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Los Angeles/Long Beach Basics

Los Angeles is the largest city on the west coast of the United States, with a population of over 3.8 million. It is the center of a region whose population is just under 13 million residents. It is also a giant cultural Xerox machine, helping to define the cultural tastes for the country and the world.

The economy of Los Angeles is driven by international trade, entertainment, aerospace, technology, petroleum, fashion, apparel, and tourism. Los Angeles is also the largest manufacturing center in the United States. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach comprise the most significant port in North America, vital to trade within the Pacific Rim.

Los Angeles has a pleasant year-round Mediterranean climate, with cool temperate winters and hot but dry summers. Humidity levels are generally low. The climate in the Los Angeles area varies dramatically over short geographical distances, due to the area's topography.

First Impressions

Chances are that, since you're checking out this page, you're going to either start or end your cruise in Los Angeles. If you decide to tack on a day or two in Los Angeles before or after your cruise, you will be amply rewarded, as there are many fun places to explore.

Los Angeles isn't just a place, it's a lot of places that fit together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Each neighborhood or city in the L.A. metro area is different. It is too big a place to absorb in a short amount of time. If you are adding on an extra day or two in Los Angeles, we've put together recommendations on three places to focus on: Pasadena, in the San Gabriel Valley; Santa Monica, in the West Side, and Irvine, in the heart of Orange County.

Carnival's cruise ships dock at the Long Beach Cruise Terminal, which is adjacent to the Queen Mary in Long Beach. All the other cruise lines dock their ships at the Los Angeles World Cruise Center in San Pedro.

It's a fact of life that if you're going to see Los Angeles, you're going to need to rent a car. A trip from Pasadena to Santa Monica by car can take 30-45 minutes outside of rush hour, but 2 hours by bus. As a rule, the morning rush hour begins at 6:00 am, lasting through 9:30 am, and the afternoon rush hour begins at 3:00 pm and ends at 7:00 pm.

Time Zone

Los Angeles is on Pacific Time, eight hours earlier than Greenwich Mean Time during Standard Time, and seven hours later than GMT during Daylight Savings Time.

Language

English is universally spoken in Los Angeles. Spanish is the semi-official second language, and you can also find large communities that speak Korean, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Farsi, Thai, Armenian, Tagalog and Brazilian Portuguese.

Currency

The US dollar is the official currency in the United States.

Banks and ATMs

ATM machines can be found throughout the town, either in your hotel or at a bank branch. Here are several bank branches with ATM machines in Long Beach and San Pedro:

Bank of America, at the branch at 90 Seaside Way; 333 West Ocean Blvd.; and 150 North Long Beach Blvd., in Long Beach.
Wells Fargo Bank, at the branch at 111 West Ocean Ave., in Long Beach; and an ATM at City Place at Long Beach, at Pine Ave. and 5th Street, in Long Beach.
Bank of America, at the branch at 951 S Pacific Ave., San Pedro.
Wells Fargo Bank, an ATM machine at the San Pedro Centre Street Lofts, 285 W. 6th Street, San Pedro.

See our Los Angeles Port-Area ATM map for the locations of the above ATMs.

Weather

Los Angeles has a pleasant year-round Mediterranean climate, with cool temperate winters and hot but dry summers. Spring and fall can be the most pleasant months of the year, with generally clear days with little fog. Angelenos often complain about "June gloom," a phenomenon in which a persistent marine layer fails to burn off during the day, making for cool overall temperatures.

The climate in the Los Angeles area varies dramatically over short geographical distances, due to the area's topography; you can see the differences when you look at the temperature charts below.

Rainfall is concentrated in the cooler half of the year, particularly during November through February. Los Angeles averages only 15 inches of rain each year.

Pasadena Average Temperatures
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg High - F	68	70	71	76	78	84	89	91	89	83	74	68
Avg High - C	20	21	22	24	26	29	32	33	32	28	23	20
Avg Low - F	44	46	47	50	53	57	61	62	61	55	48	44
Avg Low - C	7	8	8	10	12	14	16	17	16	13	9	7

Pasadena Average Precipitation
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg, Inches	4.3	4.3	3.4	1.4	0.5	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.5	0.7	1.8	3.1
Avg, mm	109	109	86	36	13	3	0	3	13	18	46	79

