Hello all,

I will be taking the Celebrity Mercury cruise down the West Coast in April. I'd like to know if anyone knows whether the following ports are close to town so that I could just catch a cab (without an expensive cab fare) or even within walking distance.

Monterey
Los Angeles (I think it's actually LA and not Long Beach)
San Diego
Catalina Island
Ensenada

Thank you very much!!

Hello. I did the 4 day Baja on RCI in June '03. We left out of LA, and went to San Diego, Catalina Island, and Ensenada. I don't know if there is more than 1 port in LA. The LA port we went out of was in San Pedro, which is very close to Long Beach via a long bridge. If this is the port you will be going to, then to get to LA city, Hollywood or Santa Monica, you will need a taxi, or some sort of mass transit. I was born in Long Beach, and lived in downtown LA for 4 years, trust me, you don't want to take a taxi. The traffic is toooo bad, it will cost you a fortune. Use the metrolink, or blue line to get around, this is their light railway. It is cheap and easy. Check out a LA website for mass transit info. As for San Diego, the port is at a "Seaport Village", with restaurants and shopping. It is sorta a walk, but I did not think a taxi was needed. I am not sure how far the "Gas lamp quarter", or Coronado is from the port. Once again, check on a San Diego website. When you go in and out of the port, look for the US Navy Submarine base buy the entrance going into the port. The subs are cool to look at. When we went to Catalina Island, their is no port, we were tendered to the dock. All the bars, restaurants, and shopping is all right there. Avalon is the name of the town at the port, it is very tiny & walkable. The climb to Wrigley Monument (I'm pretty sure that is it's name) is neat, with a nice view. Ensenada had a port, with local taxis and buses to take you into the town. I would recommend Hussong's Cantina, it is one of the oldest, if not the oldest bar in Mexico. It has a infamous history, if you are into that sort of thing. The cantina is in the same area as all the discos/bars and shopping. I hope this helps. Have fun, Lil' Lori

With the exception of Los Angeles, the rest of the ports are within easy walking distance of the ship. Los Angeles is huge, so you would want to make specific palns there to see whatever you want.

Have a great cruise!

Tom