Princess adds more West Coast sailings

Princess adds more West Coast sailings

If you looked at the flood of daily e-mails in my inbox under "cruising," you would find that most are related to Europe or the Caribbean, and why not? That's where the majority of cruisers will spend their dollars over the next few years.
That's why it's refreshing to see that Princess Cruise Lines - while focusing on Europe - is devoting at least part of its attention to the West Coast.
Generally, West Coast cruises mean re-positioning. Ships travel the popular route from Southern Florida through the Panama Canal, along the Mexican Coast to Southern California (or the other way around). Once they leave Southern California, with some exceptions, it's usually full speed ahead to (or from) the northwest at the start or end of the Alaska season.
You will still be able to get those three-and four-day sampler cruises up and down the coast, but now Princess is giving people some added choices.
That means offering more of the West Coast than ever, including Hawaii and the South Pacific, plus some changes for Mexico.
New in 2012 is a roundtrip Los Angeles itinerary that features Catalina and an overnight in San Francisco.
Here is a sample of the enhanced choices for 2012 and 2013:
? From Los Angeles, the Sapphire Princess will sail new seven-day round-trip cruises on a California Coastal itinerary. On the list of ports are an overnight in San Francisco (hello, Napa Valley and Sonoma), Santa Barbara, Catalina, San Diego and Ensenada.
Outside of wine country, San Francisco offers a lot of choices once you're off the ship. Monterey and Carmel lie south of the city while in the city there's Golden Gate Park, cable cars, Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square for shopping.
The sailings for this cruise depart Oct. 8 and Oct. 13 next year, and March 30, April 6, April 13, April 27 and May 4, 2013.
? On May 11, 2013. The Sapphire Princess will leave Los Angeles and port in Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Astoria (craft beers), Seattle and Victoria. I think xenophiles on that one would probably like to see an overnight in San Francisco.
? Cruising from Southern California to Mexico is hardly new. What is new is that Princess has added Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan, two ports earlier cancelled because of concerns for passenger safety, according to the line. Six trips are scheduled from Nov. 17, 2012, and April 20, 2013.
? Lots of Hawaii is on the schedule from both Los Angeles and San Francisco. From L.A., Golden Princess and Sapphire Princess offer 14-day cruises departing on Wednesdays and Saturdays, respectively.
The season runs Sept. 26, 2012 to April 24, 2013. A couple of other departures will include stopping in Tahiti and Samoa.
San Francisco has 10 departures to Hawaii from March 19, 2012, to April 25, 2013.