Santa Monica Average Temperatures
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg High - F	61	64	63	65	66	68	71	72	72	70	68	65
Avg High - C	16	18	17	18	19	20	22	22	22	21	20	18
Avg Low - F	49	50	51	53	56	58	61	62	61	58	54	50
Avg Low - C	10	10	11	12	13	14	16	16	16	14	12	10

Santa Monica Average Precipitation
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg, Inches	2.9	2.4	2.0	0.8	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.3	1.4	1.6
Avg, mm	74	61	51	20	3	0	0	3	5	8	36	41

Irvine Average Temperatures
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg High - F	68	69	69	73	75	79	84	85	84	79	73	68
Avg High - C	20	21	21	23	24	26	29	29	29	26	23	20
Avg Low - F	41	43	45	48	53	57	60	61	59	53	45	40
Avg Low - C	5	6	7	9	12	14	16	16	15	12	7	4

Irvine Average Precipitation
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg, Inches	2.7	2.4	2.2	0.8	0.2	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.4	0.3	1.3	1.5
Avg, mm	69	61	56	20	5	3	0	3	10	8	33	38

Pasadena Weather Forecast, CA

Santa Monica Weather Forecast, CA

Irvine Weather Forecast, CA

Keeping In Touch

Internet Cafes

You can find Internet Cafes throughout the city's neighborhoods. But the real players are Starbucks stores, which are everywhere, and Borders bookstores, in their coffee bars.

See our Los Angeles Port-Area Wi-Fi Hotspot Map for the locations of Wi-Fi hotspots near the Los Angeles-area ports.

Finding US Newspapers.

US newspapers are available throughout the city and metro areas.

Kindle Connectivity

In Los Angeles, you can download your Kindle newspaper and magazine subscriptions, as well as books and selected blogs, through AT&T's 3-G coverage in the city.

Local Holidays & Festivals

The following local festivals, holidays and events are scheduled to take place in the Los Angeles area in 2010:

Rose Parade, January 1. The City of Pasadena's New Year's day extravaganza.
Rose Bowl Game, January 1. The Dean of college bowl games.
BCS Championship Game, January 7. The Rose Bowl hosts Alabama and Texas as they fight it out to determine the top collegiate team in the country.
Racing at Santa Anita, January 1 to April 18. The four month racing season will feature the nation's top horses, trainers and jockeys, and plenty of fun in the sun.
Oscar Awards, March 7. See the Hollywood luminary set up close and personal at the 81st annual awards show. Must get tickets to be in the crowd at the Kodak Theater.
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 16 to 18. For the motorsports enthusiast in all of us.
Doo Dah Parade, May 1. The annual Doo Dah Parade, a spoof of the Rose Bowl Parade put on by wags and crazies in Pasadena, has been amusing bystanders for 34 years. A fun few hours in Pasadena isn't guaranteed, but close.
Cinco de Mayo, May 5. A big thing here, if not in Mexico. Time to gorge on some nachos.
The LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, June 13 to October 1. The season kicks off with the Playboy Jazz Festival, and ends with 2 concerts with Neil Diamond. In the intervening days, great concerts by the LA Phil.
Independence Day Celebrations, July 4. Fireworks, parades, BBQs, and the whole nine yards.
Festival of the Arts/Pageant of the Masters, July 7 to August 31. The 77th Annual presentation of the Pageant of the Masters is celebrated in 2010. If you've never gone, it's worth a visit.
Orange County Fair, July 21 to August 1, in Costa Mesa. What's summer in Orange County without a visit to the fair?
Nisei Week Japanese Festival, August 14 to 22. This nine-day festival in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo district highlights Japanese and Japanese American culture and 2009 marks its 69th year.
Los Angeles County Fair, September 4 to October 3, at the Fairplex in Pomona. What's summer in Los Angeles County without a visit to the fair? Oink!
Oak Tree Racing at Santa Anita, September 23 to October 25. The month-long Oak Tree racing season will feature the nation's top horses, trainers and jockeys, and plenty of fun in the sun.
Thanksgiving, November 25.

Cruise Lines Making Port

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are home ports for ships on 3- and 4-day cruises to Catalina and Ensenada, and for 7- to 14-day Mexican Riviera cruises. Some cruise lines use Los Angeles for cruises to the Hawaiian Islands and for Panama Canal voyages. In 2010, the port of Los Angeles expects to host 189 cruise ships, while the port of Long Beach expects to host a further 196 cruise ships.

The following cruise lines make port in Los Angeles or Long Beach: