Tropical breezes. Swaying palms. Yummy mai tais and pina coladas. Hawaii is calling, but you really don’t want to hop on an airplane and fly to get there. What’s a traveler to do?
If you live in San Francisco, you’re in luck. You can cruise to Hawaii from home - roundtrip.
In 2012 and 2013, Princess Cruises, for one, is offering a variety of cruises from San Francisco. Not only can city dwellers slip away to Hawaii aboard Sea Princess, you can continue your voyage all the way to the South Pacific. Sorry, you’ll need to fly home from Sydney for that trip.
Where else can you cruise without flights? Alaska. Each summer, Princess features 10-night round-trips to Alaska from the port of San Francisco. A highlight is a day spent cruising through Glacier Bay in search of sea otters, whales and bears, not to mention seeing the magnificent glaciers.
But wait there’s more.
Star Princess sails round-trip from the City by the Bay to the Mexican Riviera. You’ll stop first in Catalina on this 10-night trip.
If you don’t mind flying one way, Regent Seven Seas Cruises will take you from San Francisco to or from Vancouver and beyond to Alaska ports-of-call. Or you can cruise with Regent from the bay area to New York via the Panama Canal.
Bargains abound
Not only will you save on airfare, these cruises are available at discounted prices for most sailings.
Here’s my favorite part. When cruising from San Francisco, travelers who live across the bay can take the ferry to the city. Not only do you avoid the airport and luggage fees, you don’t even have to pay for parking in the city while you’re enjoying your cruise.
