San Diego Port

[doghog]

IMO, it's all about the Benjamins. 🤑 

[Jim_Iain]

On 8/20/2023 at 5:09 AM, expattraveler said:

HAL apparently figured it out. We took three HAL Mexican Rivera cruises out of San Diego in the past 10 months. Just saying….

I believe that the difference is that HAL has stops at cities that would be classified as a distant foreign port.    In the case of Celebrity from San Diego to Hawaii the only non-us port was less than 100 miles away.    Celebrity also has the Mexican Rivera out of San Pedro so I guess San Diego would also qualify. 

 

Celebrity has sailed San Diego for a California Coastal and I guess Ensanada qualified as they had a leg from San Francisco to Ensanada.   

 

Like many others -  I would love to see some sailings and a ship in San Diego or any place on the California Coast.

[MamaFej]

How about a cruise out of San Diego when Dodgers are on a West Coast road trip and starts the Monday after they played the Padres over the weekend, with an overnight in San Francisco when the Dodgers are playing the Giants, and an overnight in Seattle when the Boys in Blue are there for an inter-league series with the Mariners?

 

 

(I'm so easy to please) 😜

 

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by MamaFej
typos

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 8/20/2023 at 9:19 AM, doghog said:

IMO, it's all about the Benjamins. 🤑 

 

I believe the overall point the OP is making is even if LA is cheaper for X than SD is, could SD attract more passengers and be more profitable?  I think its a very undesirable itinerary and the older ships aren't helping yet even if they put an E-Class ship there I doubt they could fill it

[doghog]

8 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I believe the overall point the OP is making is even if LA is cheaper for X than SD is, could SD attract more passengers and be more profitable?  I think its a very undesirable itinerary and the older ships aren't helping yet even if they put an E-Class ship there I doubt they could fill it

Your WAG.

 

My Magic 8 Ball says yes.

 

What's the very undesirable itinerary in your opinion?

Edited August 21, 2023 by doghog

[NutsAboutGolf]

5 minutes ago, doghog said:

Your WAG.

 

My Magic 8 Ball says yes.

 

What's the very undesirable itinerary in your opinion?

 

For the most part, only Southwest (the majority being from CA), go to these ports; it should be noted that the water is cold in the winter.  Everyone else seems to go to Cancun/Playa Del Carmen/Tulum, its usually much cheaper than cabo and the water is warm year round.  I've been on 3 X "mex riv" sailings since late 2022 and 4th one with Carnival.  They're only 50-66% full and folks even complain about cabo because the peddlers offer them hookers, blow, cuban cigars and weed

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, MamaFej said:

How about a cruise out of San Diego when Dodgers are on a West Coast road trip and starts the Monday after they played the Padres over the weekend, with an overnight in San Francisco when the Dodgers are playing the Giants, and an overnight in Seattle when the Boys in Blue are there for an inter-league series with the Mariners?

 

 

(I'm so easy to please) 😜

 

 

 

That would be fun.   When we were there last, they had the World Series starting the evening we left port.      San Francisco really pulled out the stops and moved the street people out, steam cleaned the sidewalks and the area was pristine. 

 

We live about 30 miles South of SF and on one day of the overnight went hope and changed out some of our clothing.     It's fun to explore your own home and act like a tourist.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

For the most part, only Southwest (the majority being from CA), go to these ports; it should be noted that the water is cold in the winter.  Everyone else seems to go to Cancun/Playa Del Carmen/Tulum, its usually much cheaper than cabo and the water is warm year round.  I've been on 3 X "mex riv" sailings since late 2022 and 4th one with Carnival.  They're only 50-66% full and folks even complain about cabo because the peddlers offer them hookers, blow, cuban cigars and weed

We are doing another Pacific Coastal cruise October and leaving from SD would be be great instead of San Pedro (LA). SD cruises don't have to head south.

[MamaFej]

36 minutes ago, davekathy said:

We are doing another Pacific Coastal cruise October and leaving from SD would be be great instead of San Pedro (LA). SD cruises don't have to head south.

Good point.

 

San Pedro and Long Beach are shorter drives for me, but San Diego works well because it is far more convenient for dropping off or picking up a one-way rental car, as we did when sailing from Chile to San Diego. Depending on the length of the cruise, it would be worth driving to SD in order to avoid paying for parking near LA. 

