Why not out of LA?

[DnA2010]

So why doesn't DCl sail out of LA? wouldn't it make more sense, given Disneyland and all?

I know you all will have the answer

 

[EllinK]

I'm with you. Several years back DCL did sail to the Mexican Riviera out of Long Beach and it was a very smooth process. Last year we were on a CA coastal cruise out os San Diego and it was a nightmare.

 

[DLgal]

.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So why doesn't DCl sail out of LA? wouldn't it make more sense, given Disneyland and all?

I know you all will have the answer

Maybe the port costs? Don't know for sure, possibly San Diego costs less and they get better services than San Pedro.

 

[OKW Lover]

I believe that Disney stopped sailing out of the LA area because the cruises they were doing stopped at a few ports in Mexico that were having some serious unrest/crime problems.

 

[anricat]

I believe that Disney stopped sailing out of the LA area because the cruises they were doing stopped at a few ports in Mexico that were having some serious unrest/crime problems.

Except that they still sail out of San Diego and the ports can't be that different, can they? I mean, they are only a couple hours apart by car (plus or minus, depending on traffic).

 

[OKW Lover]

Except that they still sail out of San Diego and the ports can't be that different, can they?

Is DCL doing regular sailings from there now? It might be that things have improved in those ports by now as this was a few years ago.

I would guess that any decision to do regular sailings from SD (or LA) would be based on a comparison of what the vessel could get sailing that itinerary vs any other route. Factored into that are things like competition on the route, cost to sail it (specific to the route, not the sunk costs of ship and crew), interest in the ports by DCL's core customer group and the value of any tie-in with the parks. However, that tie-in with the parks is kind of difficult to measure as the parks themselves need to stand on their own.

 

[lanejudy]

The current itineraries on the west coast are relatively new, as DCL had stopped the Mexican Riviera cruises for a few years due to safety concerns. Just guessing, but maybe DCL lost their "spot" in LA during that time and had to go with a berth San Diego?

 

[DCSWO]

This may be a little biased as I was stationed in San Diego a total of 8 years in my prior life but I have sailed into both ports many times (on grey ships).

- The port costs are likely lower for San Diego than Long Beach.
- The cruise terminal in San Diego is right downtown, near numerous hotels and attractions, less than 2 miles from the airport, with a more picturesque transit out to sea; in short San Diego = pretty port.
- Long Beach terminal is a mile+ from town and pretty much in the commercial port which means more commercial shipping to deal with coming into and out of port, and not much to see besides the Queen Mary, unless you like shipping containers. In short Long Beach = ugly port.
- Long Beach does have 3 airport options to fly into: LAX, Long Beach and John Wayne whereas San Diego just has 1.
- San Diego is 90ish miles closer to the Mexican ports so 180miles per trip for ship time/fuel adds up.
- There is no doubt PLENTY to do in the LA area before/after a cruise but it is much more spread out and most people know LA traffic is not pretty. San Diego is a much smaller metropolitan area and it has the Zoo, Sea World, Gas Lamp district, Coronado and Old Town close to the cruise terminal and more attractions a bit farther out (Wild Animal Park, LEGOLAND, etc.). If someone really wants to tie in a trip to DL from San Diego, it's 1.5-2 hours away by car depending on the time of day. It's still about half an hour from the Long Beach terminal to DL.

 

[undertheradar]

Perhaps California and the excessive state laws that apply to California, are impacting basing more cruises out of LA. That and the limited itineraries due to the ships International registries.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Perhaps California and the excessive state laws that apply to California, are impacting basing more cruises out of LA. That and the limited itineraries due to the ships International registries.

The question is "Why San Diego, and not Los Angeles?" Both are California cities.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think the “pretty port” argument is strong. After all, I don’t know if any lines that use Ballantyne (where we cruised from in 2003) up in Vancouver anymore. Canada Place is so much nicer.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We did our West Coast cruise out of Long Beach. Once the sun went down, we hunkered down in the hotel. Didn't feel safe around San Pedro. The new San Diego Port Terminal had just been completed. Maybe that had an impact on DCL's decision not to cruise out of Long Beach anymore? I much prefer San Diego and will be leaving from there for our EBPC later this year.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The new San Diego Port Terminal had just been completed. Maybe that had an impact on DCL's decision not to cruise out of Long Beach anymore?

DCL moved to San Diego several years ago. Not recently.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

DCL moved to San Diego several years ago. Not recently.

I know. My West Coast cruise was 2012.

 

[undertheradar]

The question is "Why San Diego, and not Los Angeles?" Both are California cities.

The op's question concerned why not out of LA, there was no indication of San Diego. I still believe that California state laws and requirements are a detriment to encouraging increased DCL sailings from within the state of California.

 

[DCSWO]

San Diego is part of the conversation because that is the west coast U.S. port that all DCL cruises leave out of now.

 

[GPaLarry]

We did our DCL EBPC out of LA in 2008. Son and family live in LA so joining us was easy. I agree with those above who believe DL would be a draw. When the new ships are launched, we hope at least one will focus on Long Beach and Hawaii.
Now, we live in Portland, OR, and hope that Astoria will become a cruise hub, too...long shot, I know. We have pirates around here, mostly young granddaughters, who will try to make this happen.

 

[ludari]

In the past I've done four Disney Cruises from the LA port. I also heard last week that the Long Beach Cruise Terminal celebrated a grand reopening and expansion but currently that terminal supports Carnival so I doubt if DCL would use it but I'm no expert on those matters. Considering that I am in LA I would like to see DCL return to LA, however I don't mind sailing out of San Diego either since I take Amtrak from/to the port area which is convenient.

 

[jane01jp]

We did a DCL cruise out of Long Beach that sailed April 1, 2012. We spent three days at DL prior to the cruise. It was a great trip, even though the weather was cold and windy in the LA area.