Cruising from the USA
Choose from 21 departure ports in the continental U.S.
and embark on a cheap, hassle-free vacation at sea
By Jennifer Davoren
Cunard Line
A Web site operated by Vacations To Go, a Houston-based national cruise discounter, can cut your travel costs even more. The "Find a Bargain" tool found on the left side of Vacations To Go's home page allows you to search for reduced fares, with many slashed up to 75 percent off the original brochure price.
Better still, potential cruisers setting out from the continental United States have 21 departure ports at their disposal. With so many options available, it's easy to hop in the car or take a short flight to the nearest coast.
Below are the round-trip sailing options along four cruise-heavy shorelines. In addition to the East, West and Gulf coasts, we've dedicated a section to Florida, a mecca for U.S.-based ocean liners that boasts five embarkation points.
All rates quoted below are from Vacations To Go and were accurate as we went to press. To learn more about bargain-priced sailings from U.S. home ports, call (800) 338-4962 or visit Vacations To Go, where you can use the "Find a Bargain" tool to search for cruises that leave from a specific U.S. city.
East Coast
Cruises departing from the eastern seaboard offer an enticing mix of domestic and international destinations. The best buys are trips to the Caribbean and Bahamas, which take place year-round. Autumn foliage draws ships to New England and Canada. In spring and summer, cruises to Bermuda deliver sparkling beaches and British colonial charm, just 650 miles from the U.S.
Boston, one of the northernmost departure ports on the Atlantic coast, serves as a launching pad to Bermuda between April and September each year. Seven-night sailings aboard the Norwegian Spirit spend four full days docked at King's Wharf, Bermuda's primary port, and start at $649 per person. Canadian shores are reached by the Boston-based ships of Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International.
New York City is a destination in itself, but the Big Apple also draws cruisers seeking an array of intriguing locales. From Brooklyn, vacationers can board the Caribbean Princess for the picturesque ports of New England and eastern Canada this fall, or head to sun-kissed tropical spots like Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the winter or spring. The brand-new Carnival Dream has two Bahamas sailings scheduled from Brooklyn this November.
In Manhattan, Norwegian is a major presence with ships like the Gem and Jewel offering seven-night forays to the Bahamas, as well as the Dawn, a vessel often bound for Bermuda and eastern Canada.
In neighboring New Jersey, Bayonne partners with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises to reach Canadian, Bermudian and Caribbean ports. Farther down the coast, the Norwegian Majesty is the single ship serving the port of Philadelphia; it will voyage to Bermuda and Canada this fall.
Carnival Pride has settled into its home port of Baltimore, offering weeklong vacations to the Bahamas year-round, from $439 per person. Also in Baltimore, guests can board Celebrity, Norwegian or Royal Caribbean ships bound for Bermuda or the Caribbean.
Norfolk, VA, and Charleston, SC, provide convenient embarkation ports for mid-Atlantic residents. Both have departures to tropical destinations, but Norfolk often is the cheaper option -- Carnival offers round-trip fares between Virginia and the Bahamas for as low as $449 per person. Next spring, Celebrity's Mercury sails a series of 10- and 11-night trips from Charleston that spend time in Belize and Mexico's Yucatan, starting at $799 per person.
Florida
The Bahamas is a popular destination for cruise ships -- especially those departing Jacksonville, FL. From here, the Carnival Fascination sails four- and five-night trips to the islands year-round, stopping at Nassau, the duty-free shopping haven of Freeport and, on occasion, laid-back Key West, FL. These are some of the most budget-friendly options available in the Sunshine State, with many departures priced below $250 per person for a five-night trip.
Farther down Florida's Atlantic coast, Port Canaveral is home to Disney Cruise Line. The 2,500-passenger Disney Wonder sails three- and four-night trips to the Bahamas, hitting Nassau and the line's private island, Castaway Cay. Its sister ship, Disney Magic, sails weeklong Caribbean routes that visit such ports as St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, depending on the itinerary.
