Destinations
Where cruises from San Francisco actually go
Alaska is the most common trip from San Francisco, then Hawaii and Baja. Hawaii and the long voyages take two weeks or more, with several sea days at a stretch, and the short trips go south to Ensenada. The counts on each card come straight from the schedule.
Alaska
Most of this schedule, from April to September. Ruby Princess, Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Legend sail round trips of ten nights or so, with two days at sea each way, calling at ports such as Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Sitka, with a day in a glacier fjord such as Endicott Arm and a stop at Prince Rupert in British Columbia on the way home, so there is no flight north to book.
45 sailings · 10 to 13 nights · from $996
Hawaii
Round trips of 15 or 16 nights, nearly all on Ruby Princess, leaving between September and April. After four days at sea the ships call at islands such as Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai, then stop at Ensenada in Mexico on the way home. The sea days are part of the trip, so these suit people who like the ship as much as the ports.
23 sailings · 15 to 16 nights · from $1,124
Baja and Ensenada
The short trips on this schedule. Carnival sails four and five nights to Ensenada between its Alaska cruises, from spring to early autumn, and the occasional trip adds a day on Catalina Island. Princess adds five-night trips that stop in San Diego on the way to Ensenada. Each has a day at sea in both directions.
20 sailings · 4 to 5 nights · from $513
Pacific Coast
Week-long round trips north to Victoria, Vancouver and Seattle in spring and early autumn, on Ruby Princess, and a week south to Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego and Ensenada. Regent's Seven Seas Splendor sails north one way to Vancouver, calling at Astoria, Seattle and Victoria, so that trip needs a flight home.
6 sailings · 7 nights · from $900
Long voyages across the Pacific
Voyages that keep going far past Hawaii. Azamara's Grand Voyages leave in January and end in Sydney or Hong Kong after weeks in the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia, and Carnival crosses to Japan by way of Alaska in October. All of them end far from San Francisco.
3 sailings · 15 to 87 nights · from $1,541
South Pacific
One-way voyages that stop in Hawaii and carry on to French Polynesia, ending in Papeete on Tahiti, with islands such as Bora Bora and Moorea on the way. Azamara and Regent sail them in January, and both have five days at sea before the first island. The flight home from Tahiti is part of the cost.
2 sailings · 17 to 18 nights · from $2,549
Mexican Riviera
Longer trips past Baja to the mainland coast of Mexico, calling at ports such as Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. They are rare from San Francisco, with three days at sea each way, and Princess sails them on Ruby Princess in the autumn.
1 sailings · 11 nights · from $1,569
Panama Canal
One-way voyages down the coast of Mexico and Central America, through the canal and on to Fort Lauderdale in Florida. Princess sails them on Ruby Princess, calling at ports such as Puerto Vallarta, Puntarenas and Cartagena. The trip ends on the other side of the country, so the flight home is part of the plan.
1 sailings · 16 nights · from $2,025
Starting fares per person, for the cheapest cabin listed, with taxes and port fees included, checked . Fares change often, so check the current price before you book.
