Pacific coast cruise from Vancouver to San Diego

[cruisenews411]

Anyone have experience on this itinerary? Is it choppy waters? Do you get to see any land/costal features or are you truly out at sea?

 

[jdb in AZ]

We did a Disney repositioning cruise from Los Angeles that sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge and over-nighted in San Francisco then ended up in Vancouver. We really enjoyed that itinerary. We spent a couple of days in Vancouver then switched cruise lines and went on to Alaska.

Sounds like you'll be far enough out to sea that you won't see major land/coastal features unless you bring binoculars. I don't remember the water being particularly choppy, but that really depends on the weather.

 

[MichiMomma]

Anyone have experience on this itinerary? Is it choppy waters? Do you get to see any land/costal features or are you truly out at sea?

We did this itinerary back in September 2017. We had pretty choppy water the night we sailed out of Victoria and started getting out into the Pacific. I don’t remember it being too bad after that.

Sailing out of Vancouver and into Victoria and then out of Victoria was scenic. Other than that you won’t see land. I’ve wanted to visit Vancouver & Victoria again someday ever since that cruise.

 

[otten]

We did it last March. It is important to know that prior to last year, this itinerary was always in the late summer/beginning of fall and weather conditions tend to be a lot better. March is still definitely winter here in Vancouver. That time of year the water was VERY choppy. Like people were being sea sick all over the ship. It was pretty gross actually. The choppiness was the worst the first night and through the first full day. It started to get better during day 3. The sailing is even earlier this year so I would expect similar conditions.

You are too far out to see anything scenic.

 

[tvguy]

We did Vancouver to Los Angeles on Celebrity in October 2019. It was the smoothest water we have ever experienced . Disappointingly so as we enjoy being able to feel like we are on a ship on the ocean.
If your cruise overnights in San Francisco, that is the best way to see a lot of the tourist spots. Mind you, I live 100 miles from San Francisco, and it is an absolute nightmare to drive to. The ship docks right near Fisherman's Wharf. We toured Alcatraz one day, and the next day we just walked the wharf. It was an easy walk, and we were shocked when we got back to the ship and realized our pedometer showed we had walked almost 7 miles.

 

[cruisenews411]

Thanks all. I was worried about weather and sea conditions at that time of year and knowing that the cruise is happening even earlier this year may explain why it’s offering savings with restrictions. I would love to have a chance to sail on the wonder and they don’t offer many longer cruises other than Alaska so was holding out hope that it would be a good fit.

 

[jujubiee4]

We did a Disney repositioning cruise from Los Angeles that sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge and over-nighted in San Francisco then ended up in Vancouver. We really enjoyed that itinerary. We spent a couple of days in Vancouver then switched cruise lines and went on to Alaska.

Sounds like you'll be far enough out to sea that you won't see major land/coastal features unless you bring binoculars. I don't remember the water being particularly choppy, but that really depends on the weather.

I really miss doing that cruise. Being overnight in San Francisco was lot of fun and we got to pack a lot
of activities in. I see the new schedules don't bother stopping in San Fran anymore. Victoria is rather nice
also but we found more to do in SF.

 

[Disneyfam854]

We did it last March. It is important to know that prior to last year, this itinerary was always in the late summer/beginning of fall and weather conditions tend to be a lot better. March is still definitely winter here in Vancouver. That time of year the water was VERY choppy. Like people were being sea sick all over the ship. It was pretty gross actually. The choppiness was the worst the first night and through the first full day. It started to get better during day 3. The sailing is even earlier this year so I would expect similar conditions.

You are too far out to see anything scenic.

We were on this sailing and completely agree with review. I will also add that since it is a repositioning cruise, we felt a lot was “missing” compared to our other Disney cruises. (Lack of food/beverage items we are used to seeing, souvenir inventory, service in general). It wasn’t terrible by any means, but felt different.

 

[cruisenews411]

Once I realized we aren’t going under the Golden Gate Bridge that was another tick in the con column. And the lack of amenities due to repositioning would definitely frustrate me. Looks like I need to focus on finding a 4 day cruise out of San Diego (or hope they offer a 5 day option sometime) and add in a trip to Disneyland.

 

[otten]

We were on this sailing and completely agree with review. I will also add that since it is a repositioning cruise, we felt a lot was “missing” compared to our other Disney cruises. (Lack of food/beverage items we are used to seeing, souvenir inventory, service in general). It wasn’t terrible by any means, but felt different.

I don't think it was strictly because it was a repositioning cruise but more that it was the final leg of a month long repositioning process. We've done other repositioning cruises that didn't have the same issues and they were longer. It was also the first cruise (for any line) out of Vancouver for the season and I think that was a factor as well.

 

[otten]

Once I realized we aren’t going under the Golden Gate Bridge that was another tick in the con column. And the lack of amenities due to repositioning would definitely frustrate me. Looks like I need to focus on finding a 4 day cruise out of San Diego (or hope they offer a 5 day option sometime) and add in a trip to Disneyland.

They run this cruise twice a year right now and the fall version is generally better weather and sea wise. I don't think the itineraries have been stopping in San Francisco for a few years now though. The one port stop when there is one is usually Victoria now.

 

[Disneyfam854]

I don't think it was strictly because it was a repositioning cruise but more that it was the final leg of a month long repositioning process. We've done other repositioning cruises that didn't have the same issues and they were longer. It was also the first cruise (for any line) out of Vancouver for the season and I think that was a factor as well.

Thank you for this insight! Makes sense, and gives me hope for other repositioning cruises we have considered but not committed to doing yet!