SAN DIEGO – A new deal with Disney Cruise Line has put wind in the proverbial sails of the Port of San Diego.
Years after the pandemic brought the cruise industry to a halt, the Port has been on a steady recovery journey, bookended by an agreement that makes San Diego the home port for two of Disney’s oldest cruise ships, the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder.
Each time a cruise ship homeports in San Diego, it generates an approximately $2 million economic impact, according to Port Maritime Operations Manager Adam Deaton.
“A home port is when a ship line is starting and ending their voyage in San Diego. And that’s what we really love,” Port Maritime Commercial Manager Renee Rose said. “That brings in a lot more economic impact, because you have, let’s say, 2,000 people flying in town, staying here for a day or two, then starting their cruise, 3 to 7 days later coming back to San Diego and then staying again before they fly home.”
When vessels stop by for a typical call, or daylong visit, the economic impact factors to about $600,000.
In addition to Disney, cruise lines that home port in San Diego include longtime partner Holland America Line, Norweigan Cruise Line starting this cruise season and Royal Caribbean International starting in fiscal year 2027.
The Port features two terminals that ships can operate out of its B Street terminal, which is about 125,000 square feet and its Broadway terminal that is about 52,000 square feet.
Cruise season for the Port begins in September and runs through May, bolstering economic activity in the off season for San Diego tourism. According to the Port’s most recent economic impact report in 2023, the cruise industry provides a $184 million economic boost to the county.
A New Era for the Port
Before homeporting in San Diego, Disney brought in about 20 calls to San Diego annually.
After the pandemic, Disney wanted to run an experiment to see is San Diego could handle significantly more business, so they brought in 51 home port calls as a test and did “exceptionally well,” Deaton said.
Disney spent some time testing other markets but ultimately struck the deal with the Port.
Next season, San Diego will see 60 home port calls from Disney.
“We think that trajectory will continue,” Deaton said. “We’ll continue to see growth from Disney moving year by year, as long as San Diego performs well. San Diego is a great destination, so it should.”
The most calls the Port has seen in a season was 279 calls in 2010, Rose said. The Port is intent on reaching 2010 levels again after the pandemic, when it saw zero calls. Since the pandemic, the amount of calls has been steadily regenerating.
In fiscal year 2026 — the current cruise season — the Port will have 107 calls. In fiscal year 2027, it will see 180 calls.
“As soon as all the cruise ship terminals were able to open, those lines were ready to come back,” Rose said. “The only good side of the pandemic was that it was a little bit of a break where we could improve certain things around the facility without having passengers in on a near daily basis. And the ship lines did the same thing during that bit of a break — they refurbished and renovated a lot of their vessels when they had that extra year.”
Holland America has remained a consistent homeported cruise line in San Diego since 1999. According to its VP of Revenue Management Dan Rough, the city provides the line a gateway for cruises to the Mexican Riviera, the Panama Canal, Hawaii, the South Pacific and the California Coast.
“The cruise industry plays a significant role in San Diego’s tourism ecosystem,” Rough said.
“Cruise guests often arrive early or stay after their voyage, spending time — and dollars — throughout the city. For Holland America guests in particular, San Diego’s world class attractions such as the USS Midway [Museum], Coronado Island, Old Town and Balboa Park are major draws.”
Accelerating Growth
As the Port charts the waters of its continued growth, Rose said that it is currently in talks with its homeported partners about assigning certain days of the week to each line for ease of scheduling and logistics.
“It’s a lot easier for the ship lines, for planning purposes, to know when they’re planning their itineraries two years out, sometimes three years out, that they can pick San Diego if it’s a Thursday and they have a berth, let’s say, on their north side, guaranteed and ready and reserved for them,” Rose said.
Deaton said that one of the Port’s main challenges when it comes to the cruise industry is its aged infrastructure.
“If you look at the whole cruise industry, the biggest ships out there hold 9,000 passengers. The average ship is somewhere in the 4,000-passenger range,” Deaton said.
“We have a lot of aged infrastructure that has to be improved if we ever want to start capturing that level of business.”
Before the pandemic, the Port worked out a deal with Holland America and Disney for a $40 million improvement plan. When the pandemic hit, the deal fell through.
Rose said that the Port hopes to execute an improvement plan within the next decade.
“Customers now are visiting lots of different terminals, and they’re getting a little more spoiled with what they like to see,” Rose said. “It’s kind of like if you travel a lot with airlines and you go to lots of different airports.”
Currently, the Port is working on securing funding for limited interior improvements at its facilities and a possible redo of its ground transportation area.
In fiscal year 2026, the Port expects to see 389,000 passengers. In fiscal year 2027, it is projecting to see 700,000 passengers, marking significant growth.
While the tourism market is experiencing some uncertainty, Rose and Deaton agreed that San Diego’s strength as a destination speaks for itself.
“Holland America Line loves sailing from San Diego — it’s that simple,” Rough said. “The city is vibrant, easy to navigate and full of experiences our guests return for again and again. It’s a place where a vacation begins the moment you arrive, and its geography makes it ideally situated for the rich, longer itineraries we’re known for. As we look toward future seasons, our commitment to offering memorable, destination focused voyages from San Diego remains unwavering.”
Port of San Diego
FOUNDED: 1962
CEO: Scott Chadwick
HEADQUARTERS: San Diego
BUSINESS: Maritime Operations & Waterfront Development
EMPLOYEES: 550+
REVENUE: FY 2026 Operating Revenue – $244,701,000
WEBSITE: https://www.portofsandiego.org/
CONTACT: (619) 686-6200
NOTABLE: The Port of San Diego injected nearly $14 billion into San Diego County in FY2023, a 25% increase since 2019.
Born and raised in San Diego, Madison takes great pride in local storytelling. Her coverage at the San Diego Business Journal includes tourism, hospitality, nonprofits, education and retail. An alumna of San Diego State University’s journalism program, she has written for publications including The San Diego Union-Tribune and The San Diego Sun. At the 2024 San Diego Press Club awards, Madison was recognized for her exemplary profile writing. She was also a speaker for the 2023 TEDx Conference at Bonita Vista High School. When she’s not working on her next story, Madison can be found performing music at a local restaurant or on one of San Diego’s many hiking trails.
