Cruise Ship Makes Rare Local Stopover

The ship came in for 80 local travelers Thursday.

For the first time in 27 years, a cruise ship--the 500-passenger Radisson Seven Seas Navigator--docked in the harbor to pick up passengers.

The ship was met by a number of local officials, along with 80 passengers who boarded to set sail for Alaska.

Though it took a scheduling problem by Santa Barbara Harbor officials to bring the cruise ship to an alternate docking and pickup location, officials said the future could bring more ships to Port Hueneme.

“I can see where we can have this occur more,” said Will Berg, the director of marketing and trade zone services for the Oxnard Harbor District, which operates the local seaports.

“This is a great place,” Berg said. “I don’t see us being a major cruise destination, but two or three cruise ships a year wouldn’t be bad.”

The Port of Hueneme is the only deep-water harbor between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay. It serves as the U.S. port of entry for California’s Central Coast region.

Port Hueneme Mayor Murray Rosenbluth also spoke optimistically about the area’s cruise future.

“While we’re not big enough to have a cruise originate or terminate here, I know we can still host these types of stopovers,” Rosenbluth said.