In brief
Carnival sells a transfer from Long Beach Airport (LGB) to the Long Beach Cruise Terminal at $31.99 per person, listed at “1.0 hours”, and the airport’s own taxi flat rate for “San Pedro/Cruise Ships” is $50. No operator publishes a distance or a drive time, and Carnival’s listing names both LGB and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
- Carnival transfer: $31.99 per person to the port, meeting point “Baggage claim 1”, service window 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., flight must land by 12:30 p.m.2.
- Taxi: the airport page lists a $50 flat rate to San Pedro/Cruise Ships; the page is undated1.
- Rideshare picks up “on the outer curb in front of the terminal”; no fare is published1.
- Transit: Long Beach Transit routes 102, 104, 111 and 405 serve the airport at $1.25, and the nearest Metro station is Wardlow on the A Line18.
- The free Passport (route 37) reaches the cruise terminal stop, Friday to Sunday only6.
The trip from LGB to the cruise terminal has one operator who prices it and times it, Carnival, and one flat taxi rate the airport prints. Everything else is a set of pieces: a curb for rideshare, bus routes that serve the airport, a rail station, and a weekend shuttle at the other end. This page puts each piece with the page that states it, and says where no page does. It is part of the section Getting In and Out of Long Beach.
The short answer
| If you are… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Sailing with Carnival, flying in the morning of sailing, alone or in a party of three or fewer | Carnival’s transfer, $31.99 per person, bought up to 2 days before the sail date; flight must arrive by 12:30 p.m.2 |
| A party of four or more | Carnival says to book through My Cruise Manager instead of the shore-excursion page2 |
| Wanting a fixed taxi price | The airport lists a $50 flat rate to San Pedro/Cruise Ships at the stand next to Parking Structure A1 |
| Using rideshare | Outer curb in front of the terminal; the airport and Carnival print no fare1 |
| Arriving the day before | Two hotels state a terminal shuttle on their own pages; see the hotel page34 |
The route
- Long Beach Airport (LGB)
- Carnival transfer Metro Shore Services; $31.99 per person; listed as 1.0 hours; meet at Baggage claim 12
- Long Beach Cruise Terminal
Carnival's transfer in detail
Carnival’s shore-excursion pages describe a transfer in each direction, run by Metro Shore Services23.
| Item | To the port | From the port |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $31.99 per person | $31.99 per person |
| Duration | “1.0 hours” | “1.0 hours” |
| Meeting point | “Baggage claim 1” at Long Beach Airport | A pier representative directs guests to the motorcoach after customs |
| Window | Service between “9:30 AM and 1:00 PM”; flights must arrive “no later than 12:30 PM on the day of your cruise”; guests who arrive earlier must meet at 12:00 PM on sailing day | Runs throughout debarkation |
| Booking | Up to 2 days before the sail date; flight details through Online Check-In, changes no later than 2 days before | Not stated on the listing |
| Flight limits | None stated | With a 7:00 a.m. ship arrival, flights depart no earlier than 11:00 a.m.; with an 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. arrival, no earlier than 12:30 p.m. |
Source:2 for the to-port column,3 for the from-port column. Metro Shore Services is reachable at 310-816-6600 on sailing day only2.
Official pages disagree The to-port listing is titled “Long Beach Airport to Port LGB”, and its meeting point is Baggage claim 1 at Long Beach Airport, but its description says “Use our transportation from Los Angeles International Airport to the Port of Long Beach on the day of embarkation.”2. Carnival’s page does not say which airport is the pick-up. The meeting point reads as LGB; confirm with Carnival’s phone line, (800) 764-7419 as listed by Visit Long Beach, or the confirmation in My Cruise Manager before relying on it5.
The from-port limits matter. The page ties the earliest flight to the ship’s arrival time, so a 7:00 a.m. arrival and a 9:00 a.m. flight do not fit the product3.
