The cruise port is conveniently located in San Pedro, California, between Long Beach and Los Angeles, so either airport is a good choice. We found good rates with Southwest, so Long Beach won out. Plus, the Long Beach airport is much smaller and easier to navigate (as long as it is not raining). Planes unloaded right on the tarmac, AND restrooms and baggage claim are currently only accessible from outside
We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel for $52.00 for four of us (April 2023). Uber pricing showed about $35 when we priced it earlier, but upon arrival, it shot up to $57, (supply and demand, I guess.) So the taxi won out.
We stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel in San Pedro.
This hotel is convenient to local eateries and the cruise port. We found the Crazy Fish Grill. Not a lot of indoor seating – maybe 7 tables, but they were serving oodles of take-out while we ate, so that was a good sign that it is popular with the locals. Hubby had grilled fish with fries and grilled zucchini, and he was nice enough to share a piece of his zucchini with me. I had the fried fish and shrimp basket. We left full and satisfied.
Directly across the street was a convenience market where we got some bottled waters (only $1.00!) and some packaged snacks to serve as our breakfast tomorrow.
The next morning was great for walking around. If we wanted to haul our suitcases to the cruise, that would have been doable as the ship is perhaps a half-mile away.
If you have some time to wander around the hotel area before boarding, you may be able to visit the Los Angeles Maritime Museum and various monuments in the area. (Thanks to Paul Norwood for the pictures of the area during his morning walk.)
The Crowne Plaza has a free shuttle to the cruise port for $5 per person. They use a van that seats 30 passengers. The four of us chose to take an Uber to the port for about $15.00. While the hotel shuttle had 30 people who had to wait until everyone secured their luggage and crowded onboard, we jumped in our Uber and were dropped off quickly at the terminal.
Embarkation was easy, and we headed up to the Lido for lunch. Princess has a new Premium Dessert menu. And I figured, “Inquiring Minds Want to Know…” It was the least I could do so I could report back to my blog audience:
I think one of these is enough for me…..ever! They are included with the Princess Plus package or can be purchased a-la-carte. This is the menu of the ones on the Emerald Princess during our sailing:
Whew! Glad I have several sea days to get some walking in at the fitness center.
If you want to read all about our ship, click this link: Emerald Princess.
Good-bye, San Pedro cruise terminal. For the port review for the first port of this journey, click this link for: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
