S.D. Hopes to Lure New Cruise Ship Trade

Dwarfed by Los Angeles’ port facilities and population, San Diego has often been overlooked by major cruise lines searching for a port to call upon.

But, with more and more vacationers taking to the sea--industry observers say more than 3.2 million North Americans went on cruises last year and expect such numbers to exceed 10 million by the year 2000--cruise lines are building ships in record numbers and searching for new ports to visit.

As a result, industry experts say, cruise lines are finally taking note of San Diego, the city’s attractive harbor and its proximity to exotic locations along the Mexican Riviera.

“When we’re considering a home port, we’re looking for a site where our passengers would want to go a day or two early and spend some time before they go on their cruise,” said Joyce Mirabile, a spokeswoman for B.S.L. Cruises, the Teaneck, N.J.-based company that operates the Bermuda Star. In 1987, the 717-passenger vessel became the first and only cruise ship to home-port in San Diego.

The Bermuda Star makes seven-day, round-trip cruises to the Mexican Riviera from November through April that depart San Diego once a week.

“We’re delighted with San Diego,” said Mirable, adding that the Bermuda Star increased its sailings to 24 in the period of November 1988 through April 1989, from 13 sailings between January and April of 1988. Over that same time, passengers increased from 7;,700 to 16,340.

Two other major cruise ships now make regular stops at San Diego’s B Street and Broadway piers but are not home-ported here. They are the SS Azure Seas, which is run by Miami-based Admiral Cruises, and the MS Southward, run by Norwegian Cruise Line, headquartered in Coral Gables. Both boats start from Los Angeles and make four-day round trips to Ensenada. Both ships accommodate about 750 passengers

Attention from cruise lines is beginning to focus on San Diego’s potential as a cruise port, according to the San Diego Cruise Industry Consortium, which was established by the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau in 1983, shortly after the SS Azure Seas announced it would begin making calls in San Diego. The consortium was charged with capturing a greater share of the $7-billion annual cruise market for the city.

That potential has already been realized to some extent. San Diego cruise traffic in 1988 totaled 123,247 passengers, up from 28,936 in 1983, said Donald H. Harrison, the consortium’s director. During that same time, the number of port visits to San Diego increased from 54 to 530, and the number of ships visiting the city quadrupled to 17. Harrison said 12 cruise lines visited San Diego last year, up from four in 1983.

Surge in Popularity

The increase in San Diego port activity is directly linked to the surge in popularity of the cruise industry, industry observers say. According to the Cruise Lines International Assn., a New York-based trade association with 35 cruise line members, the number of cruise passengers nationwide has been increasing at an average annual rate of 10.5% since 1980.

Industry observers attribute such growth to cruise lines’ increased advertising efforts, the growing hordes of baby boomers, and the industry’s attempt to cater cruises to meet the modern-day vacationer’s need.

“In the past, cruises seemed to attract older people,” said Carolyn Speidel, a CLIA spokeswoman. “They were the only ones who had the time and the money to go on these long leisurely cruises. But gone are the days of shuffleboard cruises.”

Nowadays, cruises have become shorter--reflecting shorter vacation periods--and offer a variety of activities, such as health and fitness programs, educational seminars and celebrity entertainment to lure more baby boomers, Speidel said. Now, 50% of all cruise passengers are between the ages of 25 and 39, she added.

Attracting record number of passengers however does not come cheap to the cruise lines. According to a survey completed two weeks ago by Cruise Industry News, a New York-based newsletter, cruise lines are expected to spend $50 million for television advertising in 1989, up from $35 million last year. Television advertising is expected to rise another 50% in 1990.

Total industry advertising is now about $250 million, said Oivind Mathisen, the newsletter’s editor and publisher.

In addition, the cruise industry is prospering, because most people who go on sea voyages seem to enjoy their vacations, CLIA officials say. “More than 70% of the passengers say they’re likely to take another one,” Speidel said.

Besides repeat vacationers, Harrison says, cruise lines have plenty of other people to attract. “Less than 10% of Americans have ever taken a cruise,” Harrison said. “It’s a tremendous, untapped market.”

Such industry growth is in San Diego’s favor, said Mathisen, the newsletter editor. “There are more and more ships coming on line. These ships have to be home-ported somewhere.”

By 1991, 22 new ships are expected to be added to the industry’s existing 117 cruise ships, defined as vessels with a capacity for 500 or more passengers and that sail in ocean waters, according to Mathisen.

Attractive Alternative

“Being L.A.’s little brother in this business is always going to be an obstacle for San Diego,” Mathisen said. “But, at the same time, everybody knows about L.A.’s massive traffic problem and its busy airport. When you consider these two factors, San Diego becomes a very attractive alternative.”

Local officials say they are actively pitching such advantages to the major cruise lines hoping to lure their business to the city. Why? By bringing more cruise lines to San Diego, the city can net more tourism dollars.

“It’s hard to say exactly how much the city will get,” said Mathisen, “It could range from the vacationer who just spends $10 in the city to hop a cab to get to the ship to sail, or to the vacationer who spends a day or two in the city. If that happens, a person is likely to spend more than $125 per day.”