Catalina Express at 320 Golden Shore, Long Beach, California.

We have taken the Catalina Express to Avalon from Long Beach many times and we have always had a good experience. This time we splurged and paid $15 per person extra for the "Captain's Lounge". It was worth it! The seats recline and it a lot less noisy because you're up above the main deck, which gets a lot of the engine noise. You also have a much simpler luggage handling experience that way, so we'll probably do it that way from now on.