Fort Lauderdale, served by Port Everglades, offers too many itineraries to count. That goes double for Miami, a city that handles nearly half a million cruise passengers per month. This fall, top destinations for cruisers from these two cities will include Mexico, Central America and countless Caribbean ports; plus, partial Panama Canal transits are offered from Fort Lauderdale. The one-year-old Ruby Princess joins the Fort Lauderdale cruise scene this fall, when it will start sailing to Caribbean outposts such as Bonaire, Grenada and Dominica; rates start at $799 per person for 10-day trips.
Meanwhile, on the west coast of Florida, Tampa hosts the ships of Carnival, Holland America and Royal Caribbean. This is the perfect port for first-time cruisers looking to sample a vacation at sea -- Tampa-based trips range from four to 14 nights and provide plenty of tempting port calls.
Gulf Coast
Alabama, Louisiana and Texas provide three embarkation points in the southern U.S. First-time cruisers seeking a personalized experience in a small port might opt for Mobile, AL. Here, the Carnival Holiday sails four- and five-night trips to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula through Nov. 2; when the Holiday breaks for refurbishment this winter, the 2,628-passenger Carnival Fantasy will take over the popular Mobile-to- Mexico route through October 2010.
Another favorite port for Carnival Cruise Lines, New Orleans awaits to the west. The Carnival Triumph offers seven-night trips either to the Bahamas or to Belize, Honduras and Mexico, as well as four- and five-night sailings to Mexico's Yucatan. The Fantasy, a Crescent City resident through early November, cruises four- and five-night jaunts to Cozumel.
Norwegian Cruise Line has a presence in New Orleans, too -- the Norwegian Spirit, a 1,966-passenger vessel renovated last year, uses its seven-night sailings to visit Mexico, Guatemala and Belize.
Galveston, TX, one hour south of Houston, offers more options for cruising from the Gulf Coast. Carnival and Royal Caribbean, temporarily hampered by Hurricane Ike in late 2008, are back in business here. Destinations in the Bahamas, Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica and the Caymans can be reached by ship from this port, which is home to the Carnival Conquest, Carnival Ecstasy and, starting in December, the Voyager of the Seas. The largest ship to be based in a Gulf Coast port, the 3,835-passenger Voyager will begin its second winter season in Galveston, with rates for seven-night Caribbean sailings starting at $449 per person.
West Coast
Cruises setting off from Southern California provide an easy way to explore the Pacific coast ports of Mexico, often called the Mexican Riviera. From San Diego, the Carnival Elation offers three-, four- and five-night sojourns that hit south-of-the-border spots like Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas. These trips are some of the cheapest around, with departures under $300 per person for a five-night cruise. Pricier Hawaiian island cruises offered by Holland America depart San Diego between October and April.
Just north, Los Angeles hosts Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean ships, which visit Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta on seven-night itineraries. The Golden Princess, based in L.A., makes leisurely two-week voyages to Hawaii, priced from $1,199 per person. Two Carnival ships are based in nearby Long Beach, embarking on three-, four- and seven-night trips to Mexico.
San Francisco also offers a handful of departures to Mexico, but most vacationers boarding a ship here will be heading north to Alaska. The 1,950-passenger Sea Princess navigates the famed Inside Passage and also spends a day in Victoria, the British-flavored capital of British Columbia. Rates for the 10-night voyage next summer start at $1,099 per person.
Many more Alaska-bound itineraries can be found in Seattle, where Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean have positioned ships ready to take visitors to glaciers and fjords. Plenty of variety keeps prices competitive, too: next summer, cruisers can sail the Carnival Spirit for as low as $419 per person (departing May 5), the Norwegian Pearl for $619 per person (May 9) or the Sapphire Princess for $649 per person (May 16 and 23).
The information in this story was accurate at the time it was published in September/October 2009.
Please visit Vacations To Go or call (800) 338-4962 for current rates and details.
