The fall cruise season at the Port of Los Angeles sails into high season on Saturday, Sept. 26, as three cruise ships dock simultaneously at the World Cruise Center, with about 14,000 cruise passengers disembarking and embarking onto the ships over the course of the day.

Between approximately 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., video and still photographers can capture images of the three cruise ships berthed at the World Cruise Center in San Pedro. The 2,800-passenger Princess Sapphire, 2,250-passenger Norwegian Pearl and 2,250-passenger Norwegian Star will be unloading and loading passengers throughout the day at berths 91, 92 and 93. The “Princess Class” ships that routinely operate out of the Port accommodate an average of 4,000 passengers and crew. However, a new generation of larger, taller ships — like the L.A.-homeported Voyager Class Mariner of the Seas, which carries as many as 5,000 passengers and crew and calls at the Port of Los Angeles each Sunday — must sail backward down the Port’s Main Channel in order to berth at the Port’s current Inner Harbor cruise terminal.

Expansion Proposed to Meet Future L.A. Cruise Demands

On Tuesday, Sept. 29th, the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners will consider a comprehensive San Pedro Waterfront Project Final Environmental Impact Statement/Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIS/FEIR) that calls for a variety of enhancements and public access improvements between the Vincent Thomas Bridge and Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor. Included in the Port’s proposed redevelopment of the San Pedro Waterfront is a plan to create additional cruise facilities in the Outer Harbor in order to provide more berth space on high-capacity days (like tomorrow) and more easily accommodate larger cruise vessels as the cruise tourism industry continues to grow over the coming decades.

During 2006, the most active cruise year to date at the Port, cruise operations generated more than $281 million in regional economic activity, including more than 2,500 jobs, $87.5 million in wages/income, and $11.2 million in state and local taxes. In the Harbor Area, cruise passengers and crew members spent more than $23 million, while cruise lines spent more than $65 million in ship supplies and services.

The Port of Los Angeles is America’s premier port and has a strong commitment to developing innovative strategic and sustainable operations that benefit the economy as well as the quality of life for the region and the nation it serves. As the leading seaport in North America in terms of shipping container volume and cargo value, the Port generates 919,000 regional jobs and $39.1 billion in annual wages and tax revenues. A proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles, the Port is self-supporting and does not receive taxpayer dollars.