Prepare for brand spanking new Disneyland & sea trip prospects! Disney Cruise Line and the Port of San Diego at present introduced a brand new settlement by not less than 2031, which can roughly double the variety of Disney cruises out of San Diego every year. Listed here are full particulars, plus our commentary about why we’re enthusiastic about this information.
For Disney Cruise Line company, the prolonged settlement that doubles the variety of sailings means extra alternatives to embark on holidays to Catalina Island, Baja and the Mexican Riviera, with a broader vary of seasonal itineraries and extra frequent departures.
“San Diego has been an necessary a part of our West Coast operations for greater than a decade, and a spot our company love crusing from,” stated Jose Fernandez, Vice President of Port Technique, Growth & Operations, Disney Cruise Line. “This new settlement helps our long-term progress and helps us proceed contributing to the area’s financial system.”
“We’re grateful to proceed our long-standing relationship with Disney Cruise Line,” stated Chair Ann Moore, Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners. “This settlement not solely enhances enterprise operations between the Port, Disney and all our cruise line companions – it additionally helps a thriving cruise trade that injects hundreds of thousands into the area’s financial system and welcomes 1000’s of holiday makers to our waterfront every year.”
The settlement secures Disney Cruise Line’s non-exclusive precedence entry to the San Diego Port’s North and South berths on the B Road cruise terminal, enhancing the arrival expertise for passengers whereas additionally serving to the Port higher plan and maximize using its cruise ship terminals. This announcement comes because the Port is seeing an upward trajectory in cruise calls and passengers.
Greater than 1 million Disney Cruise Line passengers are anticipated by the Port in the course of the course of the settlement. That represents the primary time in additional than 20 years {that a} cruise line has provided a minimal annual assure on the Port of San Diego. Disney Cruise Line’s seasonal name on San Diego will proceed to carry significant financial advantages for the area, supporting native companies and fueling jobs tied to cruise operations, tourism and port exercise.
Disney Cruise Line has been a proud member of the San Diego group because it first started crusing from the Port in 2012 and stays dedicated to creating significant and constructive impacts within the area. This work consists of collaborations with native nonprofits that target youth empowerment and environmental conservation.
Most not too long ago, Disney Cruise Line supplied profession improvement and monetary literacy alternatives to native college students from Junior Achievement of San Diego and collaborated with San Diego Coastkeepers to assist shield the pure fantastic thing about the California shoreline.
Representing the newest wave in Disney Cruise Line’s interval of unprecedented world progress, this settlement ensures that San Diego stays a main gateway for DCL. Talking of which, San Diego will quickly welcome two Disney Cruise Line ships for the 2026-2027 season, increasing West Coast crusing choices for the cruise line.
The Disney Magic arrives in October, providing 3 to 7-night voyages by November adopted by a 14-night Panama Canal transit to Galveston. The Disney Surprise will homeport in San Diego from October 2026 by April 2027, crusing 3 to 7-night itineraries to locations together with Catalina Island, Cabo San Lucas, Ensenada and Puerto Vallarta.
There are already some intriguing itineraries this yr out of San Diego. Should you’re serious about reserving one, we extremely advocate working with Be Our Visitor Holidays, an Approved Disney Trip Planner. Be Our Visitor Holidays is our most popular journey company, they usually have many brokers with intensive cruise expertise and experience–together with out of San Diego!
It doesn’t come as an enormous shock that San Diego is getting extra ships. They’ve gotta go someplace!
Disney Cruise Line has been touting the way it’ll be greater than doubling its fleet by 2031, with a complete of 13 ships. The Disney Journey not too long ago launched and can homeport in Singapore, and the Disney Consider will observe in late 2027. Not less than yet one more Want-class ship will be a part of the fleet in 2029, crusing out of Japan as a part of OLC’s enlargement plans.
Disney will then launch a brand new class of ships that’ll debut by 2031. It stands to cause that San Diego gained’t be the one beneficiary of this. We’re anticipating the same settlement for Galveston, too.
Our Commentary
A typical chorus of our commentaries about Disney Cruise Line itinerary bulletins has been, mainly: be honest to all over the place that isn’t Florida. That’s a whole lot of the fleet in Florida, crusing to the Bahamas and Caribbean. With the brand new ships coming on-line, I hoped we’d begin to see extra fascinating and distinctive itineraries, but it surely’s been extra of principally the identical.
As I’ve stated repeatedly through the years, I’ve discovered the dearth of San Diego sailings a bit baffling. California is a big and extremely populous state and is residence to an enormous Disney fan base. The demographics for DCL should be extremely favorable, so it’s wild to me that Disney Cruise Line wouldn’t wish to have extra sailings out of California.
Not solely is that an enormous demo of Californian households, however I’m additionally guessing there are many former Disneyland Annual Passholders who would love to make use of cruising to get their “Disney repair.”
This can be a widespread dynamic we’ve heard followers talk about on DCL sailings from Florida, so it stands to cause the identical applies in SoCal. If something, I’m betting it’s extra pronounced since Disneyland APs have gotten worse than their counterparts in Florida.
Given all of that, it simply is smart to double the Disney Cruise Line presence in San Diego. I’m selfishly very enthusiastic about this information; we’re months away from pre-school, at which era our journey choices might be rather more restricted.
These 3-4 night time lengthy weekend cruises will change into essential for us, as will the brief drive all the way down to San Diego, versus a cross nation flight involving two journey days which might be mainly misplaced. I’m additionally very intrigued by a number of of the itineraries from San Diego, whereas I’m actually a bit “over” the Bahamas and Caribbean cruises out of Florida.
Much less selfishly, I’m actually excited for the Disneyland and sea trip alternatives this may introduce! Disney Cruise Line and Walt Disney World do that rather well, collaborating on seamless packages that streamline a go to to the parks paired with a cruise.
My honest hope is that Disney works on one thing comparable for Disneyland and the San Diego sailings as a result of, fairly frankly, this makes a lot extra sense in Southern California than it does Florida.
The principle cause for that is in all probability apparent to Disney diehards: you possibly can spend much more time at Walt Disney World than Disneyland. Past that, I’d argue that there’s extra to do in Southern California, particularly between Anaheim and San Diego, than Central Florida.
The excellent news is that, even when Disney doesn’t put collectively seamless packages, it’ll be fairly simple to DIY. Seize a one-way rental automotive in Anaheim, drive down PCH, perhaps keep for an evening someplace between Laguna Seashore and La Jolla, and see the breathtaking fantastic thing about the coast that you just gained’t expertise on the cruise. Alternatively, take the Pacific Surfliner from Anaheim to San Diego.
There are a whole lot of prospects for placing collectively a implausible 7-10 day journey that features Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and in between. Right here’s hoping that the recognition of such packages will increase, giving us extra of an excuse to do sailings out of San Diego!
Planning to set sail aboard one of many Disney Cruise Line ships? Learn our complete Disney Cruise Line Information to organize on your journey, plan leisure and different actions, and be taught what to anticipate out of your Disney cruise! If you’d like customized suggestions for Disney Cruise Line itineraries, ships, and extra, click on right here to get a cruise quote from a no-fee Approved Disney Trip Planner. They will discover you the entire present reductions, and allow you to plan the main points of your cruise!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider DCL doubling its sailings out of San Diego? Would you do a Disneyland and sea package deal that included the parks and a cruise? Hoping Disney places collectively one thing like this, or would you favor DIY? Another ideas so as to add or suggestions? Do you agree or disagree with our recommendation? Any questions we may also help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even once you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
