San Diego's cruise business expected to grow in next couple years
The latest cruise schedule, updated on Jan. 9, shows a packed schedule for the 2025-2026 season out of San Diego, with cruises to various locations ranging from along the West Coast to the Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, Baja Peninsula and islands in the Pacific Ocean.
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Last year, our reporting partners at The San Diego Union-Tribune reported the number of passengers for the 2024-2025 season was just half the count two years prior — 265,000 passengers compared to 531,000 during the 2022-23 season.
It appears San Diego will see a reverse trend in the upcoming 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 seasons, especially with one major cruise line making America's Finest City one of its homeports.
Just last month, Royal Caribbean announced it would be adding a new homeport in San Diego.
Beginning in October 2026, Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas will take people across the Mexican Riviera to destinations such as Cabo San Lucas, Ensenada and La Paz.
Royal Caribbean adds new homeport in San Diego
Plus, Holland America recently unveiled its 2026-2027 destinations out of San Diego. They include a 35-day adventure across the South Pacific with a trip to Bora Bora and six cruises through the Panama Canal.
'Guests and team members will spend nearly $378,000 at San Diego attractions and hotels each time a ship is in port, equating to nearly $11 million in local economic impact across the season,' Holland America stated in a news release last Wednesday.
According to the Port of San Diego, cruises make up about $184 million of the county's revenue. This includes revenue generated from hotel stays, restaurants, local attractions and dockworkers and employees off the cruise ship.
The upcoming seasons could help return the Port of San Diego to its pre-pandemic numbers. It said it lost about $300 million in the local region during the pandemic, when ships were forced to stay in port for several months.
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