🇺🇸 Los Angeles (Long Beach & San Pedro), United States — Cruise Port Guide
Two terminals side by side under the same freeway — San Pedro's World Cruise Center and Long Beach's geodesic dome next to the Queen Mary. Beyond them: beaches, studios, and traffic that will decide your day more than any plan you make.
Updated September 2026
Quick facts
Getting ashore
When to visit Los Angeles (Long Beach & San Pedro)
Cruise ships sail year-round from here, so there is no closed season — pick your month for the weather at the far end of the itinerary rather than for the homeport.
Good to know
Traffic here is the real constraint, not distance. Anything more than 20 miles away should be a pre-cruise day rather than an embarkation-morning outing, and 45 minutes on a map can mean two hours in practice.
Things to do in Los Angeles (Long Beach & San Pedro)
Santa Monica & Venice Beach
The pier, the boardwalk, Muscle Beach and the canals. About 45 minutes from the terminals without traffic, which is a condition rarely met.
Griffith Observatory
Free to enter, with the best view of the Hollywood sign and the basin. Go at dusk and stay for the city lights coming on.
The Queen Mary
Right beside the Long Beach terminal. Self-guided tours of the art deco interiors, the engine room and the wartime bunks.
Downtown & Grand Central Market
Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Broad museum and the 1917 food hall in a compact and walkable few blocks — unusual for this city.
Studio tour
Warner Bros and Sony both run working-studio tours; Universal is a full theme park. Book ahead and allow for the drive.
Catalina Island ferry
An hour by fast ferry from Long Beach to a car-free island of clear water and glass-bottom boats. A whole day — many ships call there anyway.
What to eat
- Street tacos
- Korean barbecue
- In-N-Out burger
- Fish taco
- Sushi
Weather by month
Best time to visit: Almost any month; May–Jun mornings are often overcast
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68° | 48° | 3.1" |
| Feb | 68° | 50° | 3.8" |
| Mar | 70° | 52° | 2.4" |
| Apr | 73° | 54° | 0.9" |
| May | 74° | 58° | 0.3" |
| Jun | 78° | 61° | 0.1" |
| Jul | 83° | 65° | 0" |
| Aug | 84° | 65° | 0" |
| Sep | 83° | 64° | 0.2" |
| Oct | 79° | 60° | 0.6" |
| Nov | 73° | 52° | 1" |
| Dec | 68° | 47° | 2.3" |
A little history
Cruise ships use two separate ports about six miles apart: the World Cruise Center in San Pedro (Port of Los Angeles) and the Long Beach Cruise Terminal, which is housed in the geodesic dome built in 1967 for Howard Hughes's Spruce Goose.
The Queen Mary is permanently moored beside the Long Beach terminal — she crossed the Atlantic 1,001 times and carried 800,000 troops in the Second World War.
Los Angeles and Long Beach together form the busiest container port complex in the western hemisphere; the cruise terminals sit in the middle of genuinely industrial water.
Angels Flight, a funicular railway of 1901 running less than 100 metres up Bunker Hill, is the shortest railway in the world and costs a dollar.
Traffic here is not a joke or an exaggeration. Anything more than 20 miles from the terminal should be treated as a pre-cruise day, not a morning errand.