Cruises out of San Diego

[cruzin4us]

Do any of you have any insight if Princess is planning on sailing from San Diego on a permanent basis?    I know the Diamond has a few sailings (the first few were cancelled due to staff shortages), but there's nothing after the Diamond heads back to Japan.

 

Sailing out of SD is a huge plus for us, and I'm hoping someone out here know the future plans.

[disneyochem]

Interested as well.  
 

We love cruising out of San Diego —one reason why we’ve been sailing on HAL!  Don’t enjoy San Pedro….

[that]

Where is parking for holiday cruise out of San Diego?

[uspearls]

1 hour ago, cruzin4us said:

Do any of you have any insight if Princess is planning on sailing from San Diego on a permanent basis?    I know the Diamond has a few sailings (the first few were cancelled due to staff shortages), but there's nothing after the Diamond heads back to Japan.

 

Sailing out of SD is a huge plus for us, and I'm hoping someone out here know the future plans.

 

Howdy neighbor!  Glad you posted and hope an "insider" can shed some light.  On the one hand, I'm not overly optimistic.  Locating the Diamond in San Diego was never more than an opportunistic stopgap, and with Holland America firmly entrenched I could see adding more capacity from a sister brand as cannibalizing sales given the limited Mexican Riviera/Pacific coastal routes (San Diego hasn't even been able to support lower price point Carnival for years). 

 

On the other hand, the Port of San Diego offered this statement AFTER the cancellation of the early part of the Diamond's schedule:  

 

“Princess Cruises has been an important part of the Port of San Diego’s growing cruise business and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. "

 

Intriguing or just wishful thinking?!

[uspearls]

7 minutes ago, that said:

Where is parking for holiday cruise out of San Diego?

 

Some of the airport lots offer shuttle service right to the dock, as the airport is 2 minutes away.  I've used Aladdin for years for both airport and cruise.

Edited September 17, 2022 by uspearls

[cruzin4us]

8 minutes ago, uspearls said:

 

Some of the airport lots offer shuttle service right to the dock, as the airport is 2 minutes away.  I've used Aladdin for years for both airport and cruise.

That's where I park my car as well.  Convenient for both the pier and the airport.   Search online for a coupon, it will save you a couple of bucks a day.   Free shuttle service to both the airport and the pier makes this a win win.

 

[that]

Thank you 😊 

[that]

25 minutes ago, uspearls said:

 

Some of the airport lots offer shuttle service right to the dock, as the airport is 2 minutes away.  I've used Aladdin for years for both airport and cruise.

Thank yiu😊

[disneyochem]

We live in Northern California.  We like to take the Pacific Surfliner from Orange County (daughter lives there) to SD, stay at a nearby hotel, and walk to the ship for embarkation.  Then after the cruise, we hop on the train and head north.  

[skynight]

There is nothing scheduled after the Diamond departs in February 2023. On the other hand, there are cruises scheduled from L.A. until May 2024. I would speculate that the chances are slim for San Diego.  

[dobiemom]

I think the San Pedro terminal is Princess” building? Other cruise lines use it but only if Princess is not there. 

[srpilo]

2 hours ago, uspearls said:

 

On the other hand, the Port of San Diego offered this statement AFTER the cancellation of the early part of the Diamond's schedule:  

 

“Princess Cruises has been an important part of the Port of San Diego’s growing cruise business and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. "

 

Intriguing or just wishful thinking?!

 

I think that San Diego port reference is regarding Princess calling on San Diego on all their non-Mexico west coast coastal cruises departing from LA for the past few years, not stationing a ship in San Diego.

[Kay S]

3 hours ago, disneyochem said:

We live in Northern California.  We like to take the Pacific Surfliner from Orange County (daughter lives there) to SD, stay at a nearby hotel, and walk to the ship for embarkation.  Then after the cruise, we hop on the train and head north.  

Sounds like the ideal vacation.  

[JF - retired RRT]

5 hours ago, that said:

Where is parking for holiday cruise out of San Diego?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[The Mikado]

6 hours ago, disneyochem said:

We live in Northern California.  We like to take the Pacific Surfliner from Orange County (daughter lives there) to SD, stay at a nearby hotel, and walk to the ship for embarkation.  Then after the cruise, we hop on the train and head north.  

We’re in SLO and plan on taking the Surfliner for all our cruises out of LA and SD. 
 

For that matter,  we’re also going to take the Coast Starlight north, get off in Oakland (or Emeryville, can’t remember which), and go to the hotel in San Fran for our trips out of there. 

Edited September 17, 2022 by The Mikado

[richla]

6 hours ago, that said:

Where is parking for holiday cruise out of San Diego?

