21 nights, Miami to Los Angeles

The itinerary, port by port

14 calls over 21 nights, Miami to Los Angeles. Open any port for my full day-ashore guide, what to see, when to go, and how the day actually runs.

Getting there: Flights to Miami (MIA) are already bookable for these dates. I watch the fare for booked clients so you book at the right moment. When to book your flights →

1. Embark
   Miami

   Miami is the busiest cruise port in the United States, set on Dodge Island in Biscayne Bay a mile or two off downtown. Port guide →

2. 2
   Ocho Rios

   Ocho Rios is Jamaica's north-coast adventure hub, built around one famous waterfall you climb in a human chain and a cluster of rivers, gardens, and beaches within a few minutes' drive. Port guide →

3. 3
   Willemstad

   Willemstad is the capital of Curacao, a UNESCO-listed Dutch colonial harbor town where pastel waterfront houses line the Handelskade and a pontoon bridge swings open across the channel for passing ships. Port guide →

4. 4
   Oranjestad

   Oranjestad is Aruba's capital, a compact Dutch-Caribbean town of pastel gabled buildings, a free streetcar, and duty-free shopping that sits directly behind the cruise piers. Port guide →

5. 5
   Santa Marta

   Santa Marta is the oldest surviving Spanish city in Colombia, a Caribbean port wedged between the sea and the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. Port guide →

6. 6
   Cartagena

   Cartagena is Colombia's old Caribbean fortress city, a UNESCO-listed walled town of balconied colonial houses, plazas, and the largest Spanish fort built in the Americas. Port guide →

7. 7
   Crossing the Panama Canal

   The full transit lifts your ship 85 feet over the Continental Divide through a working lock system more than a century old, then sets it back down on the far ocean.

8. 8
   Amador (Panama City)

   Amador is a chain of small islands linked by a causeway built from Panama Canal spoil at the canal's Pacific entrance, now home to a new cruise terminal that opened in 2024. Port guide →

9. 9
   Acajutla

   Acajutla is El Salvador's main Pacific cargo port, and the dock itself is pure industry.

10. 10
    Puerto Quetzal

    Puerto Quetzal is Guatemala's main Pacific port, and the cruise terminal is a self-contained compound with a craft market and tour desks but nothing to explore beyond its gates.

11. 11
    Puerto Chiapas

    Puerto Chiapas is a purpose-built cruise terminal on Mexico's far-southern Pacific coast, near the Guatemala border, with a pool, craft market, and folkloric shows but no town or beach you can walk to.

12. 12
    Huatulco

    Huatulco is a planned eco-resort development on Oaxaca's coast, built around nine bays with 36 beaches, much of it inside a national park.

13. 13
    Puerto Vallarta

    Puerto Vallarta is the most polished stop on this stretch of coast: a real Mexican beach city on Banderas Bay with a walkable old town, a mile-long seafront promenade studded with bronze sculptures, and a…

14. Disembark
    Los Angeles

    Los Angeles cruises dock at the World Cruise Center in San Pedro, the harbor district at the south end of the city rather than near Hollywood or the beaches most people picture. Port guide →