Short-Handed Sailing – Avalon & Ensenada

About this cruise

Some of the best trips are the ones you barely had to plan. 4 nights from Los Angeles on August 2, 2026, visiting Santa Catalina Island and Ensenada, and you're home before the laundry piles up. The mix of 2 days ashore and 1 at sea means you won't feel like you need a holiday from your holiday. Craft coffee in one port, old-growth forest in the next. The West Coast has its own rhythm. People come back from this cruise talking about Santa Catalina Island: An island escape just off the California coast. Roughly 9 hours ashore per stop. No need to rush. There are 13 restaurants on Carnival Radiance, so you'd need to double up a few evenings to try them all in 4 nights. Los Angeles itself is worth spending some time in. Don't just treat it as a departure point. And August means long, warm days. Good for the ports, good for the pool. 2 ports, 2 countries, one suitcase. That's the appeal.