LAX to Long Beach and back again

[snie]

We are arriving into LAX on the Friday evening before a Saturday afternoon cruise departure from Long Beach (Sapphire Princess). Any recommendations for hotels to stay at or things to do on the Saturday morning? A hotel with free or cheap shuttles from LAX and or the Pier would be great!!

 

Coming back, the ship arrives at 7am, so we should be disembarked within a few hours of that, but our flight is 7pm. So, we have to be at the airport for 5pm. Since we'll have our luggage with us, I was thinking of renting a car for the day. Does this make sense? Hertz is quoting $59 for the day with pickup in long beach (will reimburse cab fare to rental office), drop off at LAX.

[Conanc]

I believe that only Carnival has ships that sail out of Long Beach. The other cruiselines sail out of San Pedro. That being said, we are on Celebrity out of San Pedro and are staying at the Westin Long Beach. There isn't much in San Pedro and Long Beach is usually recommended. There is lots more to do in Long Beach:

 

For information on attractions and shopping and dining:

http://www.visitlongbeach.com/

 

For hotels in that area:

 

http://www.visitlongbeach.com/listings/index.cfm?action=showSub&catID=13&subCatID=55&startrange=All&endrange=All

 

Enjoy!

Nancy

[Splinter]

Correct, the Sapphire Princess leaves from San Pedro, not Long Beach.

 

Since you have so little time, I would recommend getting a hotel near the airport. Friday evening traffic in LA can be really bad. Plan to take either a cab or SuperShuttle to the port from your hotel the next day. While the ship may not leave until 5PM, you generally can board in San Pedro by 1PM at the latest, and there can be a lot of traffic at the port with disembarkation earlier than this. None of the hotels in the airport area have free shuttles to the cruise port...it is too far away. Many people have stayed near the port at the former Sheraton Harbor (which is now the Crowne Plaza San Pedro Hotel) but there is nothing special about this hotel other than their free shuttle to the port and parking package, so if you won't have a car this is probably not a place for you to stay. There is also a Best Western very near the port, but I have not heard anything good about it except the location.

 

While this is not a lot to do in San Pedro, you are not going to have much time anyway. If you want to go earlier and check your bags at the pier, you could take the red trolley at the far west side of the parking lot to the Maritime Museum in San Pedro. It is a short fun ride, and this is one of my favorite museums in the area. You can easily spend 2-3 hours here and then go back to the ship to embark.

 

Upon your return, you could get your rental car (don't plan on getting off the ship prior to 1000) and then visit one of the following:

-Long Beach Aquarium

-Queen Mary tour

-Drive into LA and go to the Getty Center

-Drive up the coast along Palos Verdes and the South Bay area to Venice and Santa Monica

-Drive south to Newport Harbor or Laguna Beach

 

The latter would be furthest from the airport and you would need to plan to be on the road to the airport no later than 3:30 to be there by 5PM.

[snie]

Upon your return, you could get your rental car (don't plan on getting off the ship prior to 1000) and then visit one of the following:

-Long Beach Aquarium

-Queen Mary tour

-Drive into LA and go to the Getty Center

-Drive up the coast along Palos Verdes and the South Bay area to Venice and Santa Monica

-Drive south to Newport Harbor or Laguna Beach

 

The latter would be furthest from the airport and you would need to plan to be on the road to the airport no later than 3:30 to be there by 5PM.

 

Hmmm..... I'm not sure it makes sense to get a rental car for only 4 or 5 hours. Especially since it would be about $60. Are there any places that will hold our bags for us for the afternoon after we disembark?

 

In my experience, the earliest you can check your bags for a flight at the airport is 4 hours prior to flight time.

[Conanc]

snie,

 

Not sure how many of you there are but another option is to check shore excursions with Princess for after your cruise. Celebrity offers one for flights that depart at 3:30 p.m. or later. It is a five hour "highlights of LA tour" with airport drop-off at LAX and you don't have to worry about what to do with your luggage. I think it's approx. $37pp but if there are more than two of you this can get pretty pricey and may not be worth it.