The upcoming 2018-2019 cruise season, which kicks off Friday, September 14, 2018, will be the Port of San Diego’s best in seven years. The Port expects 92 cruise calls versus 84 from last season. Additionally, passenger counts will increase by 15 percent over last year, with 295,000 people anticipated to cruise from San Diego, up from 256,000 the previous season.
There are several exciting itineraries for cruises leaving from San Diego. Voyages range from two-day to 14-day cruises along the Mexican Riviera to a 35-day cruise to South America. San Diego’s primary cruise lines include Holland America Line and Disney Cruise Line, with regular voyages onboard the Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam and Disney Wonder. A full schedule can be found here.
San Diego continues to be a popular port for cruising. It was recently named among the top five cruise destinations in the U.S. and Canada by Cruise Critic, the world’s leading cruise reviews site and online cruise community. This is the third year in a row the Port of San Diego has received this designation.
“The Port of San Diego offers a unique opportunity to enjoy both an amazing destination on land and an incredible cruise adventure on the water,” said Rafael Castellanos, Chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners. “Our cruise terminals are ideally situated on picturesque San Diego Bay, right in the heart of the city, with many unique attractions to discover.”
San Diego is California’s third busiest cruise port, following Long Beach and Los Angeles. New cruise business for the Port of San Diego this season includes calls from Viking Ocean Cruises’ Viking Star and Norwegian Ocean Cruises’ Norwegian Pearl. Next season, the Port will welcome new business from Carnival Cruise Line’s vessel, Miracle.
The cruise industry is very important to the economy of San Diego. An economic impact analysis commissioned by the Port in 2015 found that each homeported cruise generated an average of $2 million in economic impact to the region. The economic impact for the region has grown from $82 million in 2014 to approximately $131 million in 2018.
Source: Port of San Diego
