Long Beach Cruise Terminal: Parking, Drop-Off, Arrival Time

Long Beach cruise terminal parking depends on which Carnival ship and sailing you are on. Terminal parking has been restricted on some Carnival Panorama sailings, and those guests use an off-site lot instead. Guests on other ships can use the terminal garage, but it can fill up. This guide covers both options, drop-off, the check-in deadlines, the documents you need and airport transfers. If two of you are flying in, price a rideshare before buying Carnival’s per-person transfers. Prices below come from the sources named and can change, so confirm them before you travel.

If you are sailing on Carnival Panorama

Carnival’s Long Beach parking page says it has secured parking about 10 minutes from the cruise terminal. The page lists it at $20 per day, including embarkation and debarkation days, and says only cards are accepted on entry. Payment is by card at the lot. For a 7-night sailing counted as eight days, that works out to $160 at the listed rate. Carnival also says the last shuttle from the lot leaves 30 minutes before the Final Boarding time on your boarding pass.

You still go to the terminal first. You drop luggage and travelling companions there, collect directions and an entry card that identifies you as a Carnival guest, and then drive to the lot.

The restrictions are strict:

• Parking is for a single voyage only, so back-to-back guests need another plan.
• Oversized vehicles, meaning those that take more than one space, are not allowed.
• The lot cannot take vehicles taller than 6 feet 6 inches.

Carnival says the off-site details arrive in a “Know Before You Go” email and a Guest Communication email the week before departure. Confirm the timing with Carnival for your sailing. Cruise Hive has reported that Panorama guests have been told not to drive. If you can, arrange a drop-off by family or friends.

These restrictions are tied to specific sailings, not a standing rule. Cruise Hive’s reports cover particular sailings, and for one of them, in July 2026, the terminal-parking ban was attributed to a music festival. Check your own booking to see which parking option applies to your sailing.

Long Beach cruise terminal parking: the garage for other ships

For the other ships, Carnival’s page lists the terminal garage at $23 per day, with rates subject to change. It is a five-story structure with 1,450 spaces. The rules below are attributed to Carnival’s page or to the third-party source named.

• The height limit is 7 feet.
• Oversized vehicles that use more than one space are not allowed.
• Rightway, a third-party booking site, says you pay when you exit, by cash or major credit card.
• Rightway also says reservations are not required, so no space is held for you.

Confirm the payment and reservation rules with Carnival before you rely on them.

The garage is not guaranteed. Cruise Hive reported that Radiance and Firenze guests were warned they might be redirected to an off-site parking facility. In that case drivers still start at the terminal to drop luggage and companions, then get written directions and an entry card. A later Cruise Hive report says guests should be prepared to park at an off-site location operated by the City of Long Beach. Another Cruise Hive report on overflow parking says very few off-site spaces are available, with restrictions including no oversized vehicles or back-to-back cruise parking. Cruise Hive, citing Carnival notices, reports that the overflow lot has a 6’6″ height limit, takes no oversized vehicles and cost $23 per day (October 2025). If your vehicle is tall, a truck or a van, confirm the current rate and limits with Carnival before you drive.

Off-site hotel lots

Rightway and cruiseparking.com are booking sites. Their pages are promotional, so treat them as a starting point and confirm rates with the lot. Rightway’s Courtyard by Marriott page lists $13.99 a day, no transportation, and no trucks, vans or SUVs. Rightway’s pages give the clearance as 6’9″ in one place and 6’10” in another, so ask the hotel for the exact figure. Cruiseparking.com shows the Courtyard at $12.99 and the Hyatt Regency at $17. The booking sites disagree on how far the Courtyard is from the terminal (Rightway lists 4.8 miles and cruiseparking.com lists 2.5 miles), so the distance is unclear. Ask the hotel. Rightway lists no transportation for the Courtyard, so ask the hotel what the trip from the lot involves. Add a rideshare fare each way before you call a hotel lot cheaper than the garage.

Which ships sail this month

Carnival’s parking page names only Panorama. Cruise Hive, reporting on Carnival notices, names Radiance and Firenze as other Long Beach ships. Cruise Critic reports that Carnival cancelled Firenze cruises between October 12 and November 16, 2026, and Firenze Long Beach sailings resume after Nov 16. The sources cited here do not give a full October sailing schedule. Check your own booking for your ship.

The terminal is at 231 Windsor Way, Long Beach, CA 90802. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian ships use a different port. Cruise Critic lists Berth 92 at 100 Swinford Street in San Pedro for them. That page is dated January 2023 and says berths change often. Put the address from your boarding documents into your GPS.

