The Port of San Diego and its longtime port partner, Holland America Line, celebrated the start of the cruise season together on Monday, October 2, 2023.
Speaking at the celebration, Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners Chairman Rafael Castellanos said, “We are incredibly excited to launch our annual cruise season and what better way to do it than with Holland America, which has been calling here since the 1980s. On behalf of the Port of San Diego, we are happy to welcome back cruise customers for what will be a fun and adventurous season with great benefit to our regional economy.”
Holland America’s MS Volendam was in port on Monday during her 51-day journey through the South Pacific. Before disembarking the cruise line made a $10,000 donation to the San Diego Harbor Police Foundation showing its longtime support to the San Diego community.
Presenting the donation on behalf of the cruise line was Chief Commercial Officer Beth Bodensteiner who said, “Half of the Holland America Line fleet will visit Port of San Diego this season departing on cruises that reach as far as Australia, making it one of our most vital homeports. We thank the Port of San Diego for decades of partnership and look forward to a successful cruising season.”
This season the port is expecting 100 cruises and 338,000 passengers to visit San Diego. The port’s schedule includes ports of call from long-time port partners Holland America Line and Disney Cruise Line, as well as Silversea Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Viking Cruises, and more. Coming to the port for the first time this season are Disney Magic, Viking Star, and MSC Explora.
Itineraries that include the Port of San Diego will sail to the Mexican Riviera, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, the Pacific Coast, and Australia. One of the most notable voyages is Holland America’s Solar Eclipse Experience aboard MS Koningsdam which allows cruisers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view a total solar eclipse in April 2024.
Currently San Diego is California’s third busiest cruise port but with improvements to the B Street terminal and more to come, the terminal is likely to grow even more. The port’s two cruise terminals allow easy access to popular attractions like the USS Midway Museum, Maritime Museum, Seaport Village, and waterfront hotels and restaurants, along with historic neighborhoods like Little Italy and the Gaslamp Quarter.
Additionally, the port now has the ability to connect two cruise ships simultaneously to shore power which drastically reduces the amount of greenhouse gasses being emitted from docked cruise ships.