Escalator now operational in San Diego

Again, our experience has been much more positive. We live in San Diego and so we often use the San Diego cruise port. For example, we have sailed HAL's 7-day Mexican Riviera several times.

The last time we went to Mexico (2016) the bottleneck was clearly the port security checkpoint. The HAL boarding operations after security were running smoothly with very little additional delay. This was a particularly busy day with two HAL ships boarding, and yet HAL handled it just fine.

I suspect the complainers are people who show up early and have to deal with more crowded conditions. We don't show up at the cruise terminal until well after 1pm. It just makes life easier. This is true for any cruise port.

Likewise, we never try to do early disembarkation anymore. "Last off the ship" is our motto, especially when arriving back home in San Diego. :-)

igraf

When Holland America ran their own shoreside operations in San Diego, the port was often rated the best in the country according to guest surveys. Both embark and debark were efficient unless there was a situation beyond anyone's control (such non-US pax showing up late for immigration onboard, which delayed debark.) A few years ago when HAL decided to hire an outside company to do the work for them, customer service took a dive, and most employees quit because of it. Some remained - like David - to carry the torch and try keep some semblance of dignity and class for Holland America's guests.

Never understand why they don't use the new terminal that was built? Shortly after it was built most cruise lines left SD. Now a few use SD seasonally but still use the old terminal and tent.

Below is a description of the current cruise activity in San Diego. Well below the peak, but much more than "a few":

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/tourism/sd-fi-top-ports-20170809-story.html

The recently renovated third terminal is a multipurpose venue. No need to set up for a cruise ship when there are two other dedicated cruise terminals ready to go. Triple-ship days are currently unusual in San Diego.

igraf

Never understand why they don't use the new terminal that was built? Shortly after it was built most cruise lines left SD. Now a few use SD seasonally but still use the old terminal and tent.

Just disembarked the Oosterdam on Saturday. Requested late time, since we can drive home. Could not locate one piece of luggage. Staff assisted us, to no avail. After all passengers left, we filed paperwork with a supervisor. Enjoyed an early lunch at Fisherman Restaurant. On drive home received a call, they located the bag and it would be shipped FedEx to our home. Happy to report it was delivered at noon on Tuesday. Anyone have this experience at San Diego port?

Below is a description of the current cruise activity in San Diego. Well below the peak, but much more than "a few":

Not a few cruises, a few cruise lines use it seasonally. Only HAL and Disney use SD seasonally for embark/debark. Princess rarely uses SD and most others pop in once in awhile. The article you posted only lists a few cruise lines.

I for one wish more cruises went out of SD regularly. Itineraries along the west coast and Mexican ports that are not frequented regularly like Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, La Paz, and Manzanillo would be great. It would also be great to use the new terminal but cruise lines or the city chooses not to. Kind of like Houston build it and don't use it.

I suspect the complainers are people who show up early and have to deal with more crowded conditions. We don't show up at the cruise terminal until well after 1pm. It just makes life easier.

Likewise, we live in San Diego and always arrive at the terminal around 10:30am. We're consistently on the ship by 11:30am, no issues. Why would we wait until 'well after 1pm' to board and miss literally 3 hours of fun?

I for one wish more cruises went out of SD regularly. Itineraries along the west coast and Mexican ports that are not frequented regularly like Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, La Paz, and Manzanillo would be great.

Being from San Diego, have to agree 100%! :)

Less than a year ago Manzanillo was listed among the highest drug war casualty zones in the world.

The port of La Paz is a container port....with little within walking distance.

What would be a far better option would be for cruises from SD (as they are from SF and LA) to Portland, Astoria, Seattle, SF, and/or Vancouver.

Santa Barbara and Catalina are tender ports with weather a factor in whether you can get ashore.....and back.

The trend has been away from 7-day trips to 10-day or longer. Hawaiian cruises are less popular because of the 10 sea days in the 15-day voyage.

David

P.S. Let's all show up at 11 am and then I can read about the long lines to get into the terminal, the lack of porters, and the shortage of seating at the pier. Staggered boarding is to your advantage....it works perfectly for Disney....with 2,700 passengers. Don't you think that disembarking passengers might take until 10:30 am?

Just disembarked the Oosterdam on Saturday. Requested late time, since we can drive home. Could not locate one piece of luggage. Staff assisted us, to no avail. After all passengers left, we filed paperwork with a supervisor. Enjoyed an early lunch at Fisherman Restaurant. On drive home received a call, they located the bag and it would be shipped FedEx to our home. Happy to report it was delivered at noon on Tuesday. Anyone have this experience at San Diego port?

Just off the Nieuw Amsterdam 2 weeks ago. All the bags were off the ship at least 30 minutes before they were supposed to be, so they let us off early (30 minutes) and we quickly grabbed our bags and were in a taxi within 5 minutes of scanning off. Great experience - wish they were all so good!

Not sure why you use the term "seasonally" when San Diego operates 10 months out of the year. Even Florida gets light in the summer.

The San Diego 2017/2018 port calendar lists the following cruise lines: HAL, Disney, Residents at Sea, Princess, Oceania, Celebrity, Semester at Sea, Crystal, Costa, Azamara, NYK Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Phoenix Reisen. Many are visits rather than embarkations, but the port is being used in either case.

https://www.portofsandiego.org/document/maritime/cruise-1/8609-2017-18-cruise-san-diego-schedule/file.html

Carnival, Norwegian and Princess choose to embark out of LA/Long Beach which essentially addresses the same cruise market.

igraf

Not a few cruises, a few cruise lines use it seasonally. Only HAL and Disney use SD seasonally for embark/debark. Princess rarely uses SD and most others pop in once in awhile. The article you posted only lists a few cruise lines.

 

I for one wish more cruises went out of SD regularly. Itineraries along the west coast and Mexican ports that are not frequented regularly like Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, La Paz, and Manzanillo would be great. It would also be great to use the new terminal but cruise lines or the city chooses not to. Kind of like Houston build it and don't use it.

David/all: Can you take luggage on the escalator during walk-off's and what size luggage is permitted, e.g. can you take large suitcases? We disembarked Celebrity on September 9, 2018 and only saw the carry-on size luggage. Walk-off's were greatly discouraged because of "Port Size and walk-off's were not safe because of escalator width". Those doing walk-off's were to see the Excursion Desk. We saw walk-off's with "carry-on" luggage on the escalator.

Only hand held luggage is recommended on the escalator. One should always have a "free" hand on the moving banister, as well.

There are 2 elevators available in addition to the escalator.

Personnel are posted to evaluate every instance, but I have seen some small bags held at first, and then placed on the moving step.

Safety for yourself and the guests around you is the primary concern.

David