Stay near LAX or go straight to Long Beach?

[Beav1279]

DH and I are flying into LAX on a Friday night. Ship is leaving from Long Beach on Saturday. Should we stay in a hotel near LAX then take a ride share to the pier on Saturday morning? Or take the ride share Friday night to Long Beach and stay there? We're not picky.. just looking for the best option. Thank you!

[AgentMinusOne]

It is all up to your preferences. What time is your plane scheduled to land at LAX?

 

If you have enough time for settling in Long Beach, eating a dinner and for a short stroll, staying in Long Beach is definitely to be recommended. Nothing much happening at or around the hotels close to LAX. Then again, if you arrive 8, 9 or even 10 PM, I guess there isn't much of an additional benefit of going to Long Beach first if you will be heading to the cruise terminal first thing Saturday.

 

Also note that ride shares such as Uber or Lyft at LAX now pick up from a lot called LAX-IT close to Terminal 1, but there are shuttles running there from every terminal every few minutes.

 

There is also an airport shuttle called FlyAway that has different lines serving LA Union Station, Hollywood and Long Beach. If you want to make it cheap, that's only $9 per person one-way, BUT the departures are scheduled only once an hour making it less viable for most people.

[Bruin Steve]

I would ALWAYS recommend heading down to Long Beach immediately, whenever you get in.  Get the stress and hassle of getting a ride down out of the way, be able to "sleep in" if you want...relax the morning of the cruise knowing you are already there.  Take an Uber or Lyft...We've done it since the new system and it really wasn't that bad...and, you'll get a private (not shared) ride directly to your hotel.  Stay in the "Convention Center" area of Long Beach (Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Centric at the Pike, Renaissance or Westin) or stay across the channel near the terminal (Maya Doubletree or Residence Inn Downtown)...Lots of Restaurant choices in the Convention Center area and nice areas to just walk around and shop if you're there early enough.  If you're getting in later, the Maya Doubletree is great--it's really walking distance to the ship and a very nice hotel.

 

Good luck...

[Beav1279]

On 2/15/2020 at 9:19 AM, AgentMinusOne said:

It is all up to your preferences. What time is your plane scheduled to land at LAX?

 

If you have enough time for settling in Long Beach, eating a dinner and for a short stroll, staying in Long Beach is definitely to be recommended. Nothing much happening at or around the hotels close to LAX. Then again, if you arrive 8, 9 or even 10 PM, I guess there isn't much of an additional benefit of going to Long Beach first if you will be heading to the cruise terminal first thing Saturday.

 

Also note that ride shares such as Uber or Lyft at LAX now pick up from a lot called LAX-IT close to Terminal 1, but there are shuttles running there from every terminal every few minutes.

 

There is also an airport shuttle called FlyAway that has different lines serving LA Union Station, Hollywood and Long Beach. If you want to make it cheap, that's only $9 per person one-way, BUT the departures are scheduled only once an hour making it less viable for most people.

Our flight arrives at 9:30pm.. if it's on time, by the time we get luggage, I assume it will be closer to 10:30pm. After a day full of travel (we have to drive 5 hours to the airport, then spend another 6 hours in airports or in the air), I'm thinking we will be ready to fall into bed. Do you know what hotels near LAX have a free shuttle from the airport?

[Bruin Steve]

Even arriving at 9:30 pm, I would stay in Long Beach...Get the ride over with--especially late at night when traffic will be at a minimum--maybe half an hour or so door-to door to your hotel in Long Beach...You can check in, plop right down in bed and get a really good, stress-free night's sleep knowing you can sleep late in the morning and have a very quick ride over to the ship.

 

OTOH, if you are really intent on staying at LAX, virtually all of the hotels along Century Blvd., just east of the airport, have free shuttles...Just check out their websites when you book and you should find it noted...Just be aware that it's not necessarily quick...Often, you'll find yourself standing at the curb outside baggage claim for a long time waiting for them to show up.  Then, in the morning, you are going to have to get a ride down to Long Beach.