Cruise Travel Close to Home From the West Coast

Cruise travel from ports close to home is what passengers want now. In almost all of the cruise reviews, cruise travelers have expressed concern with lengthy airline trips to distant lands. Now they want to cruise from ports that are close to house to enjoy a much less stressful cruise vacation. The cruise lines have caught on to this trend and are now positioning their ships up and down the United States East and West Coasts and along the Gulf of Mexico. Let’s explore the ports of embarkation on the West Coast beginning in Southern California at the port of San Diego and go northward.

If you can take the time just before or after your cruise travel, spend some additional time in San Diego. The city of San Diego is blessed with year round warm weather and seventy miles of Pacific Coastline. There are numerous activities to get pleasure from although in the city. They have a first class, world famous zoo in Balboa Park. At Old Town State Historic Park find out about the History of California. Near the downtown location there are 15 outstanding museums and gorgeous gardens.

A small further up north is Long Beach just 20 miles south of Los Angeles. Here is where the Queen Mary retired to in 1967 and is permanently docked serving as a Hotel. With a lot more 12,000 sea creatures the aquarium is a delightful spot to spend a couple of hours.

If you strategy to take your cruise vacation out of Los Angeles there are plenty of sights to see. A pre or post cruise package from the cruise lines will enable you to see the numerous cultural centers or drive by the star studded neighborhoods of Malibu, Bel Air and Hollywood. Be positive to see Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Chinatown and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Pay a visit to funky Venice Beach and dine in the numerous excellent restaurants. And don’t forget to at least window shop on Rodeo Drive.

The dazzling Golden Gate Bridge will be what you sail under on you cruise vacation from San Francisco. Numerous cruise reviews have mentioned this city as 1 of the favorites from which to start a cruise. You could opt to take a side trip to the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma Valleys for a day. Even though in San Francisco check out Fisherman’s Wharf, or take a cable auto ride by means of the city. In this city there are several superb restaurants. There is a ferry that will take you over to Alcatraz Island for a glimpse into the life of the prisoners.

Maybe you have chosen Seattle, Washington as your embarkation port. The lovely Puget Sound area is wealthy with history of the maritime industries. The Olympic Mountains will leave you feeling awed when viewed from the Space Needle that is 607 feet high. For fun don’t miss the Pike Street Market for fresh seafood and create. There are many fleets of sport fishing boats for fishing or for whale watching.

Even further up the coast you are now in Alaskan territory. Fairbanks, which was as soon as a booming mining town, is the entrance to Alaska’s interior. If you remain here for a day or two try a really Alaskan adventure and go dog sledding. Possibly you would like to pan for gold, another component of Alaska’s history. If you want to see the Northern Lights strategy your cruise vacation for late August or early September.

Selecting a cruise vacation out of Whitter, Alaska will allow you to go whale watching, and look for sea lions and bald eagles. This is a small quaint town that truly lets you really feel what Alaska is all about.

You will fly into Anchorage for departure from Seward, Alaska. Attempt to stay a few days to explore the riches Anchorage has to offer. There is the beautiful Denali National Park, where Mt. McKinney offers spectacular scenery. In Seward you can take a cruise to the Kenai Fjords as a day trip.

Any of these cruise ports will make a excellent start for your cruise vacation. So when planning any cruise travel pick a port that’s close to home and leave some time for exploring the town of embarkation.

Happy Cruising

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

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Mary Hanna has traveled the world by Air and Ship although writing eBooks, Software program Reviews and Practical Articles on World wide web Marketing, Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Pay a visit to her internet sites at: http://www.CruiseGold.com http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com and http://www.CruisingTips.com