Within Walking Distance

Close to where many Carnival cruises from Los Angeles dock in Long Beach is the Queen Mary. More than just a sleek ocean liner from the 1930s, this cruiser has shops, bars, luxury accommodations, and even a spa. At the Aquarium of the Pacific, wander through the homes of hungry sharks, playful sea otters, and singing tropical birds.

Near San Pedro’s World Cruise Center, check out the nautical charts at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum and watch the ships come in while savoring fish and chips at the Ports O’ Call Marketplace.

Beyond the Port Area

Don’t miss your Hollywood moment when you’re in Los Angeles, California. Stroll the Hollywood Walk of Fame in search of your favorite star—over 2,000 pink marble stars in the pavement celebrate the achievements of stage, screen, and music legends. Along the way, you’ll pass Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, with autographs preserved in its cement courtyard, and the flashy Kodak Theatre, home to the Oscars. Take a cruise of a different kind down Sunset Boulevard—The Sunset Strip—a line-up of LA’s legendary nightclubs. Overlooking everything is mountainous Griffith Park, home to lions, tigers, and bears in the Los Angeles Zoo. The park’s crowning glory is the graceful Griffith Observatory, complete with a powerful Zeiss telescope to view the starry night sky. In daylight, you’ll see the Hollywood sign from the Observatory’s grassy entrance.

Take the monorail up a mountain over the streaming traffic of Los Angeles’s busiest freeway mountain pass to the Getty Center. This art house has everything from Roman antiquities to moody works by Cézanne and golden Klimt paintings. Views of Los Angeles and the Pacific Coast from the Center are not to be missed.

You’ll have more than a few theme parks to explore when you book a Carnival cruise from Los Angeles. Universal Studios runs a comprehensive studio tour by tram and has movie-themed thrill rides. Even with flashy new roller coasters and high-tech shows, Disneyland remains at heart a delightfully kitschy paradise for kids of all ages. Chic Santa Monica has its own beachside rollercoaster, but the biggest thrills here are all retail along the Third Street Promenade. A stroll down the funky, pulsating Venice boardwalk is akin to visiting a theme park: an endless cast of colorful characters struts, rolls, and pumps iron along the beach.

Beaches in Los Angeles

Fronting the Venice Boardwalk, Venice Beach is a lovely spot for surfing, swimming and sunning on the Pacific. The boardwalk connects with Santa Monica Beach, a few miles away, and the amusement park pier. Dolphins and seals play in the waves at Malibu Lagoon State Beach. For classic golden sands and rolling surf, head to Hermosa and Redondo beaches in the city’s South Bay.

Shopping in Los Angeles

On fashionable Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, designer boutiques sit shoulder to shoulder along the palm-lined sidewalks. Hundreds of upscale stores fill the Beverly Center mall, while one-of-a-kind housewares are displayed in the Pacific Design Center. Busy Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade, Venice’s hippie-chic Abbot Kinney Boulevard, and hard-rock Melrose Avenue are all hip window-shopping streets.

Travel Tips

• Most Carnival cruises from Los Angeles embark from Long Beach Terminal, in Long Beach, though some leave from the Word Cruise Center, at the Port of Los Angeles, in San Pedro.
• Sunny weather is the norm in Los Angeles, with average highs ranging from 67 degrees in January to 84 degrees in August, and lows of 45 degrees in January to 63 degrees in July. The days may be warm, but prepare for chilly evenings year-round.
• The absolute best way to see enormous LA in a short amount of time is with a rental car.