Key Aspects:
- Carnival Cruise Line has secured an off-site parking lot at the Port of Long Beach due to limited parking availability at the cruise terminal.
- The cruise line issued a detailed set of parking instructions that guests booked to sail on Carnival Panorama’s August 24, 2025 departure must follow.
- Free shuttle service will be provided to bring guests into the port after parking their cars off site, however, the cruise line advises guests to use alternate transportation that will not require parking.
For at least the second time this summer, guests booked to sail on a Carnival Cruise Line ship out of Long Beach, California, are being warned about limited parking availability at the facility.
In an alert sent to guests booked to sail aboard Carnival Panorama’s August 24, 2025 cruise to the Mexican Riviera, the cruise line advised that an off-site parking area has been arranged.
Detailed instructions about accessing the lot are included in the notice, but the line also strongly recommends that passengers use an alternate transportation option that will not require parking at all.
The notice provided no specific reason for the alert, however, the 3,000-guest Carnival Radiance, will have departed the Port of Long Beach two days before Carnival Panorama departs.
It seems likely that guests aboard the two mega-ships, which will not return before Carnival Panorama departs, will have secured many of the port’s available parking spots.
Carnival Panorama guests were advised to arrive at the terminal at their scheduled time and drop off luggage and any traveling companions. While in the drop-off line, they will receive directions to the off-site lot as well as an entry and identification card.
Guests should be prepared to pay the $20 per day parking fee — by credit card only — upon entry to the off-site lot.
“A dedicated agent will be available to process your card payment, as only card payments will be accepted. Parking accommodations will be in place for guests with mobility limitations,” Colleen Oliverio, vice president of guest services for Carnival Cruise Line, wrote in her notice to guests.
Once guests secure their parking spaces, free shuttles will bring them back to the cruise terminal. The final shuttle will leave the parking lot 30 minutes before the final boarding time.
The shuttles will also return guests to the off-site lot at the conclusion of the voyage.
Off-Site Parking Lot Has Vehicle Limitations
The notice points out that the off-site parking lot cannot accommodate any vehicle taller than 6-feet, 6-inches, nor can it accept any oversize vehicles.
Also, any guests sailing on back-to-back cruises aboard Carnival Panorama may not use the off-site lot at all, since it is available only for the length of a single voyage.
Read Also: 15 Mistakes to Avoid on a Carnival Cruise
The August 24, 2025 departure is a 6-night cruise calling at Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada, Mexico. The ship’s next sailing is an 8-night Mexican Riviera voyage departing on August 30, 2025.
Warnings about limited parking and the cruise line’s off-site lot had been issued in June 2025, when a similar situation unfolded at Long Beach. The instructions for Carnival Panorama’s June 21, 2025 sailing were identical to this latest alert.
Parking issues were not the only concerns for cruisers departing from Long Beach in summer 2025. On August 3 and 4, 2025, guests booked to sail on Carnival Panorama and Carnival Firenze, also homeporting at Long Beach, were warned about the closure of the Shoemaker Bridge, a main route into the port.
The closure was tied to repairs caused by an earlier truck accident on the bridge.
