In January 2026, my husband, youngest daughter and I embarked on a 6-night/7-day cruise from the port of Long Beach, California (LA) towards Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Why this cruise? Because it was ridiculously cheap, and the perfect escape from the cold Canadian winter. Read on to see exactly how cheap it was—and how we made it happen.
Los Angeles, CA
We arrived in LA 2 days before our sail date to explore the city and do all the touristy things. Since we’re on a budget, we opted to use the transit system everywhere we went, which was super cheap and easy. We pre-loaded $10 USD (~$14 CAD) on a TAP card in our Apple Wallet and then simply tapped every time we wanted to ride. A regular fare was $1.75 USD (~$2.45 CAD), but we weren’t charged for transfers and the maximum you could spend in a day was $5 USD (~$7 CAD), which the system figured out on its own. It was awesome and easy! Now LA is huge and it can take a while to get anywhere because of the sprawl, but we certainly didn’t mind using transit. The Citymapper app told us how to get everywhere and never led us wrong. We started using transit right from the airport, grabbing the free bus shuttle to the new airport transit hub, and then metros all the way to Hollywood. It was long, but only cost $5.25 USD/pp (~$22 CAD total) as opposed to the $80 USD (~$115 CAD) a cab or Uber from the airport would have been.
We stayed at the Hollywood Franklin Hotel. It was well located near the Hollywood and Vine metro station and within walking distance to the Chinese Theater, a stone’s throw from the Pantages theater, and Capital Records. I paid a little extra for this option because of its location and the vibe it gave (the rooms were funky!), and had no regrets with the choice. The evening we arrived we had some Shake Shack for dinner, then walked down to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Chinese Theater to see the sights and experience the hustle and bustle of Hollywood.
Day 2 was our big tourist day. We grabbed some breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and hopped on a bus in the morning to head to Rodeo Drive to do some window shopping. After a quick walk around and a Pink Drink at the bougie Rodeo Starbucks, we hopped on another bus to head to the Grove, a local shopping area and Farmer’s Market. We were not disappointed! The Grove is beautiful, and the food options in the Farmer’s Market were plentiful. My daughter did some damage in the Brandi Melville store (the biggest in the US!) and then we hopped on a metro to head to Santa Monica to close out our day. The beach and pier area were beautiful, and we shopped around a bit before eventually heading back to Hollywood. Total transportation cost for the day was $15 USD (~$21 CAD) for the 3 of us.
Day 3 was embarkation day, and we knew it would be a fairly long commute out to Long Beach so we gave ourselves ample travel time. We again hopped on the metro and headed south towards the cruise port. Once at the Long Beach station, we grabbed an Uber ($11 USD/~$15 CAD) to the cruise port since we weren’t willing to walk 30 minutes with our luggage. Yes, a taxi or Uber from our hotel would have been easier, but we saved ourselves about $65 USD (~$90 CAD) and it only took about 30-45 minutes extra to go the cheap route. Would definitely do this again if we cruised out of LA in the future. Since we had reserved an early boarding time, we were able to embark as soon as we arrived and had lunch on the boat.
The Ship – Carnival Panorama
We actually had a choice between 2 identical itineraries on board 2 different Carnival ships cruising out of LA (both cheap), but we chose the Panorama vs the Firenze because of the amenities on board. This ship is fairly new (2019), part of the Vista class of ships, and only smaller than their most current and biggest Mardi Gras ship.
And if I’m being honest, I chose this one mostly because it had a BlueIguana Cantina on board, my favourite lunch spot. I’m not much of a buffet girly, so having a variety of alternate options is important to me. Other complimentary options (because you know this girl isn’t paying extra for a la carte restaurants) included the pizzeria, a deli, a made-to-order pasta bar and Mongolian Wok in 2 of the extra-fee-for-dinner restaurants, on top of Guy’s Pig and Anchor Smokehouse and Burger Joint. Lots of variety! I also had a teenager with me, so I thought the extra amenities, like the SkyRide and water slides with tubes would be cool for her. There was a trampoline park on board as well ($$) which we didn’t check out.
The ship itself was beautiful and well laid out. The main pool was a little small, but we spent most of our time on the Serenity deck, which was big and had lots of sun beds and the super nice padded loungers. On sea days we made use of the dining room for sit-down breakfasts and sampled all of the complimentary lunch options. We were not disappointed with the offerings on board at all and never felt nickled and dimed at any point, which we really appreciated. There were numerous types of seating options throughout the ship, so there was never a shortage of places to chill.
