Cheap and last-minute cruises from Los Angeles and Long Beach

A low cruise fare from Los Angeles is a starting price for one person in the cheapest cabin listed. This guide covers what sits on top of it, how to compare fares fairly and what we can and cannot say about last-minute prices.

This site lists fares and sells nothing. For the current lists, use cheap cruises, sorted by fare and by fare per night, and last-minute cruises, which shows every sailing in the next 60 days.

What are the cheapest cruises from Los Angeles?

The cheapest cruises from Los Angeles are the short trips to Baja. The lowest starting fare on the schedule was $193 per person on 2 November 2026, with taxes and port fees included. When we wrote this on 1 November 2026, the lowest few fares were all Carnival sailings of 3 or 4 nights from Long Beach.

Length	Sailings	Lowest fare	Lowest per night
3 nights	146	$209	$70
4 nights	154	$193	$48
5 nights	21	$249	$50
6 nights	64	$270	$45
7 nights	154	$299	$43
8 nights	54	$428	$54
14 nights	17	$1,204	$86
16 nights	32	$1,074	$67

Each figure is the lowest at that length, so they come from different ships and months. Fares change daily.

What are the cheapest cruises from Long Beach?

Long Beach's lowest starting fare was $193 on 2 November 2026, against $209 at the World Cruise Center in San Pedro. Carnival sails from Long Beach and the other lines mostly from San Pedro, so comparing the two ports also compares lines. See Carnival's sailings for its full list.

The two ports are also separate places to reach and park. Our terminal guide explains how to tell which is yours.

What are the cheapest cruises from California by destination?

Baja has the lowest fares, and the longer routes start higher. These are the lowest on 2 November 2026:

Route	Lowest fare	Lowest per night
Baja and Ensenada	$193	$45
Pacific Coast	$339	$68
Mexican Riviera	$299	$43
Hawaii	$1,074	$67
Panama Canal	$1,199	$70
Alaska	$1,524	$95

Most Pacific Coast and Panama Canal sailings are one way, so a flight home sits on top of those fares. This site covers San Pedro and Long Beach only, not San Diego or San Francisco.

How do you compare cruise fares from Los Angeles per night?

Divide the fare by the nights, and compare the same type of cabin. On 2 November 2026 the lowest 3-night fare, $209, worked out at $70 a night. The lowest 7-night fare, $299, was $43 a night.

Our fare is for the cheapest cabin listed, which is not always an interior. It can be an ocean view, a balcony or a suite, so a higher fare can buy a better room. Each fare on the schedule shows its cabin.

A per-night figure settles price, not time ashore. A 3-night cruise has one port day, and a 7-night Mexican Riviera trip usually has three. The short cruises guide compares the same ship at different lengths.

Are taxes and port fees included in cruise fares from Los Angeles?

Yes, every fare on this site includes taxes and port fees, but booking sites do not always show them that way. Carnival's deals page and search results said taxes and fees were included on 1 November 2026. Cruisebound's sailing pages showed a lower fare marked as excluding taxes and port fees.

So the number you see elsewhere can be below ours for the same cabin. On four sailings we compared on 1 November 2026, taxes and port fees made up about a quarter to just over a third of the fare, by our arithmetic. Check which figure you are reading before you compare.

Carnival's ticket contract splits the price into the cruise fare, required fees and expenses, and government taxes and fees. It also says that if government action raises those taxes and fees, Carnival can pass on the extra even after you have paid in full.

What does a cheap cruise from Los Angeles leave out?

A cheap fare leaves out the same things as an expensive one: gratuities, most drinks, excursions and parking. Carnival's contract covers full board and ordinary ship's food, and it lists beverages, shore excursions, specialty dining and gratuities as outside the fare. Royal Caribbean includes basic drinks such as water, coffee, tea and lemonade, and it charges for alcohol, soda, bottled water and specialty coffee.

