Though the West Coast cruise market saw a small drop in passenger and cruise ship counts in 2024 according to the 2024 Cruise Industry News Annual Report, major cruise lines including Carnival and Royal Caribbean have set their sights on growing in the region.
While other cruise lines decreased their capacity on the West Coast in 2024, Carnival added a third ship to sail year-round from the Los Angeles area. In April, the cruise line debuted its new Vista-class ship Carnival Firenze in Long Beach where the ship now sails cruises to Mexico.
Related: Forget Mexico: More key cruise ports add new taxes
Royal Caribbean also recently turned its attention to West Coast growth, changing its deployment plan for Ovation of the Seas to send the ship to Los Angeles in 2025 instead of Tianjin, China.
As 2026 – 2027 cruise itineraries are announced, it’s clear that more cruise lines are following Carnival and Royal Caribbean’s lead. Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line are both enhancing their offerings in the California cruise market too.
Carnival-owned Princess Cruises is the cruise line with the longest history sailing from the Port of Los Angeles and it takes pride in its West Coast heritage. The cruise line places a significant focus on offering desirable cruise options to Hawaii, Mexico and the California Coast for passengers sailing from Los Angeles as well as San Francisco.
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Image source: Princess Cruises.
Princess Cruises adds to its array of West Coast itineraries
With its recently announced 2026 – 2027 West Coast season, Princess Cruises promises to deliver even more diverse itineraries with a program of 69 voyages featuring 26 destinations sailing from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver, B.C.
Princess will sail eight ships in the region, including its new Star Princess ship launching in fall 2025. Star Princess will sail one seven-day Mexican Riviera voyage from Los Angeles in April 2027.
The cruise line is also offering seven-day Mexican Riviera cruises on Discovery Princess from Los Angeles from October 2026 to April 2027. The itinerary includes visits to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Related: Princess Cruises replaces a world cruise, adds new voyages
Other itineraries sailing from Los Angeles include Hawaiian Islands cruises, California coast sailings, and Baja Peninsula and Sea of Cortez voyages aboard Emerald Princess. In September 2026, Island Princess will depart Los Angeles for a 32-day voyage to the South Pacific Islands and Hawaii, while Grand Princess will sail a 10-day Baja Peninsula and Sea of Cortez cruise featuring an overnight in Cabo San Lucas.
Five Princess ships will sail cruises from Vancouver, B.C. to Los Angeles departing in September 2026. The itineraries include six and seven-day sailings featuring stops in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Catalina Island, and San Diego.
From San Francisco, Ruby Princess will sail a variety of roundtrip cruises from San Francisco from October 2026 to April 2027. Itineraries include 16-day voyages to Hawaii including a special holiday sailing over the New Year, an 11-day sailing to Mexico over the Christmas holiday, and seven-day Pacific Northwest Coast cruises in November 2026 and April 2027.
Norwegian Cruise Line adds more Mexican Riviera cruises
Norwegian Cruise Line is also introducing new Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles for the 2026 – 2027 season. From Oct. 18, 2026 to April 4, 2027, Norwegian Encore will sail its first full-length Mexican Riviera season.
The ship will depart from Los Angeles each Sunday sailing seven-day roundtrip itineraries visiting popular ports including Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Norwegian Encore’s multi-level racetrack will add thrills to the new Mexican Riviera sailings.
Related: Here's where all the canceled Norwegian cruises will sail now
As part of a redeployment plan, Norwegian is sending another ship to the West Coast for the winter 2025 – 2026 season too. Instead of sailing Panama Canal and Caribbean itineraries from Miami and Panama City from Oct. 18, 2025 to Feb. 16, 2026, Norwegian Jade will offer Mexican Riviera and West Coast cruises from San Diego.
Carnival is also expanding its Mexico cruise itinerary options from Long Beach for 2026 – 2027. Carnival Firenze and Carnival Radiance will sail more short cruises and weekend getaways to Mexico, while Carnival Panorama continues its program of six to eight-day Mexican Riviera cruises.
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