In terms of entertainment, we had a hard time adjusting to the time change, so our nights were pretty low key and we were in bed early most days (since we were up early most mornings). We went to the comedy club and watched 2 of the theater shows, but if I’m being honest, these kind of get old after a while, which in no way is a reflection of the talented performers. It’s just that after having done almost 10 cruises, watching the same 8 performers perform different genres each night becomes kind of repetitive.
This time around it was a broadway night, which we didn’t really enjoy, and a ‘Summer of ‘69’ show which was fairly entertaining. We did not attend any of the outdoor movies because it was chilly in the evenings on deck and it secretly burns me that they now charge for the popcorn that they used to serve for free. We sometimes watched movies in our room and went to bed early. All of the theme parties started at 11pm or later, which immediately ruled us out.
Port Stop – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
We were most excited about this port since we were staying overnight here and had 2 days to explore it. First and foremost, it’s beautiful! The famous Arch, also known as Land’s End, and unique rock formations were the perfect backdrop to our anchor location. On the way into port, we began to spot humpback whales and dolphins frolicking alongside the ship. If you’re into marine life, this is the port for you!!
At any point during our stay, we could look out into the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of California and spot whales breaching, dolphins swimming or sea lions hanging out. I had to have seen at least 50 whales while here, right from shore or the deck of the ship. We came to find out that humpback whales actually migrate to Cabo between December and March every year to mate and have their babies, so the odds of seeing them are almost guaranteed, even without booking a whale watching excursion. This was a highlight for me, who loves spotting wildlife and marine life.
Now it’s no surprise that I never book excursions from the ship because of how expensive they are. Instead, we tendered into the marina and after acclimating to the onslaught of vendors trying to sell you tours to everywhere, we settled on a small boat to take us out to see the Arch and drop us off at Lover’s Beach for an hour ($15 USD/pp or ~$65 CAD). After exiting our ‘Mexican parking lot’ with our small boat with only 2 other individuals on board, our capitan stopped quickly at Pelican Beach to throw the fish some tortillas and let us check out the sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks, before making our way to the Arch.
Once there, our captain expertly maneuvered the boat for 5 or so minutes so that we could sit up near the bow of the boat and take some photos individually with the Arch as a backdrop. This was a nice touch. He then drove us over to Lover’s Beach and we hopped out quickly with promises that he would be back in an hour to collect us. In hindsight, I should have opted to stay at the beach for 2 hours instead of 1.
The beach there was beautiful, but if you walk over to the adjacent side of the peninsula you’ll end up on Divorce Beach, which is even more picturesque. While you can’t swim on the Pacific side, the views are definitely incredible. After a while we strolled back over to Lover’s Beach and braved the cold waters to take a dip into the Gulf of California. It was cold, but definitely safe.
Then it was time to get picked up by our driver and head back to the marina, where we walked around the area for a while until we opted to have a small meal at Jack’s restaurant. The vibes here were excellent, mojitos deliciious, and prices reasonable. We each had a taco and shared some chips, salsa and guacamole made fresh at our table. Delicious and a nice way to cap off our first day in Cabo.
On day 2, we tendered into the marina once again and made our way past the onslaught of taxi drivers offering us rides to catch an Uber to Chileno Beach, about 15 minutes by car from the cruise port. I typically like using Ubers more than taxis because the app tells you exactly how much the fare will cost, no surprises. I chose the ‘wait & save’ option through Uber, which cost MXN 287 (~ $20 CAD), and it took about a minute for our ride to arrive. In comparison, taxis were charging $25-30 USD (~$35-42 CAD) for the same ride, which you had to negotiate ahead of time because taxis in Cabo aren’t metered.
Chileno Beach was nice and quiet, very clean, and had bathroom facilities on site. The best part was that you could snorkel right from shore, and it was easy to do without the fear of riptides or lots of strong current. I always travel with my own mask and snorkel (no rentals for me!) since I fancy myself a mermaid and it’s easy enough to pack and haul around, but there were rentals available on site. My daughter and I snorkeled for a while and then laid out on the beach soaking up the sun. The snorkeling was ok… visibility wasn’t that great, and while I spotted lots of fish, i’ve snorkled far better locations in the Caribbean with crystal clear blue water. Here the water was greenish and a little murky, but there was definitely fish to be seen.
After a while, we opted to take another Uber to Medano beach, which again took about a minute to get and cost MXN 286 (~$20 CAD). Medano is the most common tourist beach for cruisegoers. We stopped at a restaurant called The Office for some chips and guac which we all loved, and then walked a small portion of the beach before walking back to the marina.
This beach is fairly nice, but there were probably more vendors there than actual beachgoers. It was incessant! If I wanted braids, sunglasses, blankets, shirts, hats, jewelry, carvings, knicknacks or anything of the sort, the options were endless. But I’m not a souvenir type travel girly, so it was really overwhelming to have to say ‘No gracias’ every 30 seconds.
