San Diego Cruise Season 2025/2026: A Local's Guide to Traffic, Crowds and Waterfront Buzz
It happens every year. Right when we get our beaches back, the “other” tourists arrive. The “Cruise Enthusiasts”. That’s right, the 2025/2026 cruise season at the San Diego Port has officially begun.
San Diego Cruise Season 2025/2026: By the Numbers
Right now, Holland and the Norwegian Cruise Line seasons are in full swing. Disney will join the regular rotation in March next year. Their season is shorter than the other two. Among the regular rotations, the occasional Princess, Royal Caribbean, and a few sporadic other lines will stop by just for a visit.
With the cruise ships come throngs of visitors. We are talking thousands of people per ship.
Some come simply to visit for a day, while others travel to San Diego to board one of the ships, complete the itinerary, and travel out of San Diego. Some stay to explore San Diego, and others beeline to and from the airport before and after their cruise.
Navigating San Diego Traffic on Cruise Ship Days
This means that the traffic on cruise ship days is greatly affected at the Harbor. The streets can get very busy with the excursion buses, transport buses (to and from the airport), the major taxi business, and all of the ride-share traffic. In short, it’s a semi-contained mess.
Despite the controlled chaos, all of this is great for San Diego. It’s fantastic tourism income. It’s very common for cruisers to arrive the day before and stay a day or two after, so the surrounding hotels and restaurants get a boost in business.
The Busiest Spots: The Embarcadero and Waterfront Crowds
On cruise ship days (typically Saturdays and Sundays, with Saturday being the busiest), vendors line the Embarcadero all the way from the cruise terminal south to Seaport Village and north past Waterfront Park. The foot traffic can be enormous, depending on how many ships are in port that day. With Norwegian Cruise Line adding San Diego as a start-and-stop port, there is rarely only one ship in port at a time.
I reviewed the schedule and didn’t find any three-ship days this season, but that could change. There are a few busy weeks in April, with 1–2 cruise ships in port each day for four days, along with a couple of five-day streaks on the schedule.
In contrast, February is one of the slower months, and finally, the season slows down and wraps up by the end of May.
Also, as a side note, if you enjoy Carnitas’ Snack Shack or the Lane Field Park Market on the weekends, both get very busy with all the cruisers.
Earning Extra: Capitalizing on the San Diego Tourist Boom
Even though the traffic and tourists can test your patience, it can be an excellent opportunity to earn some money if you work in the tourism industry, drive a taxi, or drive a rideshare vehicle.
Find the Full San Diego Port Cruise Ship Schedule Online
If you want to know the cruise schedule to earn a little extra money from tourists, or to avoid the area during busy times, you can find the full schedule easily at two sites.
The easiest to follow is at Cruisemapper HERE.
The other one is the San Diego Port calendar itself, which you can find HERE.
Embracing San Diego's Cruise Season Energy and Tourism Boost
Love it or loathe it, cruise season is as much a part of San Diego as fish tacos and perfect sunsets. Cruise season brings its own kind of buzz to the waterfront. It can be chaotic at times, but there’s something special about watching travelers experience San Diego for the first time. Every port city has its rhythm, and ours runs on sunshine, sea air, and a steady stream of cruise ships from fall to spring. It might mean heavier traffic and longer waits at your favorite spots, but it also brings energy, excitement, and travelers discovering what we already know — San Diego is worth the trip.
- J.S. Whaldo
