San Diego Port Review…

One of the most important things in cruising is the destinations and I don’t think that I talk enough about destinations here on this blog. One of the reasons I haven’t done so is because, as you know, I have yet to go on my first cruise (AHHHHH!!!! ROAR!!!) and I have been reluctant to write about places I have never been to. It’s easy to write about Alaska or Hawaii or the Caribbean and tell you different facts, that they are beautiful places or what you can do there, however it’s not so easy to write about what a place is actually like;… what it feels like. With that in mind, I have decided to write about a destination that I know very well…in fact, I have chosen to write about one of my favorite places in the world!

Ahem…

One of the saddest things about the down turn in West Coast cruising is there are some really great ports here. Los Angeles is awesome and one of the greatest ports in the world (really I am not biased just cause I live there), Catalina is charming (or so I hear…I have never actually been there…but everyone I know who has seems to like it), and the Mexican Riviera has a lot going for it. But there is one port here that I don’t think gets the attention that it deserves…California’s second largest city and one of its most charming…San Diego.

San Diego has been hit pretty hard by the lack of cruise ships here in California lately. For several years there has been a ship based out of San Diego sailing to places like Hawaii, or, of course, Mexico. However, with the mass exodus going on here, calls in the city have dropped, and the two ships based there for part of the year – Holland America’s Oosterdam and Carnival’s Carnival Spirit (Actually Spirit will start her season there later this year) – will be leaving San Diego for the suddenly relevant Australian cruise market! It’s a real shame though because San Diego is really a great city (in fact, if I couldn’t live in on by Los Angeles, I would choose San Diego) and a great cruise port whether you are based there or just calling.

Located in the southern part of Southern California, close to Mexico, San Diego is one of the West Coast’s most historic cities (it is the oldest European settlement in California and the West Coast), playing host to the first of California’s 21 Spanish Missions, Sea World, a historic old town, numerous tourist attractions, hundreds of great eateries, and one of the oldest and most important ports on the west coast. The city’s Downtown core sits right next to the San Diego Cruise Terminal(s) on the beautiful San Diego Bay. The design, culture and layout of San Diego make it to me an ideal cruise port…in fact, I wish Los Angeles (and other ports) would take a note from San Diego on some points.

One of the best things about SD (that’s San Diego for short) as a cruise port is the fact that many of SD best amenities are within walking distance of the cruise terminals. San Diego International Airport (the second busiest single runway airport in the world) is less then a mile away; the historic aircraft carrier USS Midway, the quaint and trendy Seaport Village, The San Diego Convention Center (home of Comic Con), the train station, Downtown San Diego, the San Diego Maritime Museum (which has the Star of India – the world’s oldest active merchant vessel – on display, among others), Petco Park, many great hotels & resorts, the ferry to Coronado Island, and much more is all right next to or within a few blocks of the cruise terminal. Other great amenities such as Balboa Park with its many museums and gardens, the world famous San Diego Zoo, historic Point Loma, Mission Bay with its many different attractions, fancy La Jolla, and Sea World are just a short (like maybe 5 minutes) car, train or bike ride away…I can personally vouch for the above mentioned attractions…they are all fun!

(San Diego Skyline at night)

The city is huge! With a population of over 1,307,000 people the city is one of the largest in the USA (number 8 I think), and second in California, but at the same time it doesn’t feel like a huge huge city in the way that cities like New York or Los Angeles does…I mean it feels big but not in that densely packed, rush rush, hustle bustle kind of way. SD has a cool and laid back attitude to it. Its cool and sophisticated but at the same time doesn’t try to be (if you can figure out what that means). It has the typical Southern California beach city vibe with a bit of Los Angeles, Miami and Navy town (the US Navy has a big presence in SD) thrown in. It’s a little hard to describe but its is definitely distinctive and unique (in a good way). A world class city!

San Diego is also a pretty good city for shipspotting! Like I alluded to above, when docking in SD, cruise ship dock right in the heart of Downtown SD, almost like the old piers on the West Side of Manhattan, NYC. And just like in NYC, you can stand practically underneath the bow of the ships! Also good for shipspotting is the fact that ships have to travel several miles into the bay to get to the cruise terminals…this gives you many different great vantage points to watch to ships sail from.

SD has many great hotels for you to choose from, which is great for any post or pre cruise stays. Across the streets from the cruise terminal is the Holiday Inn, with one of my favorite restaurants in the city – Elephant & Castle – located on the bottom floor; however if you would prefer something a little more special then a Holiday Inn then you have the wonderful Manchester Grand Hyatt –- one of the largest Hotel/resorts on the West Coast with 2 very tall towers (some of the tallest in the city) and amazing views over the city, bay and the ocean beyond- - located just a couple of blocks away, as well as the beautiful (from what I hear) new Hilton, the Omni (which overlooks Petco Park) and the Marriot (next to the convention center) all within walking distance. If you want a slightly quieter experience then I would suggest my favorite place to stay in SD; in one of the 5 hotels on Shelter Island, located in the north- west section of San Diego Bay near Point Loma and with marvelous views of Downtown, the Bay, Point Loma, North Island and the Coronado Bridge….however this is a couple of miles from the cruise terminal and might be to far to walk for most.

There are many other options, including Paradise Point Resort on Mission Bay, very close to Sea World, the world famous and very beautiful Hotel Coronado, and many many more.

As far as food and drink options go, SD is full of them! The Gas Lamp district in Downtown has many trendy bars and restaurants, Seaport Village (also in Downtown by the cruise terminals) has many also (Including one of my favorites, The Harbor House). There is the very good Fish Market (which serves more then just fish…though I have to say that the sword fish was very good!) located across the quay from the USS Midway. Next to the cruise terminals you will also find ‘Anthony’s’ a restaurant I have been going to since I was a little kid (it has very good clam chowder!). I won’t list anymore here but there are many many more great place to eat.

