Los Angeles and Long Beach Cruise Port Rental Car Guide

No rental counter turned up at either terminal, so every option is a branch plus a ride you’d have to arrange. The nearest ones sit 0.9 to 1.8 miles from their own terminal — close, but not at it.

Farther out, Enterprise has branches in Lomita on Pacific Coast Highway, two in Carson and one in Torrance. The Lomita and Carson ones close on weekends or Sundays — a longer drive doesn’t fix the Sunday problem.

No Wilmington or Harbor City office turned up for us, and neither did a National, Alamo, Dollar or Thrifty branch in San Pedro.

Try 11:00 on a Sunday in the checker and the San Pedro branches drop out — slide it to 10:00 on a Monday and they’re back.

Enterprise and Hertz on West 6th are closed Sundays. Downtown Long Beach’s Avis, Budget and Sixt open 9 to 2 on Saturdays and Sundays, so plan around the 2 o’clock close, not the 9 o’clock opening.

A key drop doesn’t save you. Enterprise in San Pedro and Enterprise downtown take no after-hours returns, and the only places that do are Sixt’s garage and the drop box at Long Beach Airport. We wouldn’t lean on either before a cruise — the car stays on your contract until a branch checks it in, and you’ll be at sea by then.

By our estimate the two terminals are about 8 miles apart by road, so a branch that suits one is a poor fit for the other.

No rental company we found serves the Carnival terminal in Long Beach. On big days the garage fills as well — Carnival has told guests to arrange transportation that doesn’t need parking.

Your cruise documents name your terminal, so read them first and choose the branch second.

Take our assumed $50 a day and a one-way car from LAX lands near $71 — before any drop charge, and before the cab from the branch to the ship.

Two of you on Carnival’s transfer start at about $70. Uber’s own average is $53 for the whole car — an average, not a quote.

Add two more travelers and the answer moves. At four, the car is about $82 at $60 a day, before a drop charge and a cab. Carnival’s transfer starts at $140 for the four of you — a per-seat price, so it climbs with every person you add.

The airport-to-ship page prices the round trip.

LAX moved all twelve brands into its new center in March 2026 — you reach it by the free shuttle from the purple sign at baggage claim.

The people mover meant to link the two is delayed to early January 2027, say LAWA and local news — so the shuttle stays the only way in for now.

Long Beach Airport is the shorter drive to either terminal, and its counters keep late hours — the thing a Sunday return needs.

On a one-day rental the LAX pickup carries about $15 more in charges and tax — small, until you multiply it by the days.

The flat $9 stops after day five, yet the 11% fee keeps growing with the rental, so the gap keeps widening at a slower pace.

What a downtown branch costs you is hours, not dollars: shorter days, and some are shut on Sundays. Nobody publishes a fleet count — so we can’t tell you whether it also holds fewer cars.

Price both before you decide.

Neither drive to the ports crosses a toll — the trouble is toll lanes marked off by double white lines on the I-10 and I-110 through Los Angeles County, and on SR-91 and I-15 inland.

Enterprise’s TollPass, which National and Alamo share, doesn’t cover Southern California’s express lanes. Hertz and Avis run programs with rules of their own, so don’t assume the rental’s pass forgives a lane you drifted into.

Should a toll get charged anyway, it’s billed through the rental company’s own program. Hertz’s PlatePass is $5.95 a day with no cap — unlike the other two, which stop at a ceiling.

Avis and Budget charge $6.95 a day up to $34.95, while Enterprise, National and Alamo charge $4.95 for each toll day, topping out at $34.65, per the Golden Gate Bridge district’s list.

Stay in the general lanes and none of it applies.

Enterprise’s full-size SUV seats 7 but lists only 3 bags, while the 7-passenger minivan lists 7 people and 5 bags. A group that size with cruise luggage needs the van, not the SUV.

American, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue each say a car seat can be checked free, so bring your own, not the counter’s.

On the seat law, a child under 2 travels rear-facing until reaching 40 pounds or 40 inches. Anyone under 8 and shorter than 4 feet 9 inches rides in the back seat with a booster or car seat (Vehicle Code 27360 and 27363).

Discover Cars lists Long Beach Airport and a downtown Long Beach pickup at 100 Pacific Avenue. In San Pedro it lists Hertz but not Enterprise’s branch there.

Search LAX or Long Beach, set the return to the branch you’ll actually use, not the one that looks closest on the map, and read its Sunday hours before you pay.