Drop-off at the terminal

Cruise Day Guide, a third-party guide, says to take I-710 South to Exit 1A, follow the road to the very end and stay far right past the Queen Mary entrance for the cruise terminal lane. At the terminal, porters take checked bags. Carnival’s embarkation page says checked-baggage service ends 2 hours before the published departure time.

If a relative drops you off and leaves, the Visit Long Beach terminal page lists garage short-stay rates. They are free for 30 minutes, $4 for 31 to 59 minutes and $8 for 1 to 2 hours. These are garage rates, not a curbside fee, so confirm with Carnival whether the curb itself is free.

Arrival time: what to follow on the day

Your boarding pass sets your arrival time. Online check-in opens within 14 days of sailing and closes at midnight Eastern the day before. That is 9:00 PM Pacific the night before a Long Beach sailing. You choose an Arrival Appointment during check-in. Carnival assigns one if you do not, and emails it on the morning of departure. Carnival’s check-in page says to arrive promptly within your Arrival Appointment to reduce your wait time in line.

The deadline that matters is the Final Boarding time printed on the boarding pass. The same page says all guests must be on board by that time or they will not be permitted to sail. The separate rule that the Department of Homeland Security requires Carnival to submit its final manifest at least 60 minutes before departure is not your boarding cutoff. Do not work back from it.

The Carnival pages cited here do not list a typical Long Beach Arrival Appointment window or sailing time. Use the times on your boarding pass. From there, three deadlines run backward:

1. Checked bags must be dropped at least 2 hours before the published departure time.
2. Guests directed to the off-site lot, such as Panorama guests on restricted sailings, also need time to park. The last shuttle leaves 30 minutes before Final Boarding.
3. Final Boarding is the hard stop.

Flying in: Carnival transfers or rideshare

Carnival’s Los Angeles transfer page says your flight must land at LAX by 12:00 PM or at Long Beach Airport by 12:30 PM on the day of your cruise. You can buy transportation up to two days before sailing. The page lists pickups from LAX between 9:30 AM and 12:30 PM. If your flight lands later, arrive the day before.

The return-leg pages show per-person prices for the trip from the port to the airport. Port to LAX is $34.99, and port to Long Beach Airport is $31.99. Confirm both with Carnival before booking. For the LAX transfer, return flights must be no earlier than 12:00 PM after a 7:00 AM ship arrival, or 1:00 PM after an 8:00 or 9:00 AM arrival. For the Long Beach Airport transfer, return flights must be no earlier than 11:00 AM after a 7:00 AM arrival, or 12:30 PM after an 8:00 or 9:00 AM arrival.

Two travellers pay $69.98 for the return leg to LAX at $34.99 each. For two people, get a rideshare quote for your date and compare it before buying. For a party of four or more, Carnival says to book through the My Cruise Manager website, in its “Transportation To and From Port” section. One agency’s directions page puts LAX about 23 miles from the terminal, roughly 50 minutes. Other pages give distances from 22.5 to about 30 miles, so sources differ.

Documents to bring

Carnival’s travel documents FAQ lists several accepted items. They are a U.S. passport book or card, a state enhanced driver’s license, or a certificate of naturalization. The same list says U.S.-born citizens may also use a birth certificate with government-issued photo ID, and a digital version of a photo ID is not accepted. Carnival advises that a passport should be valid for at least six months beyond the end of your travel. A passport book or card is mandatory on one-way or different-homeport cruises. Greenland itineraries require a passport book, and a card is not enough. On Panama and Martinique itineraries a passport book is required only to go ashore. Guests with other accepted documents may sail but must stay on board in Panama. For ordinary closed-loop cruises Carnival only “highly recommends” a passport. If you fly in, the page says travellers need a REAL ID-compliant license or another acceptable ID for domestic flights.

Checklist

1. Confirm your ship and whether terminal garage parking is available for your sailing. Some Panorama sailings have been restricted, so check your own booking.
2. Complete online check-in and choose an Arrival Appointment before 9:00 PM Pacific the night before.
3. Note the Final Boarding time on your boarding pass. Work back from it, allowing for the 2-hour bag cutoff and, if you use the off-site lot, the shuttle.
4. Check your vehicle’s height against the 7 ft garage limit and the 6’6″ Panorama lot limit. Ask Carnival if it is oversized.
5. Pack your passport. A passport book or card is mandatory on one-way or different-homeport cruises. Greenland itineraries need a passport book, and for Panama and Martinique a passport book is needed only to go ashore. On an ordinary closed-loop cruise Carnival highly recommends one, and the alternative is the birth certificate and photo ID combination Carnival lists.
6. Confirm every price with Carnival or the lot before you go.

Disclosure: Oceanic Travel LLC may earn money from cruise sales. Prices and rules above come from the named sources and can change.

Top photo: Queven on Pixabay.