Catalina Offers Moderate Discounts for Seniors

Mature travelers heading for Catalina Island will find discounts aplenty in Avalon, but there are also deals to be had simply in getting to the island.

The best overall prices are given to senior groups of 20 or more, but these are usually for midweek travel and away from the peak June-to-mid-September season.

The two major Catalina cruise lines, Catalina Express and Catalina Cruises, each offer year-round, senior citizen rates for those age 55 and over.

The Catalina Express offers daily departures from Berth 95, the Catalina Terminal, in San Pedro, and another terminal next to the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Starting next month, the company also will offer sailings from King Harbor in Redondo Beach.

The Express sailing from Long Beach makes the best time of any Catalina cruise line, usually just 60 minutes to Avalon. The senior rate is $28.50 round trip, compared to the regular $32 adult fare. There is free parking close to the terminal. From San Pedro, Catalina Express has a 90-minute crossing for $25.10 compared to the regular $27.70 fare.

Catalina Cruise, meanwhile, departs daily from the Catalina Terminal in San Pedro and from Long Beach, but from the Catalina Landing at 330 Golden Shore Blvd., not next to the Queen Mary.

Catalina Cruises uses larger vessels, carrying up to 700 passengers, and thus offers longer sailings at lower rates. From both terminals it’s a bit less than two hours to Avalon. The round-trip, senior fare from either San Pedro or Long Beach is $22.80, a savings of $3.20 off the regular adult fare.

Then there is Catalina Passenger Service and its Catalina Flyer, which connects Newport Beach and Avalon in about 75 minutes on the big 500-passenger catamaran. The round-trip fare from Newport’s Balboa Pavilion is $28.

Once on the island, mature travelers age 55 and up get sightseeing discounts on a variety of land and water trips offered by the Santa Catalina Island Co.

These include (with the regular adult fare in parentheses): Avalon Scenic Tour $3.50 ($4); 10-mile Skyline Drive $7.50 ($8.50); and popular Inland Motor Tour $12.75 ($15). There are other discounts for the Casino Walking Tour and Top of the Island Dinner Tour.

From May through September, there are water trips such as Evening Flying Fish Boat Tour $4.50 ($5.25); or the two-hour Sunset Buffet Cruise or four-hour Twilight Dining Cruise to Two Harbors (which starts in mid-June) at $27 for seniors versus a $29.50 regular fare. There are more discounts on the shorter day or night Glass Bottom Boat trips, and the Coastal/Undersea Gardens Cruise to Seal Rocks.

Senior discounts for accommodations are in short supply. Which is not surprising considering the limited number of rooms available to meet the regular tourist demand. Even the few larger spots that do have senior rates are usually limited to midweek stays away from the peak summer season.

Those that do have year-round senior rates include the beach-front Pavilion Lodge with 72 rooms and the older, 100-room Atwater Hotel. Both are operated by the Santa Catalina Island Co., which also runs the Catalina Express and the sightseeing tours.

The company also has ties with several other inns and offers special package plans with transportation, sightseeing tours and varying other features for one- to three-night stays in early summer and late fall. But these are not just for mature travelers.

Other Avalon accommodations with senior rates include the Glenmore Plaza with 40 rooms and the ocean-front Hotel Vista Del Mar with 15 rooms.

Some of the best buys for seniors are seldom advertised, as they are operated through senior clubs and organizations. They are either single day excursions or two-day coach and cruise tours.

Main Street Tours in Torrance, one of the largest operators of such trips for senior groups, has two Catalina trips in its catalogue of 100 senior outings. Both are based on a senior group of about 40 persons and include coach transportation to and from the cruise terminal to the senior’s starting point.

A day’s outing, including the sailing to Avalon and back, Glass Bottom Boat Cruise and Avalon Scenic Tour and free time for a meal and shopping, runs about $36 a person for the group most any midweek date all year.

A two-day trip, staying overnight at the Pavilion Lodge, with a Glass Bottom Boat Trip and the half-day Inland Motor Tour of the Island, runs about $85 a person for the group. But the latter is only available midweek from October through May.