Can the Cruise Industry Help Revive Downtown San Francisco?
The Carnival Luminosa is about to get a new homeport. Beginning in April 2026, Carnival Cruise Lines’ Luminosa will operate from San Francisco.
San Francisco is already a popular port of call. Norwegian and Princess Cruises frequently dock along the Embarcadero, humungous floating palaces that barely squeeze beneath the Golden Gate. Cunard Lines, operator of the world’s last ocean liner, regularly sails from the City by the Bay. At any point in the summer months you’ll see a cruise ship docked at the waterfront.
Voyagers on the Carnival Luminosa will see the fjords of Alaska on a ten-night cruise with stops in Canada, or the white sands of Mexico on a four-night trip to Baja California. The Alaskan way includes stops in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Prince Rupert with a prize viewing of Earth’s vanishing glaciers in Tracy Arm Fjord. The Mexican trip takes travellers along the Baja California Peninsula with a stop in Ensenada and two starry nights at sea.
Then it’s back to San Francisco to disembark passengers, restock supplies, and take on another set of vessel-bound sightseers.
The cruise industry could help San Francisco. Can the city deliver?
People travelling to San Francisco expect architectural and culinary splendor and, normally, we deliver. If only our summer months aligned with expectations of summer weather.
Any tourism is good tourism from a revenue perspective. It’s why an additional ship in the harbor could benefit the city. Alongside its subsidiaries Princess Cruises and Cunard Line, Carnival can feasibly improve San Francisco’s ailing tourism industry—if they deliver the goods. I can’t help but wonder, will the city meet tourists’ expectations? How much will these tourists spend on today’s San Francisco? Where, and on what?
I wouldn’t hang my hopes on any boatload of passengers dropping serious cash here just yet. In a traditional sense (shopping/dining), the offerings aren’t looking good. Shuttered storefronts are multiplying around Union Square. We’re just three months from Macy’s closing its San Francisco location. The retail giant is sticking around for one last holiday hurrah. Meanwhile, epidemics of drug abuse and homelessness continue to stain the city’s reputation here and abroad.
It feels like a mistake, relying on any one industry to salvage San Francisco’s business districts. Then again, the cruise industry isn’t just doing well after COVID-19, it’s thriving. Carnival is doing the city a favor by making it the Luminosa’s homeport. A port of call receives an influx of tourists for half a day, perhaps a full day or night. The spending window is smaller than if they set sail from the city and return, but will that be enough?
Why cruises?
Ordinarily we love a cruise here at BAS, though our budget keeps us in the sheltered waters of the Bay. Maybe we’ll all pool our earnings for one of those four-day Baja trips as an organized Brokeass retreat.
Besides pumping in meager yet measurable tourism dollars, the cruise lines are not the answer. First of all, cruises are for rich people and oddballs like my grandmother who pay in strategically earned mileage points. Secondly, the cruise industry isn’t in a position to revive downtown. They can’t lower rent at storefronts and restaurants and they can’t cap rents for those still hanging on. If anyone should repopulate San Francisco’s business and shopping districts, it should be those whom the city chronically neglects: its residents. We’re the ones who make the city after all.
Imagine sizable tax breaks for small businesses looking to open in one the city’s more hopeless places. Picture strict rent control applicable not only to apartment homes but legacy businesses as well as new establishments. Go with me, if you will, into that alternate reality. What if we had less commercial and more residential space? What if we demolished single-family housing and encouraged density in neighborhoods that can support it? How different would life be if we didn’t need Apple, Twitter, Salesforce or Carnival Cruise Lines to share the wealth?
What was I saying? That’s right. Book your cruise today! The Luminosa, which definitely wasn’t Ground Zero for COVID in the Cayman Islands, awaits.
Howdy! My name is Katy Atchison and I'm an Associate Editor for Broke-Ass Stuart.
I want to take the time to say thank you for supporting independent news media by reading BrokeAssstuart.com. Supporting independent news sources like Broke-Ass Stuart is vital to supporting our community because it amplifies the voices of a wide variety of diverse opinions. You also help support small businesses and local artists by sharing stories from Broke-Ass Stuart.
Because you're one of our supporters, I wanted to send over a pro-tip.
Our bi-weekly newsletter is a great way to get round ups of Broke-Ass Stuart stories, learn about new businesses in The Bay Area, find out about fun local events and be first in line for giveaways.
If you’d like to get our newsletter, signup right here, it takes 5 seconds.
You Might Also Like