The walk back took about 10 minutes to get into the marina area, and then maybe an additional 15-20 to get back to the tenders. There were a lot of beautiful shops along the way, and lots of food options as well. All in all, Cabo was great for the views and marine life but not my favourite for experiences or beaches.
Cruise Stop – Ensenada, Mexico
On our final day, we stopped in a small fishing town just south of Los Angeles called Ensenada. We knew we wanted to be back on board fairly early so that we could make the most of our final sunshine/tanning day, so we set out early. While there was nothing directly at the port, which was quite industrial looking, a short walk down an easy paved path brought us to the town’s Malecon (waterfront promenade).
It was cool to see all the boats in the marina, and fishermen returning with the day’s catch. We explored the local fish market, and then headed to the market zone, which had your typical leather goods, hats, jewelry, blankets, souvenirs, etc. If you go further inland to the main streets there are a variety of shops selling the same types of goods, but I tired quickly of the store owners trying to show me their wares and convince me to enter their shops. I must have uttered ‘No gracias’ a hundred times.
Our only expense that day was some fairly expensive churros from a street vendor and some uniquely local drinks from the local 7/11 convenience store. We were back onboard by lunchtime and satisfied with our early morning stroll, but the options at this port were quite limited. No nearby local beaches to go to, and not much in the way of entertainment if you’re not participating in an excursion.
How we kept this trip affordable
- First and foremost, the cruise itself only cost $1165 CAD for the 3 of us, which was so cheap at $388 CAD/person. How, you ask? I’m constantly looking for good deals, and cruises from LA have been cheap for the last little while because that coast isn’t as popular as the eastern or western Caribbean. Again, being flexible on timing and destinations can save you big bucks.
- We opted for a flight with a layover in Toronto on our way to LA, and in Vancouver on our way back to Montreal. Total flight cost was $1133 CAD for the 3 of us ($377 each), which is fairly affordable considering we flew quite a ways south and west. We also only checked 2 bags instead of 3 and saved ourselves an extra $75 CAD (and the headache of having my 15-year old luggage a big bag herself on and off metros).
- Excursions! We only spent $45 USD (~$65 CAD) total in Cabo for a boat tour and did the rest free of charge by bringing our own snorkel gear and arranging local transportation, which cost an additional $40 CAD. For the boat tour, I also did my research ahead of time so that when we were being bombarded with local vendors trying to sell us a bunch of tours, I was easily and quickly able to negotiate exactly what I wanted without the additional cost or ‘extras’ I didn’t really need.
- We used the LA transit system exclusively to get around from the airport, Hollywood, Santa Monica, the cruise port and everything in between. In port, we used Ubers (the cheapest option), for a total of $115 CAD for the entire trip. You could easily spend that in just one transfer to or from the LA airport.
- We carried on 2 bottles of wine on embarkation day, which Carnival allows free of charge. I would ask any of the bars on board for an empty wine glass, and pour myself a glass in the room to take to dinner every night. That’s 6 glasses of wine for $24 USD (~$34 CAD) instead of the $80+ (~$115 CAD) it would have cost to order on board.
Things we splurged on that we could have went without
- 2 nights in LA vs our usual 1 night pre-cruise. We figured since LA is a destination in and of itself, we should take advantage of being there and try to see as much as possible. This is where the bulk of our additional food and lodging expenses came from.
- The cruise fare. We had the option of an inside room for $900 CAD, but at only $265 CAD more for a balcony room, we felt it was definitely worth the upgrade.
- Food in Cabo both days. Because it was a tender port which makes things more complicated to get on and off the ship, we opted to have some drinks and snacks in port instead of returning to the ship like we usually do. We could have just held out and had a later lunch back on the ship. The fresh local tacos and guacamole did not disappoint though, so no regrets!!
- We typically ask a friend to drive us to and from the airport to save on parking, but given our early morning departure and return, we didn’t want to put anyone out so we sucked up the cost of airport parking, which was $135 CAD.
- We purchased a zero-proof drink package on board the ship, which gave us access to unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, from zero-proof cocktails to juices, sodas, specialty coffees, milkshakes, energy drinks, protein shakes and more. It was expensive, but we only bought one, which set us back $300 CAD.
Final verdict
Any warm-weather cruise in the middle of winter is a win, in my opinion. It’s one of the easiest ways to travel—minimal planning, multiple destinations, and no need to constantly pack and unpack. And when you can find a deal like this one, it’s hard to beat the value.
Trip Savvier 
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