15-Night Panama Canal from Los Angeles

Los Angeles cruise port is in San Pedro, a harbor neighborhood at the southern tip of the city, about 25 miles from downtown LA and 18 miles from LAX. The port is called the World Cruise Center, and it's the main departure point for Mexican Riviera, Hawaii, and Pacific Coast itineraries.

San Diego is a major cruise port on the Southern California coast, about 120 miles south of Los Angeles and directly on the Mexican border. The B Street Cruise Ship Terminal and adjacent Broadway Pier sit in downtown San Diego along the Embarcadero waterfront, within walking distance of the Gaslamp Quarter, Seaport Village, and the USS Midway Museum.

Cabo San Lucas sits at the very tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. This is a tender port: ships anchor in Cabo San Lucas Bay and passengers ride small boats to the marina.

Colon sits at the Atlantic (Caribbean) entrance to the Panama Canal, serving as the port of call for ships that transit the canal or stop before or after the crossing. The Colon 2000 cruise terminal and the nearby Cristobal pier handle the cruise traffic, both located away from the city center in secure port compounds.

Cartagena de Indias is a Caribbean port city of about 1 million people on Colombia's northern coast, and one of the best-preserved colonial cities in the Americas. The walled old city (Ciudad Amurallada) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built by the Spanish starting in the 16th century to protect the gold and silver being shipped back to Europe.