Taxi and rideshare
The airport’s ground-transportation page puts the taxi stand “outside the terminal next to Parking Structure A”. It prints a base fee of $3.10, $2.97 per mile and $0.37 per 37 seconds if in traffic or the cab is waiting, and a flat-rate list that includes San Pedro/Cruise Ships at $501. The flat-rate list carries no year, so confirm it before you count on it. Taxis can be booked at longbeachyellowcab.com; (562) 444-4444 is the page’s reservation line for wheelchair-accessible vehicles1.
Rideshare is “Available on the outer curb in front of the terminal”; Lyft and Uber are named1. Neither the airport nor Carnival prints a rideshare fare, and the cruise terminal’s own drop-off lane rules are not published on a page cited here. The Queen Mary’s page says only that “Rideshare and drop-offs are available within walking distance of the ship”7.
Transit pieces: bus, A Line and the Passport
No operator publishes an airport-to-terminal transit trip. The documented pieces are these:
- Long Beach Transit buses. Routes 102, 104, 111 and the 405 Commuter Express serve the airport, at “$1.25 cents for all routes”1. Long Beach Transit’s own fare page lists a single ride at $1.25 and says it “does not offer transfers within the LBT service area”, so each ride is a separate $1.258.
- The A Line. “The closest Metro Rail station to Long Beach Airport is the Wardlow Station on the A Line”, and a cab from that station to the airport is $13.351. Metro lists the A Line as “Pomona – Long Beach” and the regular fare at $1.75910.
- The Passport, route 37. Long Beach Transit’s schedule effective August 23, 2026 runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10th & Pine to Queen Mary / Cruise Terminal; on the Friday table that is a 19-minute ride, with trips about every 30 minutes6. It is free11.
What no page states is how the A Line connects to the Passport, which Passport stop to use from the A Line, or how long the whole trip takes. The Passport has no regular Monday-to-Thursday service, with Saturday service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 18, 2027, so the one documented link to the terminal is missing on those days. A rider who wants this route needs the A Line and Passport timetables for the day, since the pieces above do not add up to a published trip.
What no operator publishes
- The distance from LGB to the cruise terminal, in miles or minutes, by car or by bus.
- A rideshare fare or the terminal’s drop-off lane rules.
- A published LGB-to-terminal bus or rail itinerary.
- Whether Carnival’s to-port transfer starts at LGB or LAX, beyond the meeting point it names2.
For LAX arrivals, see LAX to Long Beach: What Is Published for Shuttles, Rideshare and the Metro C Line to A Line Route. For the airport’s parking, curfew and airlines, see Long Beach Airport for Visitors. For bags between flights and ship, see Luggage Storage in Long Beach Before or After a Cruise. The site earns a commission on some hotel, ticket, transfer and parking links, which does not affect what is recommended.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is Long Beach Airport from the cruise terminal?
No operator page gives a distance. Carnival’s transfer is listed at “1.0 hours”2.
How much is the Carnival shuttle from Long Beach Airport to the port?
How much is a taxi from Long Beach Airport to the cruise terminal?
The airport’s page lists a $50 flat rate to San Pedro/Cruise Ships; the page is undated1.
Where does the Carnival airport shuttle pick up?
At the meeting point the page prints as “Arriving into Long Beach Airport (LGB): Baggage claim 1”, between 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., for flights landing by 12:30 p.m.2.
Can I take the bus or train from Long Beach Airport to the cruise terminal?
Does Uber or Lyft pick up at Long Beach Airport?
Yes, on the outer curb in front of the terminal1.
Is the Passport free?
Related Articles
Sources
- Ground Transportation — Long Beach Airport, City of Long Beach. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Transportation: Long Beach Airport to Port LGB — Carnival Cruise Line. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Transportation: Port LGB to Long Beach Airport — Carnival Cruise Line. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Special Offers: Bon Voyage Park & Cruise — The Maya. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Cruise Terminal Information — Visit Long Beach. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Passport route 37 schedule, effective August 23, 2026 — Long Beach Transit. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Queen Mary Parking — The Queen Mary. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Fares — Long Beach Transit. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- A Line — Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Fares — Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Long Beach Transit — Long Beach Transit. Accessed 2026-10-01.