Plenty to do in Carnival's Long Beach Home

By: Tom Stieghorst

With a new ship coming next year, Carnival Cruise Line had its pick of more than a dozen U.S. cities for a homeport. But when it arrives in 2019, the Carnival Panorama will be headed for Long Beach, Calif.

The decision shines a spotlight on the port, which is the gateway for Carnival in the Los Angeles area. Other cruise lines sail from San Pedro about seven miles to the west.

Carnival's operation is located in a geodesic dome that once housed Howard Hughes' massive H-4 Hercules, or Spruce Goose. The cruise line has created elaborate theming for the cavernous interior of the dome, with a billboard representation of Thunder Mountain, dozens of freeze-dried trees and a scale model of the Spruce Goose.

But Carnival president Christine Duffy said there's also more for passengers to do in Long Beach than in San Pedro.

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