Emerald Princess - Classic California Coast from Los Angeles

Where this cruise calls, day by day

6 ports and 2 sea days over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Los Angeles, CA

   United StatesDepart

   Ships berth at the World Cruise Center in San Pedro, under the green span of the Vincent Thomas Bridge and ringed by container cranes. This is a working port rather than a waterfront to stroll, and it is overwhelmingly a turnaround terminal for Mexican Riviera and Hawaii runs. Los Angeles proper starts about 25 miles inland, so most passengers meet a freeway before they meet a beach.

   • Tour the battleship USS Iowa, moored a short walk up the channel from the terminal
   • Point Fermin Lighthouse and the collapsed bluffs of Sunken City on the San Pedro headland
   • Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and the tide pools below it
   • Griffith Observatory or the Santa Monica Pier if you are willing to spend the day in traffic

   Getting ashore

   Docks at the World Cruise Center in San Pedro; there is no walkable city here, and downtown, Hollywood or Santa Monica each mean 45-75 minutes by road.

   Best months

   Year-round (Sep-Nov clearest; May-Jun often overcast on the coast)

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3

   San Francisco, CA

   United StatesPort

   Arriving here is the point: ships pass under the Golden Gate Bridge and berth at Pier 27, on the Embarcadero within sight of Coit Tower and a walk from the Ferry Building. It serves as a turnaround port for Alaska and Hawaii sailings and an occasional day call. Fog can swallow the bridge entirely even in July, so the famous approach is not guaranteed.

   • Alcatraz Island, which sells out weeks ahead and cannot be booked on the day
   • The Ferry Building marketplace and the Embarcadero waterfront
   • Cable car from Powell Street over Nob Hill
   • Golden Gate Park, the Presidio and the view back at the bridge from Fort Point

   Getting ashore

   Docks at Pier 27 on the Embarcadero; Fisherman's Wharf and the Ferry Building are walkable in either direction.

   Best months

   Year-round (Sep-Oct warmest and least foggy; Jun-Aug is peak fog season)

4. Day 4 · At sea

5. Day 5

   Santa Barbara, CA

   United StatesPort

   Santa Barbara has no cruise berth, so ships anchor in the open roadstead and tender passengers to the harbour or Stearns Wharf. The town is a rare California case where the walk from the landing is genuinely the point: red-tiled Spanish Revival architecture enforced by city code, a palm-lined beachfront, and State Street running straight inland from the water.

   • Old Mission Santa Barbara, the 1786 'Queen of the Missions' above town
   • The Santa Barbara County Courthouse and its free clock tower viewpoint
   • The Funk Zone tasting rooms, a few blocks from the tender landing
   • Stearns Wharf and the waterfront path toward the harbour

   Getting ashore

   Tender only into the harbour or Stearns Wharf; downtown and the Funk Zone are walkable, the Mission is uphill and better by taxi.

   Best months

   May-Oct (Sep-Oct warmest and clearest; winter swell causes tender cancellations)

6. Day 6

   San Diego, CA

   United StatesPort

   San Diego is one of the easiest cruise arrivals in the country: the B Street and Broadway piers sit directly on the downtown Embarcadero, with the aircraft carrier USS Midway permanently moored a few hundred yards along the same waterfront. The Gaslamp Quarter is a flat ten-minute walk. It works as both a turnaround port for Mexico runs and a pleasant one-day call.

   • USS Midway Museum, with the flight deck and hangar open to walk
   • Balboa Park's museums and the San Diego Zoo
   • Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, the original Mexican-era settlement
   • The ferry across the bay to Coronado and the Hotel del Coronado

   Getting ashore

   Docks downtown at the B Street or Broadway Pier; the Gaslamp Quarter, Midway and Little Italy are all walkable.

   Best months

   Year-round (Sep-Oct warmest and clearest; May-Jun often grey until afternoon)

7. Day 7

   Ensenada

   MexicoPort

   Ensenada is on most California itineraries because US law requires a foreign stop, and the town knows it. The port is a working commercial harbour with a short shuttle or walk to Avenida López Mateos, a strip of cantinas, curio shops and pharmacies. It is far better than that sounds if you leave the strip - the Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico's serious wine region, starts about an hour inland.

   • La Bufadora, the sea geyser 45 minutes south
   • Valle de Guadalupe wineries
   • Hussong's Cantina, open since 1892
   • Fish tacos at the Mercado Negro

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock; the main tourist street is a 15-20 minute walk, or a short shuttle from the terminal gate.

   Best months

   Apr-Oct is warm and dry; winter here is cool, grey and windy - this is Baja's Mediterranean end, not the tropics

8. Day 8

   Los Angeles, CA

   United StatesArrive

   Ships berth at the World Cruise Center in San Pedro, under the green span of the Vincent Thomas Bridge and ringed by container cranes. This is a working port rather than a waterfront to stroll, and it is overwhelmingly a turnaround terminal for Mexican Riviera and Hawaii runs. Los Angeles proper starts about 25 miles inland, so most passengers meet a freeway before they meet a beach.

   • Tour the battleship USS Iowa, moored a short walk up the channel from the terminal
   • Point Fermin Lighthouse and the collapsed bluffs of Sunken City on the San Pedro headland
   • Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and the tide pools below it
   • Griffith Observatory or the Santa Monica Pier if you are willing to spend the day in traffic

   Getting ashore

   Docks at the World Cruise Center in San Pedro; there is no walkable city here, and downtown, Hollywood or Santa Monica each mean 45-75 minutes by road.

   Best months

   Year-round (Sep-Nov clearest; May-Jun often overcast on the coast)