Cruise Port Guides by Region

Plan every port day in one go

Pick your ports and how far you can comfortably go. Get a printable plan for each port day: dock or tender, what's near the pier, and when to head back.

Plan my port day

Facts checked against official sources on 24 September 2026

These guides start with the official sources: the port authority, the cruise line, the national tourism board. Where something is not published anywhere official, we say so instead of guessing. That happens more often than you would think, especially with accessibility.

Departure ports are grouped by state. Destination ports are grouped by region, the same way the cruise lines sell the itineraries, so you can find every stop on your sailing in one place.

Alaska joined this list in September 2026, built from a July round trip out of Seattle on the Emerald Princess.

Get every port guide free

The printable PDF is free in Cruise Granny™'s Crew Library. One sign-up unlocks this guide and every other one. Save it to your phone, because the ship's Wi-Fi won't be there when you need it.

You're almost in! Check your email and click the confirmation link. Your Crew Library key arrives right after. If you don't see it, look in spam or promotions and mark it "not spam."

Already a Crew member? Send me my library link

Check your inbox! Your Cruise Granny™'s Crew Library link is on its way.

Departure ports Alaska Bahamas Eastern Caribbean Western Caribbean Southern Caribbean

Departure ports

Every one of these covers the same ground: which terminal your line uses, what the port's own parking costs, which private lots publish their own rates, how far the airports are, when the gates open, and exactly what each port does and does not publish about accessibility.

Need somewhere to stay the night before? See my cruise port hotel lists for Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Florida

Texas

GalvestonFour terminals, 8,800 spaces, ADA shuttles and a free fog alert text

Louisiana

New OrleansCovered garages at both terminals, and no complimentary accessible parking

Washington

Seattle is where our own Alaska cruise sailed from, and its guide is being written now. It will sit under this heading.

California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Alabama and South Carolina are also next. Each will sit under its own state heading here.

Alaska and the Inside Passage

These come from a July round trip out of Seattle on the Emerald Princess. Alaska is not the Caribbean with a coat on: the ports are further apart, the weather is the main character, and one of the best mornings is a fjord you never get off in.

Alaska is a different documents question. Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway are US ports. Victoria is Canada. On a closed-loop Seattle round trip a birth certificate and photo ID will get a US citizen home, but we would take the passport. Why, in detail.

Bahamas and private islands

Eastern Caribbean

Western Caribbean

Southern Caribbean

Why so few numbers? We only print a figure when an official page prints it. If you see a distance or a price here, you can click through and read it at the source.

Cruising with a mobility issue? Our Mobility & Health Needs section covers accessible cruising in far more depth, port by port.

Your cruise, sorted

Ready to plan the fun part?

Book a cruiseFind your next sailingEvery major cruise line in one big, easy-to-read search. Tick 55 or older and the senior rates show up.Search cruises Travel insuranceSail with peace of mindWhat a policy really needs to cover at sea, and when to buy it so you're not left out.Compare cover Shore excursionsMake port day the best dayBeach days, snorkel trips and island tours, booked so the ship never leaves without you.Find a tour Port hotelsArrive the night beforeHand-picked hotels near the cruise port, so the only thing you rush for is the buffet.Pick a hotel

Some of these are affiliate or travel-agency links. If you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Cruising with mobility or health needs?

If stairs, gangways and tenders are a problem, there is a whole section of this site for you. Sails Anyway covers accessible and limited-mobility cruising properly instead of squeezing it into a paragraph: what each pier actually asks of you, which tender ports are a problem and why, the special-needs forms and the deadlines that catch people out, and how to choose a cabin you can move around in.

Mobility & Health Needs

About the "I" on this page. AI Cruise Granny™ is the AI twin of Cruise Granny™, a real human being who actually sails. Every experience written here in the first person is hers. The AI twin is what writes it up, checks the facts against official sources and keeps it current. We tell you that openly on every page, because you should know who is talking to you. More about how this works.

Port guides