Prioritizing public health, and with extra precautions in place to minimize community spread of and exposure to COVID-19, the Port of San Diego continues to work with its cruise line partners along with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), U.S. Coast Guard, Customs & Border Protection (CBP), and San Diego County Health & Human Services (HHS) to resume sailings when it is safe to do so.
As part of these efforts, four Holland America Line (HAL) ships and one Princess Cruises ship are scheduled to arrive this week and through the new year, periodically docking at the B Street Cruise Terminal for fuel, food, supplies, and/or services. At this time, none of the vessels will be carrying passengers or conducting any sailings. However, these visits are a crucial part of the lines’ operations to reestablish the ships in U.S. waters as a prerequisite to meet the CDC Framework for Conditional Sailing order to resume cruising in the future.
The current first arrival schedule is as follows (schedule and vessels are subject to change based on operational needs and/or cruise line plans):
- Holland America Koningsdam – December 23
- Princess Cruises Emerald Princess – December 24
- Holland America Westerdam – December 28
- Holland America Zuiderdam – January 8
- Holland America Noordam – January 11
Time spent docked in San Diego will be limited. Each ship is scheduled to dock at B Street the morning of their scheduled arrival date and depart that evening.
At this time, the HAL ships are scheduled to remain in the San Diego area and may be visible off the coast, with some periodically positioning in the outer anchorage just outside of San Diego Bay off the coast of Coronado. After their initial arrival, each HAL ship plans to periodically return to the B Street Cruise Terminal to refuel and/or to resupply or receive services. The Emerald Princess is scheduled to go to Los Angeles after its December 24 visit. As with all maritime operations, vessel schedules may change.
Crew members aboard the vessels will not be allowed off unless as part of crew changes with plans and procedures reviewed and approved by the CDC, Coast Guard, CBP, and County HHS. All crew members will be regularly tested for COVID-19 and health procedures will be followed in the event of an infection.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had major impacts on San Diego’s tourism industry, including 119 cancelled cruises since March. This represents a loss of roughly $200 million in regional economic activity, impacting local businesses and government. The Port’s cruise industry supports jobs including in retail, restaurant and lodging; transportation, trucking and warehousing; ship agents and stevedoring; and security and manpower services.
All future sailings are pending approval by the CDC, the Coast Guard, CBP, and County HHS.
For additional information about the Port’s response to COVID-19 and updates on how the Port is supporting its partners and serving the public during this public health and economic crisis, go to portofsandiego.org/covid19.
