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Start your cruise vacation from San Diego for a fabulous 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise

Introduction to San Diego

The oldest, second largest and southernmost city in the Golden State, San Diego is renowned for its perfect climate, miles of beaches and location south of the Mexican border, next to Tijuana. Originally, San Diego began as an insignificant Spanish settlement, founded in the early 19th century, and developed relatively slowly for more than a hundred years, until the 1940s, when the population grew. San Diego Bay is fabulous for sailing, and the city has a rich maritime heritage: here you’ll find the base of the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet. Today, the visitor will find a city that mixes contemporary urban design with historic Spanish architecture, brilliant sea views to the west coast with arid, rocky hills to the east, and fine dining restaurants, with typical tortillarias.

San Diego cruise port

The Cruise Terminal is located on North Harbor Drive at the B Street Pier, very close to downtown. The cruise terminal is a modern building with the usual range of facilities for cruise passengers. The cruise port piers are numbered as follows. The piers on the north side of the B Street pier are one and two, on the west three and on the south side four and five. The Broadway Pier piers are numbered identically. At both piers, piers one and two combine to dock a large cruise ship, similarly four and five. Pier three is reserved for shorter boats. Therefore, the port has the overall capacity to dock four large cruise ships simultaneously. A second terminal is under construction at the Broadway Pier, due to open in 2010.

Top 5 Things to Do in San Diego (Editor’s Choice!)

When planning a cruise from San Diego, be sure to spend a day at either end of your vacation exploring the city. Highlights include

1 USS Midway Museum
Walk south for just 5 minutes on North Harbor Drive from the cruise port to the impressive shipping ship, called the USS Midway, docked at the Navy Pier. Visit the USS Midway Museum to learn about the city’s unique naval heritage.

2 Coronado Beach
Take a short ferry to Coronado Island. A quick taxi ride across the barrier island will bring you to the island’s beach, a beautiful stretch of powdery white sand on the ocean shore. Tour the famous Hotel del Coronado, a unique example of a Victorian beach hotel.

3 San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo, located in Balboa Park, is internationally recognized for its design and amazing collection of animals. There are over seven hundred different species, living in a 100-acre creatively landscaped park. Favorites are Polar Bear Plunge, Gorilla Tropics and Tiger River. Children will enjoy the animal nursery and petting zoo.

4 Gas Lamp Quarter
The Gaslamp Quarter is possibly the most characterful section of the city. The original buildings date from the mid-19th century. Enjoy your visit to a bevy of trendy shops, restaurants, galleries, bars, sidewalk cafes, jazz clubs and nightclubs with a romantic Victorian feel mixed with a modern buzz. The neighborhood is also a hub for big parties, from music and food festivals to St. Patrick’s Day.

5 Spanish missions
San Diego has twenty-one missions, established more than two centuries ago. The main task of the missions was to convert the native Indians to the religion. The first, known as the Mother of Missions, is Mission San Diego de Alcalá. This was founded at the end of the 18th century by Father Junípero Serra. A few years after its completion, the mission was burned down in a riot, but was quickly rebuilt.

Choosing a cruise from San Diego

Choose from an incredible variety of cruises. Possibilities include the Mexican Riviera, the Hawaiian Islands, or trips through the Panama Canal to Florida. For experienced sailors, there are possibilities for routes further afield to the South Pacific or South America.
A typical Mexican Riviera itinerary offering would be visiting Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Zihuataneojo and Manzanillo (11 nights on Royal Caribbean’s Mexican Riviera).

Travel to the San Diego cruise port

From the airport
The cruise terminal is a ten minute taxi ride from the airport. Taxi pick-up areas are easy to find on the concourses of each of the airport’s three terminals.

By Amtrak
Amtrak’s main terminal in San Diego, the Santa Fe Depot, is only a fifth of a mile from the cruise port, so you can walk or take a taxi. If you walk, head west on Broadway toward the boardwalk. When you get to the bay, the cruise port is easy to see.

By car
If you are traveling south on Interstate 5, continue on the highway to downtown San Diego. Turn off at Sassafras, signposted to the airport. Follow Kettner for three quarters of a mile, until you reach Laurel. Turn right on Laurel and continue to Harbor Drive. Turn left onto Harbor Drive. The cruise port is half a mile on the right hand side.

If you are traveling north on Interstate 5, continue on the highway to downtown San Diego. Exit at Hawthorn, signposted to the airport. Follow Hawthorn to Harbor Drive. Here, turn left. The cruise port is half a mile on the right hand side. Numerous parking lots are available. It is a good idea to organize parking in advance.