The cruise industry’s “restart” in 2022 is creating new opportunities including new home ports for some lines. For the first time in its 50-year history, Carnival Cruise Line has set sail from its new home port of San Francisco, CA.
On Thursday, the 2,124-passenger Carnival Miracle departed the Port of San Francisco for an initial, four-day Baja Mexico cruise. That ship will offer two types of cruises from San Francisco through this summer’s end – four- and five-day Baja Mexico voyages and also a series of 11 10-day Alaska voyages.
“After years of anticipation, Carnival Cruise Line is thrilled to be sailing out of the Port of San Francisco for the first time,” says Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “We’re proud to join the San Francisco community, support the revival of the tourism economy and open up exciting travel options to beautiful destinations for those living in and visiting the Bay Area.”
Alaska Bound
For its Alaska sailings, Carnival Miracle will offer such port calls as Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Skagway and Icy Strait Point, AK; scenic cruising through Tracy Arm fjord; and calls at Victoria, BC, Canada. Destinations will vary depending on the departure date. The San Francisco home porting will culminate with a 15-day Carnival Journeys cruise to Hawaii, departing September 15, 2022
The new Carnival Miracle sailings are part of what will be Carnival’s largest Alaska deployment in history. In total, three Carnival ships will make 49 departures this season to Alaska from San Francisco and Seattle.
And in just a few days, Carnival Splendor will sail from Seattle to Alaska -- marking the return to service of Carnival’s entire fleet of 23 ships. That will be the first time since early 2020 that all the line's ships are sailing with guests aboard.
Expanding the Market
Carnival’s new sailings from San Francisco’s J.R. Herman Cruise Terminal at Pier 27 will not only expand the line’s West Coast offerings, but also further strengthen its market position. With an almost 40-year presence on the West Coast, the line currently boards more cruise passengers at California ports than any other cruise line. It’s operated a home port at Long Beach, CA, for two decades.
Elaine Forbes, executive director, Port of San Francisco, said that “Carnival Miracle will set sail on 19 voyages from the Port of San Francisco drawing thousands of passengers and crew to our city helping to drive the economic recovery of the waterfront.”
Forbes noted that each cruise call at the Port of San Francisco supports a network of mostly small and family-owned businesses at Fisherman’s Wharf, the Embarcadero and other areas within the port.
In addition to Carnival Miracle at San Francisco, Carnival Radiance and Carnival Panorama also operate year-round from Long Beach and offer itineraries to the Mexican Riviera.
For more information, visit www.carnival.com.