Fish tacos in Ensenada, a Catalina sunset, and back at work Monday.
Baja is the West Coast’s weekend at sea: 3 and 4 night sailings from Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego to Ensenada and Catalina Island, plus longer runs down the peninsula to Cabo San Lucas, La Paz and the Sea of Cortez. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Holland America and Disney sail it year-round, and UnCruise does the Sea of Cortez on small ships. SmartCruiser shows every Baja sailing with taxes and fees included and puts the ones with SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit at the top.
Three ways to do Baja
Pick one and the list below filters to it. A long weekend or the whole peninsula, from two cities.
3 and 4 nights
- Friday to Monday or Monday to Friday: Ensenada, or Ensenada plus Catalina
- Carnival from Long Beach, Royal Caribbean from Los Angeles, Disney and Princess from San Diego
- The lowest fares on the West Coast and the easiest first cruise there is
Best for: first-timers, birthdays and bachelorettes, a quick reset
From Los Angeles & Long Beach
- Carnival’s Long Beach terminal next to the Queen Mary; Royal Caribbean, Princess and Norwegian from San Pedro
- Baja weekends plus 7 night Mexican Riviera runs on the same ships
- Drive, park, sail; 30 minutes from LAX, an hour from Orange County
Best for: Southern California, the Inland Empire, Vegas road-trippers
From San Diego
- Disney, Holland America, Princess and Carnival from the B Street Pier downtown
- Baja weekends, Cabo and the Sea of Cortez, 3 to 10 nights
- Walk from the Gaslamp Quarter to the ship; the easiest port on the coast
Best for: San Diego and Arizona, families on Disney, the Sea of Cortez
Baja Mexico deals: SmartCruiser picks first
Every Baja sailing from every line, priced live with taxes, fees and port expenses included. The picks at the top are sailings where booking with SmartCruiser gets you something extra: instant savings, bonus onboard credit, a Special SmartCruiser rate, or a senior, resident or police & fire fare that beats the public price. Below them, every other sailing with full sorting.
SmartCruiser picks
Sorted by what you save, biggest firstEvery Baja sailing
Stack any filters, then pick a sortPrices are per person, double occupancy, in US dollars, and include cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses as published by the cruise line at the moment you load this page. Fares are capacity controlled and change daily; the fare is confirmed when you book. Flights, hotels and transfers are extra unless the line’s offer says otherwise. SmartCruiser instant savings and bonus onboard credit are provided by SmartCruiser on top of the cruise line’s price and are not available when booking direct; amounts are per stateroom, vary by stateroom category and are shown for the lowest category offered. Special SmartCruiser rates are pricing SmartCruiser holds on that sailing for its clients, with extra onboard credit; you book your own stateroom and travel on your own. Senior fares apply to guests 55 and over; resident fares need proof of residency in a listed state or province at check-in; police and fire fares apply to active or retired police, fire and EMT personnel with ID. Qualifier-fare savings are measured against the best fare the cruise line offers the general public for the same stateroom category on the day the list was pulled, updated weekly.
Sail from Southern California
Two cities, three terminals. Pick one and the list above filters to it, or widen the search to all of Mexico.
Which line for Baja?
Short trips make the ship the whole vacation, so pick the one you want to live on for a weekend. Our one-line take, with a link to each deals page.
When to go
It sails all year. Winter brings the gray whales; summer brings the warm water and the crowds.
Baja cruise questions we answer every day
Do I need a passport?
US citizens on a round trip from a US port can sail with a government photo ID plus an original or certified birth certificate, and many of our Baja clients do. We still recommend a passport: if you miss the ship in Ensenada you cannot fly home without one. Everyone else needs a passport.
What is there to do in Ensenada?
La Bufadora blowhole, the Valle de Guadalupe wine country 40 minutes away (the best thing in Ensenada is outside it), fish tacos at the harbor, and Hussong’s Cantina. The ship docks downtown; the walk to the malecón takes 10 minutes.
And Catalina?
The ship anchors off Avalon and you tender in. Rent a golf cart for the loop above town, snorkel at Lover’s Cove, take the inland tour for the bison and the view, or do nothing but Descanso Beach and a rum drink. It is 22 miles from LA and feels like the Mediterranean.
Is a 3 night cruise worth it?
As a first cruise, absolutely: you find out whether you like ships for the price of a hotel weekend. Pick the Friday departure for the party, the Monday for the quiet. If you already know you like cruising, the 4 night with Catalina is the better trip.
Are taxes and fees included in the prices here?
Yes. Every price on this page includes cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses. Gratuities, drinks packages, excursions and parking are extra, and we tell you the total before you book.
What do the SmartCruiser picks mean?
They are sailings where booking through SmartCruiser gets you something you do not get booking direct: instant savings, bonus onboard credit, a Special SmartCruiser rate we hold on that sailing, or a senior, resident or police & fire fare that beats the best public price.
Talk to a Baja specialist
Tell us your weekend and we price every sailing from Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego side by side, bonus onboard credit included. Monday to Thursday 9 to 6, Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 6 ET.