/Newport Beach is 25-30 miles East/Southeast...If you want to see things in these other areas, either a rental car...or booking a tour (try Sunseekers Tours) works...

 

but, if you want a more relaxing time and just want to stay in Long Beach (lots of restaurants, Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, etc.), a car is pretty superfluous...

 

Stay in one of these hotels: Hyatt, Westin, Renaissance, Hyatt at the Pike (those four are the top tier) or Residence Inn Downtown, Maya Doubletree, Hilton...maybe the Courtyard Downtown...Those hotels put you in an area with easy walking distance (that top tier) or free shuttle or slightly longer walk (second tier)...

 

Good luck...

[rlkubi]

What about the Queen Mary?

[Bruin Steve]

What about the Queen Mary?

 

As a site to visit? Sure...

As a hotel?

I've stayed there once...for three nights 35 years ago...

It felt old, musty, outdated, cramped and below standard THEN...

Location is, at least, right next to the Carnival Terminal...and you can catch the Passport out front...

But there are so many much nicer places to stay in Long Beach (Hyatt, Westin, Renaissance, Hyatt at the Pike)...

 

JMHO...

[rlkubi]

I was thinking it would be cool to stay there for nostalgic reasons.

[Bruin Steve]

I was thinking it would be cool to stay there for nostalgic reasons.

 

That's about the one reason to stay there.

I stayed there 35 years ago when I took the California Bar Exam in Long Beach...

Shared a room with a buddy...

The next morning, he commented "lousy night's sleep, I kept rolling into the wall all night"...I replied"You got the good side of the room...I kept rolling off the bed!"

 

It really is a museum piece...I remember the faucet on the bathtub reading "hot", "cold" and "tepid"...

 

At least they didn't rent us a cabin in "steerage"!!

[dfb]

We have 6 of us cruising out of Long Beach next year and flying into LAX. Trying to decide if we should just take a shuttle or rent a van. We are planning to fly in two days before. What is there to see in the area? Is there public transportation so van wouldn't be needed?

 

Thanks!

 

I will go ahead and say that if you are all able-bodied and light-packers and are comfortable using public transit then yes there is public transportation. See the website below for directions.

http://www.walktomycruiseship.com/longbeach_carnival.htm

The prices are not updated. We spent $3 each in 2012.

See also.

http://www.lawa.org/welcome_lax.aspx?id=1240

See also.

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

Those same directions will take you to the Queen Mary Hotel as well. We spent one night there before a cruise last year and enjoyed it for the historical aspects. I didn't sleep well but that was mostly because our room was haunted. My husband slept like a log and missed the whole thing. Called me crazy. Then when we came back from breakfast his things were strewn across the floor and mine were untouched. He did not doubt me as much after, but we were both ready to get out of there. Should you spend 2 nights here? Depends on your interests and tolerances. It is a beauty and an interesting place to wander. Since we were up before sunrise, we especially enjoyed watching the Carnival ship come in and dock right behind the QMH. There is plenty for a relaxing couple of days in Long Beach without a car and wherever you decide to stay.

[Bruin Steve]

I will go ahead and say that if you are all able-bodied and light-packers and are comfortable using public transit then yes there is public transportation. See the website below for directions.

http://www.walktomycruiseship.com/longbeach_carnival.htm

The prices are not updated. We spent $3 each in 2012.

See also.

http://www.lawa.org/welcome_lax.aspx?id=1240

See also.

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

Those same directions will take you to the Queen Mary Hotel as well. We spent one night there before a cruise last year and enjoyed it for the historical aspects. I didn't sleep well but that was mostly because our room was haunted. My husband slept like a log and missed the whole thing. Called me crazy. Then when we came back from breakfast his things were strewn across the floor and mine were untouched. He did not doubt me as much after, but we were both ready to get out of there. Should you spend 2 nights here? Depends on your interests and tolerances. It is a beauty and an interesting place to wander. Since we were up before sunrise, we especially enjoyed watching the Carnival ship come in and dock right behind the QMH. There is plenty for a relaxing couple of days in Long Beach without a car and wherever you decide to stay.

 

I will, as usual, caution anyone against using public transportation in Los Angeles to travel, with luggage, from airport to ship/hotel or vice versa...

There are a myriad of reasons, including:

1) The buses and trains are NOT designed for people with luggage.

2) The routes are not laid out well for this purpose.

3) It usually requires multiple transfers and often some amount of walking from bus or train stops to transfer points or destinations.

4) The total transport time is often 4-6 times the amount of time required to do the route directly.

 

Sure, you save money...You can do for $6 per person what would have cost you $20 with a shuttle...But, you know what? You can do it even cheaper...WALK...LAX to Long Beach is about the length of a marathon...So, assuming you are in "good shape", you can probably make it in about 8 hours, figuring twenty minutes per mile...Yeah, crazy, right? Of course I am joking...BUT, it is almost as crazy to try to do it on buses and trains...

 

You will take upwards of two and a half hours to make a half hour trip...

You risk getting lost, getting stranded, taking the wrong route, etc.

 

A shuttle will take you DOOR-TO-DOOR in reasonable short time...

