Need suggestions for LAX/Long Beach/San Pedro

[mcfaddensfarm]

We are flying into LAX the night before our cruise out of San Pedro on Monarch. I grew up in Long Beach, so I'm pretty familiar with the area as far as knowing what neighborhoods to stay away from etc. But I have a few questions:

 

Are there any hotels in the Long Beach or San Pedro area who have shuttles that go to/from LAX?

Are we better off just staying the night at a hotel right near LAX (not downtown LA, I know better--LOL) and taking a shuttle to the port the next day (if any of the hotels offer one)?

What's our best choice for getting back to LAX after the cruise? (Our flight doesn't leave until 4:00 pm so we're not pressed for time.)

 

Some info about us: I'm taking my husband on just a short Monarch cruise, because he's NOT into cruising or traveling much. I'm hoping to win him over to cruising so I can convince him to do a longer cruise on a larger ship at a later date. I'm not looking to do a bunch of sight seeing or anything like that before the cruise, because like I said before, I grew up in Long Beach and visit my father pretty much every year. This is going to be a "let's get away for a long weekend together, just the two of us" kind of trip. One thing to note: my husband is a bit of a penny pincher so I'm hoping to not spend TOO much money on this trip. That's why I'm having a hard time figuring out how to plan it all. I would have preferred to fly into Long Beach, but it was WAY less expensive to fly into LAX.

 

By the way, I've considered the idea of having my father (who lives in Long Beach) pick us up at LAX and bring us back to Long Beach (and possibly bring us back to LAX after the cruise). But he's 80 years old (although very fit/healthy and is more like a 60 year old) and the thought of subjecting him to traffic to/from Los Angeles on weekday evening isn't very appealing.

 

Any help I could get with planning this would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

[irb33785]

The Crowne Plaza will send the super shuttle to the airport. It is something like $17. Call them and reserve a room and ask them to arrange a shuttle. They have a free shuttle to the pier. We took a town car instead of the shuttle because it wasn't that much more (50 +tip) and we had been in the air all day. Have a great trip, relax and enjoy. I loved Long Beach!

[cruiseonly]

mcfaddensfarn

 

What are some of the other bad neighbourhoods in Long Beach, beside the downtown area you mentioned?

[Monterey Girl]

Hi,

We are on the MOS in January. We are driving down from Monterey and are staying over night at the Double Tree which has a park and cruise special. That includes parking for the duration of your cruise and shuttle service to and from the pier. I found this hotel by Googling "park and cruise hotels, San Pedro, CA". Or something like that. Lots of hotels popped up.

Hope you have a great cruise !! Monterey Girl

[mcfaddensfarm]

mcfaddensfarn

 

What are some of the other bad neighbourhoods in Long Beach, beside the downtown area you mentioned?

 

Actually, the downtown area I'm referring to is downtown Los Angeles. But you probably also want to stay away from the downtown area of Long Beach too. Best bet in Long Beach is to look for a 3* & up hotel near Shoreline Village, the Pike, Aquarium of the Pacific area.

[SLH]

Was the Crowne Plaza a good choice? I heard that it's only 1/2 mile to the Celebrity pier and they have free shuttle to the port? My parents are on the Summit Feb.3.

[ladycaveat]

We'll be staying on the Queen Mary the night before our cruise in January and the Coast Hotel the night we return. Do you know if either have a shuttle service to and from the Long Beach Airport? If not . . . any idea what the cab fare would be?

[irb33785]

It was a wonderful hotel. Your parents will love it.