If you live on the west coast, a repositioning cruises from Southern California to Vancouver may be just thing after a long, wet winter. For a few hundred dollar apiece, you can enjoy a mini-vacation with good food, beautiful scenery, and smiling staff ready to answer to your every whim.

You can drive to San Pedro or San Diego, cruise for three, four, or seven nights and then fly back from Vancouver to Los Angeles. At press time, one-way fares were around $150.

So why not celebrate the start of spring with a little getaway.

NCL west coat repositioning cruises.

Norwegian Star

Norwegian Star

The 2,376-passenger Norwegian Pearl sails from Los Angeles on Saturday, April 24, 2010. Passengers on this cruise can eat in a different restaurant every night of their cruise. There’s a steakhouse, an Italian restaurant, a tapas bar, an Asian restaurant, and more. With a dozen bars and lounges, there are also plenty of places to wet your whistle, including Maltings which has the largest beer and single-malt Scotch menu at sea. Norwegian Pearl was the first cruise ship to have a bowling alley, and it has a rock-climbing wall and thalassotherapy pool. In the evening, comedy shows by the Second City improv group are hysterical.

After a day at sea, you’ll arrive in San Francisco, where you can explore Fisherman’s wharf, visit Chinatown, or tour Sausalito or Sonoma. After another day at sea, you’ll spend a day each in Astoria, Victoria, and Nanaimo, where you can take a trip on a 1929 steam train, or visit a grove of 800-year old Douglas fires. The cruise ends in Vancouver on Saturday, May 1. With four port calls, there’s lots to see and do on this voyage. Fares start at $599.

Victoria, BC

Victoria, BC

Similar to Norwegian Pearl, the 2,240-passenger Norwegian Star sails from Los Angeles on Saturday, May 1, 2010. With 12 restaurants and as many bars, there’s plenty of variety at meal time. And the 24-hour fitness center helps burn off the calories. This itinerary is perfect for those who also want to see some of the spectacular scenery of Alaska, because after three days at sea, she calls at Juneau and Ketchikan, and cruises the Inside Passage before arriving in Vancouver on May 8. Passengers can take a helicopter flight onto a glacier, take a whale-watching cruise, go fishing, enjoy a salmon bake, or take a wildlife-spotting excursion. Fares start at $599.


Princess Cruises west coast repositioning cruises.

Princess has three cruises to choose from. The 1,970-passenger Coral Princess is one of the line’s roomiest vessels. Ninety percent of her cabins are ocean view, and most of those have balconies. In addition to the main dining rooms, there’s Sabatini’s Italian restaurant and the Bayou Café steakhouse. The huge, poolside LCD screen is a passenger favorite. She sails from Los Angeles on Thursday, May 6, 2010, and calls at Victoria after two days at sea. Passengers leave the ship in Vancouver on Monday, May 10. Fares start at $399.

Golden Princess

Golden Princess

The 2,006-passenger Golden Princess sails from Los Angeles on Sunday, May 9, 2010. With three showrooms and Movies Under the Stars out on deck, there’s plenty to do at night. And with four pools and nine whirlpools, you can soak up the sun on the day at sea. Golden Princess arrives in Catalina Island the first morning and overnights there, sailing at one the next afternoon. You can tour the island, go for a kayaking or rafting trip, play a round of golf, snorkel, SCUBA dive, or go for a glass-bottom boat ride. That evening, you can have dinner ashore, or pop into town for a night cap. The next day, you’ll arrive in San Francisco. You’ll have a full day there and in Victoria before arriving in Vancouver on Friday, May 14. Fares start at $449.

A sister ship to Coral Princess, the 1,970-passenger Island Princess sails from Los Angeles on Friday May 14, 2010 and arrives in Vancouver on Monday, May 17. There are no port calls, so this itinerary is a great choice for cruisers who love life at sea. Enjoy the shows at night, sleep in in the morning, and then have a relaxing day at the spa, pool, or art auction. Fares start at $349.

Find more west coast repositioning cruises here.

Norwegian Star Image Flickr: Tom Mascardo 1
Victoria BC Image Flickr: Dustin and Jenae
Golden Princess Image Flickr: anthony_goto

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