 

You have just gotten off a long plane ride and have limited time in the Los Angeles area...Why spend so much of it dealing with trains and buses, waits and transfers?

 

If it's just an overnight in Long Beach, it is a NO-BRAINER...Catch a shuttle from LAX to your Long Beach Convention Center-area hotel. (It's cheap enough)...You will get there with relative speed, safely, door-to-door, no hassles...

Check in and, depending on when you arrive, use the free Passport Shuttle to go visit the Queen Mary or the Aquarium or both...then head off to dinner at one of the many area restaurants...Walk around the Pike or Shoreline Village...Return to your hotel for a good night's sleep...

 

You will have a much better experience than if you try to get there by public bus and/or you choose to stay in some cheap hotel in the wrong area of town...

 

Saving a very few number of dollars is NOT worth making your vacation difficult or unlpleasant.

 

Note: I did interpret the OP differently...I thought the OP was looking at the option of renting a van versus taking a shuttle ONLY for the trip with luggage from LAX to Long Beach and return. That the inquiry regarding public transportation was in regard to sightseeing or touring during the stay AFTER checking in to the hotel--in which case the answer remains the same: Public Transportation to get around Long Beach is easy and inexpensive (free in most cases)...Public Transportation to other areas of LA is available, but time-consuming and ill-advised if there for just a short time--though one could take the Metro to go from Long Beach to Downtown to Hollywood...a Tour is more efficient use of time...

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was once at the QM for a work function some years ago, but I think if you really want to see it, do a tour there, but stay elsewhere (someplace more comfy as Steve suggests) and also eat elsewhere (I checked the prices a few years ago at the restaurants on board and thought they were outrageous). There's some nice restaurants at the Shoreline Village that's near the QM and the Carnival berth. As mentioned above, there's a nice free bus that goes around the waterfront. We took it from the Aquarium (which I highly recommend) to Shoreline, but we also walked between the two locations, and even with an usually whiny tween, who actually didn't mind the trek, that was doable too.

 

I wouldn't try to save a few bucks and use the buses to take luggage from the airport to your hotel. You'll definitely tick off the locals who don't have wheels and who are using public transit to get around, especially if the buses are nearly filled. And unless you really are familiar with the LA County area, you run the risk of getting into a less desirable neighborhood.

[SadieN]

I am the proponent of the LA transit system to Long Beach. Our family has taken the transit system many times to Long Beach from the Inland Empire and San Fernando Valley. We each travel with 20-22" cases and a totebag.

 

Very difficult to travel with large or multiple pieces luggage. It will be a PITA to travel with 6 and luggage larger than 22-24".

The trip from LAX to Long Beach will involve two trains and a bus. The bus will be a tight fit for six pieces of luggage. Sometimes we have had luggage storage problems on the bus when only 3 of us are traveling.

 

What time of day are you arriving? LA transit goes thru some of the roughest areas of LA. OK for daylight hours, not something I'd do at night. The only bathrooms are at Union Station, completely out of the way from LAX-Long Beach.

 

I would suggest using a shuttle service. For comparison taxis run in the $70 range to Long Beach. You would need two.

taxifarefinder.com

 

***

Once in Long Beach the free Passport bus is great. It hits the tourist sites and also stops at a Walmart with a supermarket (Albertson's?) and a CVS drugstore across the street.

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

 

Aquarium of the Pacific is wonderful either a 2hour or a whole day adventure.

aquariumofpacific.org

 

***

Hotel Maya usually runs Carnival discounts. It is on the Passport line and within (long) walking distance to the port.

Look on CC for the code.

[SadieN]

...................

Note: I did interpret the OP differently...I thought the OP was looking at the option of renting a van versus taking a shuttle ONLY for the trip with luggage from LAX to Long Beach and return. That the inquiry regarding public transportation was in regard to sightseeing or touring during the stay AFTER checking in to the hotel--in which case the answer remains the same: Public Transportation to get around Long Beach is easy and inexpensive (free in most cases)...Public Transportation to other areas of LA is available, but time-consuming and ill-advised if there for just a short time--though one could take the Metro to go from Long Beach to Downtown to Hollywood...a Tour is more efficient use of time...

 

If that's the case--

OP realize that LA is very spread out.

To get to LA from Long Beach on the transit

 

-Take the Passport bus to the Long Beach Transit mall (20 minutes)

-Blue Line to the 7th Street Transit Station (1hour)

Choice of going to Hollywood (red line) or UnionStation/Olvera Street/Chinatown (red or purple lines) (20 minutes)

-Looking at $6 pp for an all day pass including a TAP Card.

(Senior rates are only with a special card, acquired in advance. Mom got hers in 6 weeks.)

-Be back in Long Beach before dark.

 

Personally I'd do Union Station/Olvera Street/Chinatown or just stay in Long Beach.

[rmf11699]

good information guys! i think most of my questions about a future long beach embarkment were answered. :D

[DDMau]

We stayed at the Queen Mary a few years back and we liked it.

It really is close to Carnival Pier. Of course the Spruce Goose isn't there anymore.