4 days Pre Cruise on Mariner Question

[Dem920]

We will be going to Los Angeles 4 or 5 days prior to our cruise on Mariner next July with our 2 kids. We want to spend 2 days at Disneyland and then the rest of the time we want to spend going around LA. Anyone know of any good hotels that include breakfast and shuttle to the San Pedro Pier? Also, is there a must see beach while in this area? Finally any good tour companies that can give us a personalized tour of LA. Thanks in advance.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Most likely the other hotels that will shuttle you to the pier are ones located in San Pedro. You can check out the many hotel threads here for more info and some recommendations.

[JJ2sail]

The Crowne Plaza and Doubletree in San Pedro, both have shuttles to the pier. You can book the Crowne Plaza Breakfast package, or you can skip the breakfast and get the hotel cheaper on Priceline. When we go to Disneyland, I like staying at the Embassy Suites, which includes Breakfast.

[Bruin Steve]

We will be going to Los Angeles 4 or 5 days prior to our cruise on Mariner next July with our 2 kids. We want to spend 2 days at Disneyland and then the rest of the time we want to spend going around LA. Anyone know of any good hotels that include breakfast and shuttle to the San Pedro Pier? Also, is there a must see beach while in this area? Finally any good tour companies that can give us a personalized tour of LA. Thanks in advance.

 

The only hotels with shuttles to the pier are the ones in San Pedro...Most recommended hotels are the Doubletree and Crowne Plaza...both will shuttle you to the pier...

 

Remember, LA is a very big place...Disneyland is a bit Southeast of San Pedro--in Anaheim...most of the other tourist sites are north--in Hollywood and on the "West Side"...

How you get around is important...Easiest way...and the way most recommended by locals is to have a rental car...Public transportation is not good and taxis are not readily available as in some other cities...

 

If you stay in San Pedro, there is only one major tour company that picks up from Long Beach/San Pedro hotels--Sunseeker Tours:

 

http://www.sunseekertours.us/

 

There are several other tour companies that operate LA tours...but they only pick up from hotels in Hollywood and the West Side...

 

Beaches not to miss? Depends on what you're looking for in a beach. If it's wide expanses of white sand, sunshine and warm water, you can get all of that except the warm water (Pacific currents come from the north, so the water can be pretty cool) by heading to some beautiful unspoiled beach such as Zuma (near the far end of Malibu)--that's the beach my neighborhood heads to--but it's not really for tourists. Most tourists head to the beaches with the crowds, the restaurants, the entertainment, the crowd, the bizarre and interesting...Number one in that book is Venice Beach...This is the beach you see in all the TV shots of LA--the one with the girls roller blading in bikinis, the bodybuilders lifting weights, the street merchants, the street entertainers, etc. Just north of there is Santa Monica Beach--with it's famous Pier...Roller Coasters and Carousel, crowds and nightlife. Santa Monica Pier will also look real familiar from various TV shjows and movies...The Carousel in "The Sting" that was supposed to be in Chicago? Nope...it's the Santa Monica Pier...The climax scene of "Falling Down" with Michael Douglas? Yup...Santa Monica Pier...Those would be the two most entertaining beaches in the LA area...Others have their charms--Laguna Beach, Manhattan Beach and Malibu are all worthwhile for various reasons...

 

You might also want to consider staying a couple of nights AT Disney, then transferring to a hotel in Santa Monica and just taking a taxi to the ship the morning of the cruise...