If you are looking for culture SD offers some great options! There is the extensive Balboa Park with its many different museums - ranging from Natural History, art, Auto History and Aviation history -, gardens, parks, theaters - including the world largest outdoor pipe organ and its dedicated pavilion – , and the world famous San Diego Zoo. Other museums around the city include the Maritime Museum – with the Star of India, the Berkley, two submarines, the Surprise (the ship used in Masters and Commanders) and other boats, the retired aircraft carrier, the USS Midway, and the historic Cabrillo National Monument (commemorating the first landing of a European expedition on what would become the West Coast),and the Old Point Loma Lighthouse.

I could go on and on some more about the many great things about the city, like its beautiful scenery at Point Loma, Torrey Pines State Beach, Sunset Cliffs and else where, or then many other entertainment options like the shops, malls, theaters and other attractions, but for the sake of time and the length of this article…I won’t.

In conclusion…whether or not you are sailing to or from San Diego, or even not sailing at all; this is a great city definitely worth a visit! There are many different things about the city that I have not mentioned here (not even I have seen the whole city, and I have been there dozens of times) so you have much to discover here! Hopefully, the California cruise market will pick up again, bringing more people to this great city!

California Cruising

With my recent article about Carnival and the exodus from Los Angeles and the rest of Southern California, I thought it might be interesting to talk a little bit about cruising out of California, and what I think should happen in the future as far as California cruising and destinations go.

First, why is California having these problems?

Cruising from California is failing for a number of reasons. First, there is the violence in Mexico. People are scared to travel there (at least this side of Mexico) even though Mexican officials and port officials, as well as the industry, point out that the touristy areas are not affected or dangerous. People don’t see it that way and the numbers reflect that (apparently).

Secondly, the infamous Swine Flu (da da da daaa!!) also bit into the Mexican Riviera cruise passenger numbers. When the outbreak first occurred, the cruise lines moved ships from the Riviera to California and Canadian coastal cruises that went up to Vancouver and Victoria, BC and San Francisco. This affected many passengers and the bottom line for the cruise lines, as some people just cancelled their cruise altogether. (Funnily enough some people actually really liked the altered itineraries).

Thirdly, Southern California’s economy is sluggish at the moment. With the recession hitting CA pretty hard (haha!! we are still richer then all you puny other states! Just playing!!!) and even if the ships are sailing full, this causes problems for the industry as the sluggish economy drives down cruise prices in the region, and subsequently, profits.

Fourthly, a problem that port officials here in California like to point out, is that Mexico has failed miserably to market and advertise its ports and the uniqueness of each one. Because of this many people are just not really interested in the ports on the Mexican Riviera because they know nothing about them or why they would be a good cruising destination.

Fifthly, I think there is a lack of choices on this side of the continent. Out here we have the big 3 mass market lines…Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and NCL. Other than that, lines usually only sail really short seasons here, or just stop in on their way to Alaska, Panama or Asia. Carnival, RCI and NCL are all great, but what if you want a Cunard or Celebrity Cruises experience? You’re out of luck.



The last problem I will list here today is destinations, and the things limiting them for the west coast. You see, one of the biggest problems facing the cruise industry in California is a lack of varied itineraries. On a 7 day cruise out of California, you have the Mexican Riviera and that’s pretty much it. You can go to Hawaii, Costa Rica, Panama or Canada but all those cruises take longer then a week, and in the case of Hawaii, you can’t even cruise from CA to Hawaii without first stopping in Mexico or Canada, according to federal law. That law is also the reason you don’t see cruises of the west coast.

Which brings me to what the future should hold for CA, in my opinion…

This law should be changed. California has many coastal cities like, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Pismo Beach, Monterey, Eureka, San Simeon or San Francisco that would benefit greatly from cruise business. The problem with this is the Jones Act; a federal law that requires that foreign flag ships stop at a foreign port between traveling from one US port to another. Back in the day of ships being the only way to get around, this was done as a way to give American Shipping companies an edge over foreign competition. Forcing foreign ships to first stop in a port out side the US meant that foreign ships could not keep the same schedules that American ships could, and it also meant that they could not service routes like New York to Florida, or California to Hawaii.

Back in the day this might have been a good idea, but now-a-days it’s a problem in some cases…this is one of them. Cruises from L.A. up the California Coast could be really popular and could generate millions and millions of dollars for the local economies of the cities cruises would go to. Not to mention it could help turn around the cruise industry on the west coast by giving more options to the cruising public and the industry. It could also open up cruising to Hawaii and give more options in Alaska, Washington and Oregon. Most cruise ships are flagged in foreign countries like the Bahamas or Panama or England so all these good ports are, for all intents and purposes, cut off.

Like I said in my last article though, I think the California based cruise industry will start to pick up again soon. Maybe in 2012! The port of Los Angeles is investing over one billion dollars into the surrounding area and into a new cruise terminal as a way to attract more ships and cruise lines. Southern California is a great place and it would be a real shame for cruise ships to keep leaving here. Also like I said, California is one of the largest cruise markets in the country, behind FL, and it would make little sense to leave CA.

We will have to see what the future hold for California. I think it’s going to be good! Maybe a Cunard ship will be based out here all year round!! AHHHH!!!! Dream come true!

P.S.- My Dearest and most beautiful Cunard,
Please let me visit next week!!!!! PLEASE!!!
I love you always and forever!
Yours forever…
- Mark