CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES launched the Port of San Diego's first year-round cruise program last week when the 2,052-passenger Elation departed on a four-day cruise to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The Elation will operate four- and five-day cruises to Cabo San Lucas departing Thursdays, Mondays and Saturdays. In the winter, the Elation will be joined by the 2,124-passenger Carnival Spirit, which operates eight-day Mexican Riviera voyages from San Diego between October and April. Combined, the Elation and the Carnival Spirit are expected to carry more than 230,000 passengers annually from the port, the most of any cruise operator.
ALSO HEADING WEST is the Mariner of the Seas, which Royal Caribbean International will send to Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2009. It will be the largest Royal Caribbean ship, and the first Voyager-class vessel, to be deployed on the West Coast. The vessel will offer 27 seven-day sailings to the Mexican Riviera from its Los Angeles homeport, calling on ports including Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.
