San Diego’s cruise industry is facing an economic hit as major cruise companies, from Disney to Holland America, are now canceling scheduled sailings well into the remainder of 2020 due to the still serious threat of COVID.
At a time when the port city would normally be getting ready to launch in September its fall-to-spring season, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has extended its no-sail order through September 30, while cruise companies have decided to take more aggressive steps, with some canceling planned sailings into mid-December 2020.
In all, Port San Diego CA is losing 49 cruise ship calls accounting for ~174,000 tourists. In terms of passengers, that represents ~40% drop in what the port city had been expecting for season 2020.
Prior to the Coronavirus crisis, there were 137 scheduled port calls and expected ~450,000 cruise passenger between September-May 2021 - the highest in a decade - after San Diego started rebuilding its cruise shipping industry post-recession.
With the cancellation of 49 ship calls, the estimated hit to the local economy is ~USD 79 million, according to port officials. Of the 49 canceled visits, 12 are by Disney and 17 by HAL-Holland America Line, which operates the largest number of departures from San Diego.