Guides
Princess California Coast from Los Angeles / San Francisco
At a glance
- Route (representative): Los Angeles (San Pedro) – Santa Barbara – San Francisco – Monterey – sea day – San Diego – Ensenada – Los Angeles. Princess's California Coast page lists Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Ensenada among its ports and says sailings run 2 to 11 days (checked Oct 14, 2026).
- Homeport airport: LAX, with Long Beach (LGB) as the calmer alternative. Pier 27 in San Francisco is the alternate start if the sailing you book leaves from there.
- From LAX to the pier: FlyAway to LA Union Station is $12.75 one way (checked Oct 14, 2026), but you still need a ride from there to San Pedro. A rideshare or shuttle straight to the terminal is simpler for most people.
- Book ahead: Alcatraz (tickets go on sale up to 90 days out), any ship excursion in Ensenada, and a hotel the night before.
- Biggest mistake: treating Ensenada like the rest of the trip. See the safety paragraph in the full guide.
The route in one paragraph
You board at the World Cruise Center in San Pedro, sail north overnight, and tender ashore at Santa Barbara for red roofs, a mission and a wharf. Next is a long day in San Francisco, sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge on the way in. Monterey is another tender port, with Cannery Row and a short drive to Carmel's mission. A sea day follows, then San Diego, where Princess's page says classic California Coast cruises stay until 11 p.m. (checked Oct 14, 2026). Ensenada, Mexico, is the last port before you return to Los Angeles.
Who it suits
First-time cruisers who want several US ports without a passport-heavy itinerary (see documents below), couples after a sea-day-light trip, and West Coast residents who can drive to the pier. Less suited to anyone who dislikes tendering: Santa Barbara and Monterey are typically tender ports, and tendering can be cancelled in rough swell.
When to go
Shoulder months often give the clearest days, but fog is common on this coast, especially around San Francisco in summer. Not confirmed on https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-destinations/california-coast-cruises as of 2026-10-14 for any specific month, so check the sailing dates there. Voyages are offered for 2026 through 2028 per the page.
Tender or dock, port by port
Two of the five ports on this plan are typically tender stops. At Santa Barbara and Monterey the ship usually anchors offshore and small boats carry you to the landing, which adds queues at both ends of the day and can be cancelled in rough swell. San Francisco and San Diego are typically dock ports, where you walk off and back on, so they suit slower mornings and later returns. Ensenada is a pier stop too. These patterns are as commonly described, not confirmed for your sailing, so check the port list and tender notes in your booking and the daily program before you plan a tight day.
Embarkation city in brief
San Pedro is the harbor district of Los Angeles, about 25 miles south of LAX in normal traffic (as commonly described). Most cruisers stay near LAX, in Long Beach, or in San Pedro itself. Confirm the exact terminal and pier directions on https://portoflosangeles.org/business/terminals/passenger/cruise before you go – not confirmed there as of 2026-10-14.
Rough cost, three ways
- Cash: cabin fare for your sailing: $______ (fill from https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-destinations/california-coast-cruises) + gratuities $____/day x 7 (check https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/onboard-experience#crew-appreciation) + taxes and port fees (shown at checkout) + hotel + airfare + excursions.
- Points: you cannot transfer bank points to Princess directly. Use points for flights (see the chart in the full guide) and the hotel; pay the cruise in cash or with card travel credits.
- Mixed: pay the cruise with cash, fly home on points, and keep excursions DIY.
Entry documents
Because this plan calls at Ensenada, Mexico, bring a passport. Princess's own rules on acceptable documents are on princess.com; confirm in your booking before you sail.
Three free things (one photo each)
- Golden Gate Bridge from the deck as you sail into San Francisco – photo at the bow or upper deck early in the morning.
- Stearns Wharf and the Santa Barbara waterfront – a free walk from the tender landing.
- Old Mission Santa Barbara from the outside gardens and church – grounds hours are not confirmed; the parish lists Mass times at https://www.saintbarbaraparish.org/.
What the week feels like
Day one is about boarding, the safety drill and a late sail-away from the Los Angeles harbor. Days two to four are early starts: tender ports ask you to be at the tender lounge sooner than you would like, and San Francisco rewards anyone who is on deck before the bridge. Day five is the exhale, a sea day with nothing to catch. Day six in San Diego is the easy port, with a pier within walking distance of downtown. Day seven in Ensenada is short and best kept simple. Day eight you are off the ship, usually between breakfast and mid-morning, so book flights home for the afternoon or later (typical advice; confirm your debarkation time in the line's app).
How to keep it cheap
The cheap version of this trip is a drive-in cruise: park or get dropped off, skip the ship's flights-and-transfers add-ons, and keep every port DIY except Ensenada if you want the cover of a ship excursion. Fill in the blanks on the pages above, add up the daily gratuity and any beverage package you actually plan to use, and compare the total to a hotel-based trip to the same cities. Cruise credit offers on some cards exist; we do not quote amounts, and you should read the terms on the issuer's page.
Before you book
Open the Princess California Coast page, pick a sailing that matches this order of ports, and check three things: the embarkation port, whether Santa Barbara and Monterey are marked as tender, and whether San Francisco is a full day or an overnight. If the sailing differs, the day-by-day in the full guide still works; just swap the days.
Written by PerkJolt's AI desk from official sources; facts checked on the dates shown. We may earn a commission from links; it never changes what we recommend.
This is the free lite guide. The full day-by-day guide, with maps, photo stops, rain plans and the points playbook, is part of PerkJolt All-Access.
Good to know before you go
We checked the pages below on 2026-10-14. Fares, fees, port calls, tender operations and schedules change often and can change after booking (weather, surge, port congestion), so confirm everything on princess.com or in your booking and the line's app before you sail. This is a representative 7-night plan, not a published sailing, and we name no ship for it.