[JRG]

5 hours ago, MamaFej said:

How about a cruise out of San Diego when Dodgers are on a West Coast road trip and starts the Monday after they played the Padres over the weekend, with an overnight in San Francisco when the Dodgers are playing the Giants, and an overnight in Seattle when the Boys in Blue are there for an inter-league series with the Mariners?

 

What an awesome idea.  You are talking to somebody who went to Willie Mccovey Night in both LA and SD in the year that he swan songed it out of here.

 

But what a great way to stimulate every type of tourist spending on a repeat basis with a regular schedule,  it would be a cash cow for the cruiselines because they could plan on high- occupancy coastal cruising with an unending supply of high dollar spending cruisers who would be happy to do this and visit relatives at the same time or the many, many things that you can't do on your usual stopovers in the coastal ports  And then do it again next year.

 

Great Idea.

[MamaFej]

23 minutes ago, JRG said:

 

What an awesome idea.  You are talking to somebody who went to Willie Mccovey Night in both LA and SD in the year that he swan songed it out of here.

 

But what a great way to stimulate every type of tourist spending on a repeat basis with a regular schedule,  it would be a cash cow for the cruiselines because they could plan on high- occupancy coastal cruising with an unending supply of high dollar spending cruisers who would be happy to do this and visit relatives at the same time or the many, many things that you can't do on your usual stopovers in the coastal ports  And then do it again next year.

 

Great Idea.

Thanks. It was more of a fantasy than a serious idea. Ship berths are booked 3-4 years in advance and sports schedules are announced less than a year in advance, but a girl can dream...

 

I do seriously think that overnights in major sports cities is a good idea, especially as a way to attract folks local to the embarkation/disembarkation port(s). I'd also enjoy overnights or late nights in San Francisco or Seattle, or on the east coast that would allow for attending theater, musical, or other cultural events. 

 

Overnights are one of the reasons I've been looking at smaller ship cruise lines lately. They tend to do moe of them, that I have seen. 

Edited August 22, 2023 by MamaFej

[doghog]

2 hours ago, MamaFej said:

Good point.

 

San Pedro and Long Beach are shorter drives for me, but San Diego works well because it is far more convenient for dropping off or picking up a one-way rental car, as we did when sailing from Chile to San Diego. Depending on the length of the cruise, it would be worth driving to SD in order to avoid paying for parking near LA. 

A round trip 14 night Pacific Coastal cruise from SD heading north to Vitória BC. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 hours ago, MamaFej said:

Good point.

 

San Pedro and Long Beach are shorter drives for me, but San Diego works well because it is far more convenient for dropping off or picking up a one-way rental car, as we did when sailing from Chile to San Diego. Depending on the length of the cruise, it would be worth driving to SD in order to avoid paying for parking near LA. 

 

Uber?

[MamaFej]

1 minute ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Uber?

I can only imagine what a 3.5 hour Uber ride would cost, even if someone was wiiling to take the fare. 

I suppose I could check, but I'm not sure my heart could handle it. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

18 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

I can only imagine what a 3.5 hour Uber ride would cost, even if someone was wiiling to take the fare. 

I suppose I could check, but I'm not sure my heart could handle it. 

 

Didn't realize you were that far

[MamaFej]

29 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Didn't realize you were that far

No worries. As always, it depends on traffic conditions. And I don't drive as fast as some, even when traffic is light.

 

My brain was thinking Vegas when I said 3.5 hours, as that was the conversation in the house at the time I typed.

 

My bad.

 

San Pedro is about 1.25-1.75 hours and San Diego is 2-2.5 hours most of the time. 

 

None of those really works for cabs or ride share apps, but I appreciate the input. 

[expattraveler]

19 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I believe that the difference is that HAL has stops at cities that would be classified as a distant foreign port.    In the case of Celebrity from San Diego to Hawaii the only non-us port was less than 100 miles away.    Celebrity also has the Mexican Rivera out of San Pedro so I guess San Diego would also qualify. 

 

Celebrity has sailed San Diego for a California Coastal and I guess Ensanada qualified as they had a leg from San Francisco to Ensanada.   

 

Like many others -  I would love to see some sailings and a ship in San Diego or any place on the California Coast.

Jim,

 

Sorry for the delayed response, but currently on the other side of the world. 
 

I’ve been following you and lian’s travels on your many trips around the world on CC for a while. I appreciate your posts very much. Always helpful, insightful, colorful and enjoyable!
 

Although we’ve sailed on other lines, we found a sweet spot with Celebrity a while back. We live part time in San Diego. We’d like to see Celebrity do more cruises out of San Diego, or San Pedro, but that probably won’t happen.
 

