Coastal Cruises

Alcatraz, visit but don't stay.

By Carol Watts Travel Planner

What do cruise ships do when, because of weather, the season in Alaska has ended but the season in Mexico has not yet begun? The cruise lines can’t just have a ship sitting in the water and not generating income.

The answer is a coastal cruise. On Holland America these consist of 1 - 5 day long cruises that leave Vancouver and sail to San Diego, or sail around Puget Sound for 3 or 5days, round trip Vancouver. There’s even a 1 day cruise from Vancouver to Seattle. If you have never sailed before, these short coastal cruises are a great way to see what cruising is all about. But the air fare to Vancouver can be expensive, and there’s no indication that air prices will not continue to rise in the future.

I think Princess Cruises has a good solution with their two 7 day coastal cruises that are round trip Los Angeles. Air fare to LAX is not cost prohibitive, or you can drive. The dates for this fall’s coastal cruises are Sept 24th and Oct 11th. You can think of them as wine cruises, since winery tours are available in every port of call: Santa Barbara, San Francisco, San Diego, and Ensenada, Mexico. Unfortunately, because of the Jones Act, foreign flagged ships sailing to and from an American city must make a port of call in a foreign country, hence Mexico or Canada. Therefore passports are require. If the threat of violence in Mexico scares you, then just stay on the ship that day. (We’ve done that frequently on Mexican Riviera cruises, since they are the least expensive cruise, and we just go to relax and enjoy the ship, not for the destination.) Prices for these coastal cruises are just slightly higher than the 7 day Mexican Riviera cruises.

And, you guessed it, we have group space reserved on both dates, that gives you a reduced cabin rate and on board credit. Now I realize that a great portion of Payson residents moved here from California, and therefore a cruise that visits mainly California ports may not be a big draw. But even if wineries are not your thing, there’s still plenty to see in each of the ports of call. And this cruise is a great way to visit several California cities without having to drive, since you wake up every day in a different port after sailing overnight. Ahhh, there’s nothing like the motion of the ocean to rock you to sleep.

In addition to several winery tours, the shore excursions available for Santa Barbara include whale watching for grays, blues, or humpbacks, a city tour by trolley, or a tour of the Danish town of Solvang.

San Francisco offers numerous shore excursions: winery tours in Napa Valley, Sonoma County, a visit to Alcatraz, free time to explore Muir Woods and the Coastal Redwoods, Sausalito and Fisherman’s Wharf, and a city tour that includes the Golden Gate Bridge with numerous photo opportunities.

San Diego, you could spend a week here. In addition to the zoo, there’s Sea World, Wild Animal Park, a city tour that includes Old Town, Coronado Island, and La Jolla, a harbor cruise, the Maritime Museum, a visit to the 100 year old Bernardo vineyard, and Balboa Park, the jewel in San Diego’s crown. Here you will see not only horticulture and Spanish architecture, but have your choice of 13 museums to visit, offering displays of art, model trains, dinosaur fossils, mummies, folk art, photography, sports memorabilia, rare aircraft, vintage automobiles, science and space exhibits, and an IMAX theater. Travel to Balboa Park includes a trolley tour of the Gaslamp District and Seaport Village.

Ensenada, Mexico shore excursions include a city tour and drive along the Baja countryside to Punta Banda and its famous blowhole, and two different winery tours, combined with a city tour.

Of course, you can easily step off the ship and schedule an independent tour or shopping excursion. In these California ports of call there’s no language barrier, no foreign money, and no threat of drug cartel violence. With growing global unrest and hatred of Americans, you’ve got to admit that cruises to US cities, whether Alaska, Hawaii, or California are becoming more appealing.

Warm Weather Cruises

Diamondhead at Sunrise

By Carol Watts Travel Planner


This latest cold snap has gotten me thinking about a cruise to a warm and sunny location. Most people think of the Caribbean, and there is no shortage of cruise itineraries going there. You have a choice of leaving from Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Galveston, New Orleans, Charleston, Baltimore, New York, or San Juan. The downside is the long air flight to get to the port of embarkation. Often times that requires flying a day early and staying overnight. But with the sales and deals, a Caribbean cruise is a cost effective vacation when compared with a resort on one Caribbean island. Being stuck in one location, no matter how beautiful, can not compare in my book with visiting several different ports of call on a ship where meals and entertainment are included at no additional cost.

Cruises go to the Eastern, the Western, or the Southern Caribbean. Or you can book a back to back cruise that visits both the Eastern and Western. If you have “been there, done” that, there is a 7 day cruise that visit’s the two southern islands of Curacao and Aruba, as well as the cruise line’s private island in the Bahamas. Because of the distance traveled, there are 3 sea days to relax and enjoy all that the cruise ship has to offer on this itinerary. We have group space reserved on the December 3rd sailing that provides you with a discounted cabin rate and on-board credit.

Likewise the choice of cruise lines and ships that visit the Caribbean is almost endless. From the mega ships from Royal Caribbean that have over 5,400 passengers to smaller ships that have less than 1,400 guests, we can find a cruise ship that suits your preferences.

Another warm weather itinerary is the Panama Canal. Here you have the choice of a 10 day itinerary round trip from Ft. Lauderdale that goes through one set of locks on the Caribbean side before returning to Florida. Or you can do the full canal transit that takes 14 to 15 days departing from either Los Angeles or San Diego to Florida, or vice versa. If you take the east bound itinerary, you have only one long flight from Florida back to Arizona, and there is no overnight motel stay required, because the time change is working in your favor.

Of course you knew I was going to mention Hawaii as a favorite warm weather cruise destination. There’s no threat of violence in our 50th state, like there has been on some of the Caribbean islands. The 14 day round trip from either Los Angeles or San Diego is the least expensive way to cruise to Hawaii. We have several group sailings reserved, again offering reduced cabin rates and on-board credit. There is one additional tropical cruise that I would dearly love to go on, and that is the 28 day round trip sailing from Los Angeles that visits Hawaii, Samoa, and Tahiti. If you want to see Tahiti without the long air flight, this is definitely the way to go. And yes, we have group space reserved with the benefit of discounted rates and amenities for the October sailing. If only I could take a month off from work.

In the February issue of “Conde Nast Traveler,” there is the Reader’s Poll of the top cruise ships. This is a rating of cruise ships by their passengers, not agents or travel writers. Looking at the large and mega ship categories together, we see that many major cruise lines have a large percentage of their ships listed: Holland America has 8, Royal Caribbean has 8, Princess has 9, Celebrity has 4, Disney is 2 for 2, and the luxury lines of Crystal, Regent, Oceania, and Cunard have 2-3 each. This is no surprise to us because of the feedback we get from our customers and our own personal experience. Noteworthy is the complete absence from the list of several domestic and foreign cruise lines.

Just because cruising is our preferred way to travel, don’t think that we do not do land and resort vacations to tropical climates. The Caribbean Islands, Costa Rico, Belize, Guatemala, Panama, and of course Mexico are available from many different providers; some have trips of up to ten days from $995 per person, including meals. Air fare is additional.

Remember that it does not cost more to use the services of an accredited travel agency. Our commission is paid by the cruise line or resort, not by you. Bring us an internet rate, and we will do our best to match it. Sometimes we have found that moving a trip by one or two weeks can results in significant savings. We’re here to help you get the best value for your vacation dollar. Depending on your preferences, that just may not be the enticing internet lead-in price you are seeing.