The West Coast's warm-water escapes — a short Mexican Riviera hop to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta, or the long, island-hopping haul to Hawaii.
For travellers on the US West Coast, these are the home-team sun cruises. The Mexican Riviera runs south from Los Angeles, San Diego or San Francisco to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta — 7 nights of beaches, marlin fishing, tequila and mariachi, with Cabo's arch and sport-fishing the signature. Baja and Sea of Cortez sailings add whale-watching and desert-meets-ocean scenery.
Hawaii is a bigger commitment because of the distance. Round-trip West Coast sailings involve four or five sea days each way to reach the islands, so the classic is the 7-night inter-island cruise (round-trip Honolulu) that spends its whole week among Maui, Kauai, the Big Island and Oahu — the only cruise that sails US-flagged between the Hawaiian islands. Longer repositioning and Pacific crossings fold Hawaii into two-week voyages.
The field is smaller than the Caribbean's but solid: Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian (whose US-flagged Pride of America is the inter-island specialist) at the mass and premium end, with Holland America and luxury lines adding Mexico and Hawaii to longer Pacific and repositioning itineraries.
Mexican Riviera is best October–April (dry season; summer is hot and humid, with a Pacific hurricane season). Hawaii cruises run year-round with a mild, wet-winter/dry-summer split; winter brings the best whale-watching and surf.
| Month | Avg °F | Season | What it's like |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59–80°F | Peak | Warm, dry and sunny with gray-whale season underway — prime winter escape. |
| February | 58–80°F | Peak | Peak dry-season sun and whale-watching; high demand from California. |
| March | 59–82°F | Peak | Warm days, cool nights and spring-break crowds down the Baja coast. |
| April | 61–84°F | Peak | Still dry and delightful as whale season closes out the peak. |
| May | 65–87°F | Shoulder | Heating up under sunny skies; demand eases into the shoulder. |
| June | 72–86°F | Peak | Warm, dry and reliably sunny as family-season demand builds. |
| July | 74–87°F | Peak | Peak summer sun and trade winds; busy, full-ship sailing. |
| August | 75–88°F | Peak | Hot, dry leeward beaches and the year's busiest island crowds. |
| September | 74–88°F | Shoulder | Warm and quieter after summer — excellent weather and value. |
| October | 72–90°F | Shoulder | Storm risk fades late-month and pleasant weather begins luring ships back. |
| November | 66–86°F | Shoulder | Dry, warm and sunny again as the winter season ramps up. |
| December | 61–82°F | Peak | Holiday sailings return to warm, dry, whale-season conditions. |
Mexico: beaches and marinas, Cabo's arch and sport-fishing, Puerto Vallarta's old town, whale-watching in Baja. Hawaii: volcanoes and lava fields on the Big Island, the Road to Hana, Kauai's Nā Pali cliffs, Pearl Harbor and snorkelling in Maui's coves.
The port of San Pedro opens onto Hollywood, beaches and museums.
Where the Baja desert meets two seas at a granite arch — a tender port.
Baja's wine-country port and the gateway to a thundering sea geyser.
Perpetual sunshine, a great zoo and a downtown-docked aircraft carrier.
Carnival's Southern California homeport, its terminal set inside the geodesic dome beside the historic RMS Queen Mary.
The 'Pearl of the Pacific' — a restored old town and long malecón.
Cobblestoned Old Town on a jungle-backed bay of the Sierra Madre.
Mexico's Caribbean dive capital and gateway to Maya ruins.
Oahu's capital — Waikiki surf, Pearl Harbor history and a volcanic crater backdrop.
The rainy, green side of the Big Island — waterfalls and active volcanoes.
Fog, hills and a bay wrapped by the world's most famous bridge.
The lush 'Garden Isle' of sea cliffs, a red canyon and jungle rivers.
8 lines in Noura's Cruise Navigator call here, across every tier. Tap a line for its ships and itineraries.
A cross-section of routes and lines sailing the region.
Norwegian Spirit · from Vancouver
Ketchikan, AK → Icy Strait Point, AK → Juneau, AK → Skagway, AK → Sitka, AK → Hubbard Glacier (scenic cruising) → Kahului, Maui, HI → Hilo, HI
Zaandam · from San Diego
Ensenada, Mexico → Cabo San Lucas, Mexico → Cozumel, Mexico → Cozumel, Mexico → Cozumel, Mexico → Cozumel, Mexico → Mazatlán, Mexico → Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Emerald Princess · from San Francisco
Hilo, HI → Honolulu, HI → Nawiliwili (Kauai), Hawaii → Kahului (Maui), Hawaii → Kailua-Kona, HI → Ensenada, Mexico
Carnival Spirit · from Seattle
Honolulu, HI → Nawiliwili, Kauai, HI → Kahului, Maui, HI → Hilo, HI → Victoria, BC
Noura turns this intelligence into a real itinerary — flights, hotels with perks, and timing dialled in — at no planning cost to you.
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