Port of San Diego Welcomes Royal Caribbean International

The Port of San Diego said the 2009-10 cruise season will feature new business from Royal Caribbean International. The cruise line announced last week that it will offer seasonal four- and five-day cruises to the Mexican Riviera on the Radiance of the Seas beginning in September 2009. In addition, cruise travelers will be able to sail on the Radiance of the Seas from San Diego to Valparaiso, Chile, in December 2009.

Another Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the Serenade of the Seas, will be making trips across the Panama Canal in 2009. These itineraries include a trip from San Diego to Miami in October 2009 and a voyage to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in November.

Each homeport cruise ship call at the Port of San Diego has an economic impact of about $2 million. This figure is derived from the average amount that a cruise ship passenger spends while in the San Diego region, along with the employment associated with serving the cruise ship and the many businesses and services that support it.

They include food companies, linen services, trucking companies, fuel companies, landside tour companies and florists. The Radiance of the Seas and the Serenade of the Seas each have capacity for about 2,500 passengers and nearly 900 crew members.

In 2007, the Port of San Diego had 238 cruise calls with over 700,000 passengers. By the end of 2008, the port anticipates that number to jump to 252 cruises and over 800,000 passengers. Nine cruise lines currently call at San Diego.