Disneyland tips it
For two people a rental is the wrong tool for reaching the ship, and on Catalina it’s no use at all. What tips the answer is whether you have somewhere to be that Uber and the rails don’t cover: Disneyland, the Getty, Joshua Tree.
Uber’s route page for LAX to the World Cruise Terminal shows about $53, an average, not a quote.
Carnival’s transfer to Long Beach starts at $34.99 a person, so a rental has to beat both — and nobody publishes the one-way drop charge that would say whether it does.
Disneyland is where that stops being a guess. It’s about 56 miles round trip from downtown Long Beach, and a day in a rental with $40 parking comes to roughly $104 at our assumptions.
One leg on the Long Beach Shuttle’s Disneyland Express costs $135 from the Long Beach terminal. The fare page never says if that’s per rider or per car — and even per car, one leg costs more than our whole $104 day.
A second day of the car adds about $52 at our rate — so keep it to the days you’ll use.
The Getty, Joshua Tree and the other long drives are on the Catalina, Disneyland and sights page.
Four trips, with the car and without
| Scenario | Rental, all in | Without one | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAX to the terminal, two people | $71 one way, plus any drop charge | About $53 by Uber on its route-page average, or $70 for two on Carnival’s transfer | Uber |
| LAX to the terminal, four people | $82 one way, plus any drop charge | $140 on Carnival’s transfer | Car, if the drop charge stays small |
| A Disneyland day from a Long Beach hotel | $104 with $40 parking, one day | $135 a leg on the Long Beach Shuttle’s Disneyland Express, per person or per car unknown; the train and bus are unpriced | Car, against that shuttle |
| Two nights in Long Beach first | $236 from LAX, with $47-a-night hotel parking | Uber, plus Long Beach Transit at $1.25 a ride | No car |
Every total starts from a $50 daily rate, or $60 for the bigger car four people need. LAX rows add the $9-a-day facility charge, an 11% fee we had to assume, the state’s 3.5% tourism assessment, and fuel priced at $6.41 a gallon. Sales tax is left out, no one publishes the one-way drop charge, and none of it is a quote. Illustrative
The last column tells the story. The car loses the airport run for two, catches up as the group grows, and beats the shuttle to Anaheim.
The two nights in Long Beach go the other way — a car parked in a $47-a-night garage is a cost, not a plan.
What about Catalina, a night in Long Beach or your own car?
Catalina is a ferry trip, not a drive — there are no rental cars on the island, and no car ferry to bring your own.
The Catalina Express leaves from Berth 95, about a quarter mile from the World Cruise Center in a straight line. The Catalina page has the fares and times.
A family of four or more is the case worth pricing twice, because Carnival’s transfer charges every seat and a bigger rental can beat it. The drop charge on your quote decides that one, and the airport-to-ship page has a calculator that takes the number.
A night in Long Beach before you sail rarely wants a car — hotel parking runs $25 to $55 a night, a large share of the cost. The night-before page sorts the hotels by what they charge.
Driving on afterward is the other clear yes. Palm Springs is about 115 miles from Long Beach and San Diego about 113, and renting after the cruise covers both.
Taking your own car to the port means no rental at all — terminal parking is up to $23 a day, and LA cruise parking covers it.
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Four car sizes, and the seat question
California’s car-seat law has two thresholds that matter here.
Under 2, rear-facing is the rule unless the child has hit 40 pounds or 40 inches.
Under 8, a child shorter than 4 feet 9 inches needs a car seat or booster on the back seat (Vehicle Code 27360 and 27363).
The counter gives you no exemption, so bring your own seat: American, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue each say a car seat can be checked free.
| Car class | Seats | Bags |
|---|---|---|
| Midsize car | 5 | 3 |
| Standard SUV | 5 | 5 |
| Full-size SUV | 7 | 3 |
| 7-passenger minivan | 7 | 5 |
Enterprise’s published capacities for its US fleet. Count the bags along with the heads, and read the class on your own quote before you trust these. Checked Sept 27, 2026
Where we come in
Questions about a car in Los Angeles
Do I need a car if I’m cruising out of Los Angeles or Long Beach?
Not for the ship itself, at least not for two people. Uber’s own route pages average $53 for the LAX-to-World Cruise Terminal ride and $48 for the one to Long Beach. Carnival, for its own guests, starts its transfer at $34.99 a person. A car starts to earn its place on a Disneyland day, at the Getty, or on a drive after the cruise.
Is a one-way rental from LAX cheaper than an Uber to the ship?
For two people, no: an Uber averages about $53, and a one-way rental comes to roughly $71 at a $50 daily rate we assumed, before any drop charge. Against Carnival’s transfer, four flips it. The seats come to $140 and a bigger car to about $82, so the rental can win if your quote’s one-way charge stays small. Uber for four may mean two cars, so price that too.
Can you rent a car on Catalina?
No, and you can’t bring your own, because no car ferry runs there either. Catalina Express charges an adult $42 each way from San Pedro or Long Beach. For getting around after you land, Avalon rents four-person golf carts at $135 for two hours.
Do I need a car for a night in Long Beach before I sail?
Usually not. A Long Beach Transit ride costs $1.25 and Metro’s A Line runs to downtown Los Angeles, and downtown hotels are a short ride from the terminal. Hotel parking, at $25 to $55 a night, is a large share of what a car would cost you there.
More on renting around a Los Angeles cruise
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