Things to do in Long Beach before a Carnival Paradise cruise

[Cruise Monkey]

Will be on the Carnival Paradise in June of 2006 leaving from Long Beach, Ca. I was talking to someone from LA and they said that there was a fun reggae cruise that left from Long Beach for a few hours with music and drinks. Well, we are planning on getting to Long Beach the day before the cruise and I figured that this sounded like fun, so I called the company and spoke with some woman. She must have been the poster child for "waste of space." I'm not trying to be mean, but she didn't know a thing. All she said was that they will be closing at the end of December and won't re-open until April. I told her that I just wanted to know if they had sailings on Sundays, but she had NO CLUE! I asked if they sailed on Sundays this past year, and once again, she didn't know. It just boogles the mind :confused: how someone in that position can be that clueless! All she kept saying was call back in April because June is such a long time away. I tried to explain to her that I was planning this for a group of people and would prefer to book something sooner rather than later so all of us would know what is going on. Still clueless. Can't believe the company is still in business with someone like this working the phones - I mean she is the first person that potential customers speak to! If I had someone like this answering phones for me, I would be bankrupt!!!

 

So, enough of my rantings. Does anyone know anything about this reggae cruise, or something fun to do in Long Beach the Sunday before a cruise?

 

Thanks.

[jleq]

Some ideas:

http://www.longbeachrealtor.com/lbr/101things/

[ronrythm]

I'm not sure if this is the one you're looking at, but the Alamitos Bay cruise has been going for the last couple of years, so it's pretty safe to say it will be back. Be aware that it is not in the same area as the Paradise leaves from. if you go to http://www.lbtransit.com/aqualink.html where the Aqualink ends in Alamitos Bay is where the Reggae cruise operates. The paradise docks next to the Queen Mary. The Aqualink is a good way to get between the two. Here are some links from prior threads about Long Beach:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=184535

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=181609

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=216673

[Cuizer2]

Will be on the Carnival Paradise in June of 2006 leaving from Long Beach, Ca. I was talking to someone from LA and they said that there was a fun reggae cruise that left from Long Beach for a few hours with music and drinks. Well, we are planning on getting to Long Beach the day before the cruise and I figured that this sounded like fun, so I called the company and spoke with some woman. She must have been the poster child for "waste of space." I'm not trying to be mean, but she didn't know a thing. All she said was that they will be closing at the end of December and won't re-open until April. I told her that I just wanted to know if they had sailings on Sundays, but she had NO CLUE! I asked if they sailed on Sundays this past year, and once again, she didn't know. It just boogles the mind :confused: how someone in that position can be that clueless! All she kept saying was call back in April because June is such a long time away. I tried to explain to her that I was planning this for a group of people and would prefer to book something sooner rather than later so all of us would know what is going on. Still clueless. Can't believe the company is still in business with someone like this working the phones - I mean she is the first person that potential customers speak to! If I had someone like this answering phones for me, I would be bankrupt!!!

 

So, enough of my rantings. Does anyone know anything about this reggae cruise, or something fun to do in Long Beach the Sunday before a cruise?

 

Thanks.

 

Let me get this straight, you received the above posted level of customer service and you still want to book the cruise??? Seems to me you are just asking for trouble.

 

You could go to the Aquarium of the Pacific or Disneyland. Or, if you really want to go on the cruise, write to the company, explain what happened, and see what kind of a reply you get. However, if it was me, I would be looking for something else to do on Sunday. No way would I support a company with that level of customer service.

[Cruise Monkey]

Sorry, been busy at work past two days, but thanks for all of the info, I'll check the links.

 

Thanks again.

[Boomer TG]

Here's the link to the Long Beach Visitor's Bureau. It's very helpful and has a schedule of events for the year.

 

http://www.visitlongbeach.com

[Splinter]

I would recommend the aquarium. Easy to get to, lots of fun and educational, and you can walk from there to some nice restaurants in the downtown area.