After landing
LGB to your hotel
A hotel airport pickup is property-specific. Confirm its final pickup time, or take a direct car after a late LGB arrival.
Choose an overnight hotelPort of Long Beach · Long Beach Airport
Long Beach Airport to Port of Long Beach
LGBTouch down
PortGet to your ship
- Typical drive (our estimate)
- 20-30 min
- Distance (our estimate)
- 9.6 miles
Provenance: Port route data · no dated corridor source list
Getting from Long Beach Airport to Port of Long Beach — 20-30 min, 9.6 miles
Your fly-in plan for LGB
Arrive the day before.
Give your LGB flight one night of breathing room before you board at Port of Long Beach.
LGBLand
HotelSleep
Port of Long BeachBoard
Tonight / embarkation morning
Embarkation morning
Hotel to Port of Long Beach
A few Long Beach hotels publish cruise-shuttle terms. Check the exact pickup, fee, and terminal before booking.
Hotels with a cruise shuttle near Port of Long BeachFlying into LGB on cruise day?
Avoid it if you can. If you have no alternative, compare the direct options on this page and protect the time you have left.
Transfer Options
From Long Beach Airport (LGB)
LGB is 9.6 miles from the cruise terminal by road — a 20-30 min drive, and about 16 minutes on an empty road, routed free-flow (OpenStreetMap/Valhalla, 2026-09-22). It's a tiny, stress-free airport with one terminal, and you'll be at the port before you know it. Limited airline options (JetBlue, Southwest, Delta, American) but if your route works, it's the obvious choice.
Long Beach Airport publishes a metered rate of $3.10 to start plus $2.97 a mile, and flat rates to nine destinations. The cruise terminal is not one of them. Rideshare: no published fare. Long Beach Transit is $1.25 on all routes.Best for: Cruisers who can find a flight into LGB — the easiest transfer by far
LGB has no jet bridges — you walk across the tarmac to the terminal. It feels retro in the best way. If you can fly Southwest or JetBlue here instead of LAX, do it. You'll save an hour of stress and $30+ on the transfer.
Hotel Shuttle Services
Two Long Beach hotels publish terms for a ride to the ship on their own sites, and both put it inside a park-and-cruise package rather than selling it on its own: The Cove Hotel, whose package covers one night, parking for up to seven nights while you sail and transportation to and from the terminal, and The Maya, whose Carnival Bon Voyage package covers one vehicle for up to seven nights and the terminal shuttle. Anywhere else in Long Beach, including the Residence Inn's Stay, Park & Sail, a shuttle is something to ask about at booking rather than something published.
Quoted at booking; the packages do not publish a price.Best for: Cruisers who want a relaxed morning and don't want to deal with port parking
The Cove's package publishes the clearest set of inclusions of the two, and neither publishes a shuttle timetable — so confirm your departure time at check-in, not on sailing morning, since these run on a schedule rather than on demand. The Queen Mary is the other way to skip the problem: it is docked beside the terminal and describes a short walk to embarkation, though its Stay and Cruise package pointedly does not include parking while you sail. Price any package against $23 a day in the terminal garage plus the room.
Uber/Lyft from Anywhere
Rideshare is widely available throughout Long Beach and greater LA. The terminal has a designated drop-off area. Pricing varies wildly depending on where you're coming from and LA traffic conditions.
Not published. Rideshare pricing is dynamic and neither the airport nor the terminal publishes a fare, so none is quoted here.Best for: Flexibility and door-to-door service
Check prices the night before and again in the morning — surge pricing on embarkation days (especially Saturdays) is real. Coming from LAX, there is no published fare to compare against, so take the app's estimate and weigh it against the meter on a taxi. For groups of 3+, UberXL usually beats buying seats one at a time.
Driving & Port Parking
The terminal is at 231 Windsor Way, right next to the Queen Mary. Take I-710 South, exit at Harbor Scenic Drive (Exit 1A), and follow it all the way to the end. At the Queen Mary entrance, stay far right for the cruise terminal lane. The parking garage is $23/day if your sailing allows the garage — your Carnival booking emails say whether it does.
$23/day in the terminal garage — a flat posted rate rather than a price quoted inside a reservation system. Short stays: free to 30 minutes, $4 to 59 minutes, $8 for one to two hours.Best for: Cruisers driving from Southern California
The garage has a strict 7-foot height limit, and the terminal separately turns away any vehicle that uses more than one space — so a roof box, a shell, a hitch bike rack or an RV is out. If your vehicle is anywhere near either line, call 800-764-7419 before you book: the local off-site lots refuse RVs too, and the nearest facility that takes them serves a different port about 25 minutes away. Drop luggage and passengers at the terminal curbside before parking; the garage is at the terminal address itself, so it is a short walk back.
Long Beach Transit
Long Beach Transit runs the Passport shuttle on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, which is free and connects downtown Long Beach to the waterfront area near the terminal. The AquaBus water taxi also connects Shoreline Village to the Queen Mary area for $1.
Passport shuttle: Free. AquaBus: $1. Regular bus fare: $1.25.Best for: Budget-conscious cruisers already staying in downtown Long Beach
The Passport shuttle doesn't go directly to the cruise terminal — you'll still need to walk or grab a short rideshare from the Queen Mary area. Fine if you're traveling light, but not practical with heavy luggage.
Flying into a different airport?LAX to Port of Long Beach
Cost Comparison
| Option | Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| From Long Beach Airport (LGB) | CostLong Beach Airport publishes a metered rate of $3.10 to start plus $2.97 a mile, and flat rates to nine destinations. The cruise terminal is not one of them. Rideshare: no published fare. Long Beach Transit is $1.25 on all routes. | Best ForCruisers who can find a flight into LGB — the easiest transfer by far |
| Hotel Shuttle Services | CostQuoted at booking; the packages do not publish a price. | Best ForCruisers who want a relaxed morning and don't want to deal with port parking |
| Uber/Lyft from Anywhere | CostNot published. Rideshare pricing is dynamic and neither the airport nor the terminal publishes a fare, so none is quoted here. | Best ForFlexibility and door-to-door service |
| Driving & Port Parking | Cost$23/day in the terminal garage — a flat posted rate rather than a price quoted inside a reservation system. Short stays: free to 30 minutes, $4 to 59 minutes, $8 for one to two hours. | Best ForCruisers driving from Southern California |
| Long Beach Transit | CostPassport shuttle: Free. AquaBus: $1. Regular bus fare: $1.25. | Best ForBudget-conscious cruisers already staying in downtown Long Beach |
Local Tip
There are no jet bridges at LGB — you'll walk across the tarmac to the small terminal building, and rideshare/taxi pickup is right outside. Hotel Park & Cruise shuttles run scheduled departures, not on demand, so confirm your pickup time and the last morning run when you book. LGB is domestic-only, so there's no immigration wait to plan around here. If you are flying in from outside the US, sort your entry authorization before you book: most visa-waiver travelers need an approved ESTA, it is not issued at the airport, and without one the airline will not board you. Apply through the official CBP site at esta.cbp.dhs.gov — never a paid intermediary.
Once you arrive, find your terminal:
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