The Wyndham and both Bric lots across the street have long term parking but are full for this Thanksgiving cruise. We've used the Wyndham before. I actually have a retirement job working at the terminal. The shuttles that routinely go in and out for every cruise ship are Aladdin, WallyPark, San Diego Airport Parking Co. and San Diego Park, Shuttle and Fly. We've previously used both Aladdin and the San Diego Airport Parking Co. Along with everything else, all prices seem to have gone up over the last couple years. There are usually coupons for some of the lots. I think we'll use Aladdin this time. There are some other long term parking lots that might be cheaper, but don't offer shuttles.

 

We actually live there, but mostly use paid parking to spare our friends from driving us back and forth.

[richla]

8 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

Do any of you have any insight if Princess is planning on sailing from San Diego on a permanent basis?    I know the Diamond has a few sailings (the first few were cancelled due to staff shortages), but there's nothing after the Diamond heads back to Japan.

 

Sailing out of SD is a huge plus for us, and I'm hoping someone out here know the future plans.

The Diamond Princess has nine turns departing the San Diego Port starting Nov 20 through Feb 12. They were originally coming in for 4 days at the end of August to prepare for their first cruise. however, they ended up canceling the first 11 cruises up until November 20.

 

We have many princess ships that dock for visits all through the season.

[richla]

7 hours ago, uspearls said:

Howdy neighbor!  Glad you posted and hope an "insider" can shed some light.  On the one hand, I'm not overly optimistic.  Locating the Diamond in San Diego was never more than an opportunistic stopgap, and with Holland America firmly entrenched I could see adding more capacity from a sister brand as cannibalizing sales given the limited Mexican Riviera/Pacific coastal routes (San Diego hasn't even been able to support lower price point Carnival for years). 

Actually, the Carnival Miracle was positioned in San Diego pre-covid and did weekly turns along with 3 and 4-day cruises. They serve a different market than HAL. Years ago Carnival even built the cruise terminal on the Broadway pier. They have not scheduled a return since covid. Along with Holland America, the Disney Wonder has and is still positioned out of San Diego and will embark numerous times between September and May. There is close to 150 ships calling on San Diego this season. Besides the Mexican Riviera/Pacific coastal routes, the ships also transit the Panama Canal and sail round trips to Hawaii. The Sea of Cortez is also becoming an attractive alternative to the standard Mexican Riviera and can be booked on the Diamond.

Edited September 17, 2022 by richla
Spelling

[uspearls]

12 minutes ago, richla said:

Actually, the Carnival Miracle was positioned in San Diego pre-covid and did weekly turns along with 3 and 4-day cruises. Years ago Carnival even built the cruise terminal on the Broadway pier. They have not scheduled a return since covid. Along with Holland America, the Disney Wonder has and is still positioned out of San Diego and will embark numerous times between September and May. There is close to 150 ships calling on San Diego this season. Besides the Mexican Riviera/Pacific coastal routes, the ships also transit the Panama Canal and sail round trips to Hawaii. The Sea of Cortez is also becoming an attractive alternative to the standard Mexican Riviera and can be booked on the Diamond.

 

I stand corrected!   

 

I did not mean to opine on the attractiveness or viability of San Diego as a homeport (or port of call).  I'm just not overly optimistic that Princess will homeport a ship here for any length of time.  I'd be thrilled if I'm wrong!

[kiwimum]

Try using Way dot com for parking options in San Diego. Make sure you read the rules for reservations.   We have used them many times with great pricing   They offer many different options for San Diego.   Highly recommend booking as soon as possible as parking is severely limited at the airport due to construction putting a strain on local lots.  Word of warning the Laurel Street parking structure is very tight parking and can be a nightmare.   

[Bwana Tom]

I personally like the short distance between the airport and the cruise port at SD. For me that is a real draw compared to other ports.

[skynight]

14 hours ago, Bwana Tom said:

I personally like the short distance between the airport and the cruise port at SD. For me that is a real draw compared to other ports.

Ft. Lauderdale has a similar short distance. Around 4 miles, 15 minutes, maybe a little more with traffic.  

[richla]

On 9/17/2022 at 3:14 PM, uspearls said:

 

I stand corrected!   

 

I did not mean to opine on the attractiveness or viability of San Diego as a homeport (or port of call).  I'm just not overly optimistic that Princess will homeport a ship here for any length of time.  I'd be thrilled if I'm wrong!

I agree with your assessment on Princess. I think the Diamond being here is just a temporary fix as they relocate from the Asian market. My post was mostly to clear up the San Diego and Carnival ship history you mentioned.

Edited September 20, 2022 by richla