As you’re most likely aware, Soltice was in San Pedro recently due to Japan restrictions. Unfortunate for Celebrity, but for us it was wonderful. We took advantage of three 7 day short, but sweet Soltice Mexican Reviera cruises out of San Pedro between January and March. They were all very good. We got to see some of our favorite Celebrity staff/crew and we only had to drive 90 minutes. No airports involved. Wonderful!  

As you elude, with restrictions due to the Jones Act, cruise lines have limited options. They also have to keep an eye on the competition and the balance sheet. In this case I believe HAL has the right ship in the right place out of San Diego for the Mexican Rivera and Hawaii cruises.

 

Wishing you an lian a great cruise on your upcoming Ponant diversion!

 

All the best…..

 

[terrydtx]

After Celebrity pulled out of the West Coast we book HAL in November for the California Coastal RT from San Diego on the newer Koingsdam. With all the cruise cancelations this month and redeployment of those ships to Florida ports it is evident where Celebrity is putting their emphasis for the future.

[JRG]

20 hours ago, MamaFej said:

Thanks. It was more of a fantasy than a serious idea. Ship berths are booked 3-4 years in advance and sports schedules are announced less than a year in advance, but a girl can dream...

 

But That's What Dreams Are Made Of.      says Sammy Haggar via Van Halen

 

The Celebrity Pull out was a bummer.  We were just beginning to exploit our home port but I think it will come back.    K-Dam is the right type of ship to service the Coast and I like it,  and I am a drive-to-port customer, lucky to be close to SD and LA.   

 

I just like the idea of talking about the potential markets, and as we do that, we should be setting the levels of class that the sophisticated baseball enthusiasts should expect as they follow their boys of summer across the cruisable coastline where their heros swing away.  Good Solid Classic Rock and Roll and other stuff is mandatory and must be the best available.  The food has to become Michelin grade (big dream) and the wine has to reflect the Class of Connoisseurs that Californians enthusiastically share with the rest of the world ,  but we want to pay the same price we pay in Total Wine (really big dream) .   And I want to eat fresh Alaskan Halibut,  which to me is number two behind Fresh Chilean SeaBass which has taken top billing.   King Crab should be avilable like the free Sushi used to be on the Celebrity Ships,  because that set them apart from the other masslines, (IMO), Or the wonderful taste of fresh Salmon cedar-plank cooked as fresh as can be,  same with the shrimp from the ports of Seattle.  All the same time watching on MLB the condensed games and recaps to keep the sports pub brewing.   The real dream is to get the regulatory-de-regulations relaxed enough to enable types of  "local harvesting"  so that cruisehips can compete or offer a better product (gourmet) food for less than the current standards,  that a sourcing model change (really, really, really big dream).   Big dreams for a Big Market.

 

3-4 years is nothing.   Think of how long the Brooklyn Dodgers fan had to wait to beat the Yankees.  We didn't have to sell our soul to you know who (your favorite martian).  We didn't have to deal with whatever LoLa Wants, Lola Gets (george), and we know who really made that running over the shoulder catch and turned and wheeled from one foot back to second base.  It wasn't Keith Hernandez as he was hidden away in the meadows, I forgot the rest of the story.  Damn Reggie, Damn Yankees.  

 

Anyway, currently, unless closed by weather, The Coaster, Metrolink, Trolley and Amtrak Pacific connect Union-Station to Santa-Fe Station in a very European Style of Travel between San Diego and LA in general, and to me that is the key to starting or ending your Cruise in and around the San Diego Port.

 

The High-speed Rail is getting closer and closer to being the real-deal and how we Travel to and from Cruises is going to change too.

 

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by JRG

[JRG]

2 minutes ago, JRG said:

All the same time watching on MLB the condensed games and recaps to keep the sports pub brewing.

 

And for those with Brewers Lip,  the IPA's of California should be served exclusively, and on tap.

[MamaFej]

Be still, my heart! Someone who appreciates baseball and musical theater! Hubby and I had season tickets to a local dinner theater for ages. Sadly, it didn't survive Covid. 

 

I just watched Damn Yankees with my daughter a couple of weeks ago. It was her first time seeing it. 

 

As for being patient, 1988 and 2020 were many years apart! I'm hoping we won't have to wait that long for another WS Championship! You gotta have heart!

 

You can have my share of IPAs. They aren't to my taste. Though I would love to see more smaller local to the itnerary breweries represented onboard.