These were the daily gratuities per guest on the lines' pages on 1 November 2026:

Line	Standard cabin	Suite
Carnival	$17	$19
Princess	$18, or $19 for mini suites, cabanas and Club Class	$20
Royal Caribbean	$18.50	$21
Norwegian	$20	$25

Carnival applies its rate to ages 2 and older, and Norwegian to ages 3 and older. Virgin Voyages says its fare includes basic Wi-Fi and soft drinks, and that gratuities are not included.

Drinks can pass the fare quickly. Carnival's CHEERS! package was $69.95 per person, per day before the cruise on 1 November 2026, plus a 20% service charge, which is $83.94 a day by our arithmetic. Every adult in the cabin must buy it. Royal Caribbean adds 18% to drinks and specialty dining. Its Wi-Fi was $16.99 to $30.99 per device, per day on the same date.

How much does parking add to a cheap cruise from Los Angeles?

Parking at San Pedro adds up to $23 a day for one vehicle, on the operator's page on 1 November 2026. Carnival publishes no rate for Long Beach and says terminal parking is limited. The city's visitor bureau listed $23 a day there on the same date, and it is not the operator. The parking guide has both ports.

This table adds gratuities and parking for two people sharing a standard cabin and one car. The totals are our arithmetic, at the rates above, and leave out drinks, excursions and travel to the port.

Trip	Gratuities for two	Parking	Added to the fares
3 nights, Royal Caribbean, San Pedro	$111	$69	$180
4 nights, Royal Caribbean, San Pedro	$148	$92	$240
7 nights, Princess, San Pedro	$252	$161	$413
7 nights, Norwegian, San Pedro	$280	$161	$441
3 nights, Carnival, Long Beach	$102	$69 at the visitor bureau's rate	$171

Those amounts stay the same whatever you paid for the cabin, so they weigh most on the lowest fares.

Are there California resident rates for cruises from Los Angeles?

Norwegian publishes one, and the other lines are less clear. We found this on the lines' pages on 1 November 2026:

• Norwegian. California is a qualifying state, for up to 20% off select cruises to Alaska, the Mexican Riviera, the Caribbean or the Bahamas. Holiday sailings are excluded, proof of residency is required and the offer is capacity controlled. You log in and confirm your address, and the page gives no end date.
• Royal Caribbean. Its deals page says to enter your qualifying state during booking, but it does not list the states.
• Carnival. Its search has a Resident of California filter. We ran 3-day cruises from Long Beach with and without it, and the four lowest fares were the same. That is one day's check, so try your own dates.
• Princess. Its deals page mentions no resident rate.

Are last-minute cruises from Los Angeles cheaper?

We cannot say. Our fare records start with this schedule, so we hold no history showing how a fare moves as sailing gets closer, and we will not guess which way yours will go.

What we can show is one day. On 1 November 2026 the lowest few fares on the whole schedule were on December 2026 and January 2027 sailings, while other sailings in the same weeks cost far more. The last-minute page has the current list, and the cheap cruises page compares the next 60 days with the whole calendar. Either way that compares different sailings, not one sailing over time.

The cheapest cabin can change as well. On 1 November 2026 an interior was the cheapest cabin listed on a smaller share of the sailings in the next 60 days than of later ones.

What should you check before booking a last-minute cruise from Los Angeles?

Check the money first, because you will be past the final payment date. Royal Caribbean sets it at least 75 days out for 1 to 4 nights and 90 days for 5 to 14 nights, and Carnival at 76 or 91 days. Every sailing on our 60-day list is inside those dates, so have the full amount ready.

• Cancellation. Princess charges 100% of total charges at 30 days or less on 1 to 13 day sailings, leaving out government taxes and fees. Read your line's terms before you pay.
• Documents. Confirm what you hold before you book, because there is little time to replace anything. The cruise documents guide covers what each trip needs.
• Getting there. Add a flight or hotel booked at short notice to the total before you compare fares. See airports to the port and the hotel guides for San Pedro and Long Beach.

Does this site sell cheap cruises from Los Angeles?

No. We list starting fares and do not sell cruises, so we cannot hold a price or a cabin. The fare you pay is whatever the seller shows when you book. Some of our links may earn a commission, and the affiliate disclosure explains how.