Los Angeles Cruise Port

It’s not the first thought for an American port, but on 22nd November, San Pedro will have more than 17,000 passengers from cruise ships passing through it. It will be the busiest day ever for the Port of Los Angeles World Cruise Center.

There will be three ships arriving and leaving: Golden Princess and Star Princess, both with a 2,700 cruise passenger capacity, will be dropping off one holiday group and picking up others for cruises to Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, while Mariner of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s biggest baby, will be finishing one seven day cruise to Mexico and picking up another 3,150 passengers for the same itinerary. She is the largest cruise ship to sail from Los Angeles year round.

The Port of Los Angeles hit its peak in 2005, when nearly 1.22 million passengers boarded cruises, but that number is expected to drop to an estimated 839,000 passengers by the end of this year, according to a port-funded study released in July. The port is the largest cruise ship centre on the West Coast of the United States and contains three ship berths, capable of handling more than 1 million passengers annually. The newly renovated World Cruise Center is claimed by the port to be "America's most secure cruise passenger complex" with security-patrolled long term parking lot for 2560 car and courtesy shuttles to transport passengers and luggage between the parking and the terminal.