Pre - cruise hotels, Los Angeles area

[Cdn ws6]

Hi there, new to the forum but not new to cruising. 

 

We are planning a cruise on the Carnival Panorama departing January 20th of 2024. We get into LAX at 1630 hrs on the 19th and are looking for options for decent hotels for the one night pre-cruise.

 

Any decent hotels near restaurants/grocery stores would be preferable. We understand an Uber will be required the following day to get to the port.

 

We are honestly unsure of what area we should be staying in but won't be doing any sightseeing the night prior.

 

Budget would be between $180 - $250 usd for the night. 

 

Thanks

 

[lx200gps]

3 hours ago, Cdn ws6 said:

Hi there, new to the forum but not new to cruising. 

 

We are planning a cruise on the Carnival Panorama departing January 20th of 2024. We get into LAX at 1630 hrs on the 19th and are looking for options for decent hotels for the one night pre-cruise.

 

Any decent hotels near restaurants/grocery stores would be preferable. We understand an Uber will be required the following day to get to the port.

 

We are honestly unsure of what area we should be staying in but won't be doing any sightseeing the night prior.

 

Budget would be between $180 - $250 usd for the night. 

 

Thanks

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  Since you are sailing Carnival, that means you will be sailing out of Long Beach, a very nice area but a good haul from LAX. We've stayed there a few times though we sail from nearby San Pedro on Princess. It has a great selection of hotels, restaurants etc but checking Tripadvisor for your date of 19-20 Jan, it's a pretty pricey time and the usual nice hotels, like the Hyatt and the Renaissance are outrageously expensive, particularly for us Canadians, though there are some decent deals at the top of your price range. Given the price of hotels down there, we've taken to staying Torrance, on a direct line about half way between LAX and both Long Beach and San Pedro. There are a lot of good intermediate type hotels (Marriott Courtyard, Hilton Doubletree etc) as well as the huge Del Amo mall. We travel to the half-way point in Torrance the day before sailing, then Uber down to the ship on embarkation day. In fact, we did it two weeks ago and will be back down there in Feb.

 

As a final crazy idea, look into staying on the Queen Mary. It's a very interesting place to visit, right next to where you will be sailing from, and the hotel recently re-opened. We stayed there a few years ago, it's a very interesting experience

[Bruin Steve]

On 10/22/2023 at 2:02 PM, Cdn ws6 said:

Hi there, new to the forum but not new to cruising. 

 

We are planning a cruise on the Carnival Panorama departing January 20th of 2024. We get into LAX at 1630 hrs on the 19th and are looking for options for decent hotels for the one night pre-cruise.

 

Any decent hotels near restaurants/grocery stores would be preferable. We understand an Uber will be required the following day to get to the port.

 

We are honestly unsure of what area we should be staying in but won't be doing any sightseeing the night prior.

 

Budget would be between $180 - $250 usd for the night. 

 

Thanks

 

My preference is always to get as close to the port as possible--unless flying in multiple days early or VERY late the night before.  Getting in at 4:30 pm, you can get to a hotel, check in and have a nice dinner...and a short trip to the pier in the morning.  OTOH of course, you are booking your hotel a little close to the date, so prices tend to get higher the closer you get. 

 

Still, if you can swing it, stay in Convention Center Long Beach--close to the pier.  My "A" List is:  Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Centric at the Pike, Renaissance, Westin, Maya Doubletree, Residence Inn Downtown and, maybe, the Hilton...That list puts you in a nice hotel very close to lots of restaurant choices and very close to the Carnival terminal (the first four closest to restaurants, the Maya and Residence very close to the pier).  Try calling the Maya directly and ask if they have a discounted Carnival rate (they have, at times, available only by calling the hotel directly.  You can walk to the ship from the Maya.

 

If those hotels out-price your budget (though it may be worth spending a few dolars more for the convenience), then look at Torrance, near the Del Amo Mall.  Don't look for bargains in other parts of Long Beach or some of the other neighboring cities--Some parts of Long Beach are just not good neighborhoods and neither are some of the nearby towns.  If a hotel rate sounds really cheap, there is usually a reason.  Other areas are not bad, but fairly inconvenient for your purposes.  Good luck.  

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 10/22/2023 at 2:02 PM, Cdn ws6 said:

Budget would be between $180 - $250 usd for the night.

 

That is VERY low for Los Angeles.

 

On 10/24/2023 at 8:33 AM, Bruin Steve said:

Don't look for bargains in other parts of Long Beach or some of the other neighboring cities--Some parts of Long Beach are just not good neighborhoods and neither are some of the nearby towns.  If a hotel rate sounds really cheap, there is usually a reason.  Other areas are not bad, but fairly inconvenient for your purposes.  Good luck.  

 

No, most certainly do not.

[Cdn ws6]

Thanks for the advice everyone. We will take it all into consideration