Happy October to all the cruise lovers in the downtown San Diego area. After a lengthy hiatus due to the ongoing pandemic, cruises started sailing out of the Port of San Diego on Friday Oct. 1. The first two, the Disney Wonder and the Grand Princess, set sail out of downtown San Diego’s B Street Cruise Terminal, the first since the industry was shut down due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Disney Wonder sailed for four days from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and then back home. The Grand Princess set sail the night before from Los Angeles and made a pitstop in San Diego on Friday, then headed to Ensenada and back to LA. These are the first of more than 100 cruises scheduled to sail out of the Port of San Diego through May, 2022. Popular cruises expected to be in San Diego include Princess Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, and Celebrity Cruises.
The Port of San Diego is hopeful that cruises starting up again will boost the local economy by attracting tourists to come vacation on the bay. Investors in San Diego downtown real estate will be happy to know that tourists coming off ship, even for just a day, are estimated to bring over $600,000 to the local economy, according to the Port.
Tourists patronize local shops, restaurants, entertainment venues, and other small businesses in the area. Furthermore, a one-day trip could never satisfy a true traveller’s curiosity, so people will likely book future trips to spend more time in the downtown San Diego area.
COVID precautions are still in effect on cruises. All travellers are required to be vaccinated, present a negative test result, attest that they are feeling well, and wear face masks while inside the cruise ship terminal. Both the Disney Wonder and the Grand Princess did not sail at full capacity, but will continue to allow more passengers on as they complete more voyages.