Princess Cruises plans to be involved in Los Angeles cruise upgrades (updated)

These ambitions came out in a recent draft request for proposals, with comments due by March 3.

'There is no doubt that the Port of Los Angeles needs a new terminal in these locations, and the collaboration between the city, the port and Princess Cruises working together, as well as the other brands of Carnival Corporation, to align behind getting that commitment will be a wonderful thing,' Padgett said during a Thursday briefing with Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.

'To me, it can't come soon enough, so we should really focus on being efficient, being effective, listening to our guests, partnering together and getting that facility to reality as soon as reasonably possible,' Padgett urged.

'Reviewing the RFP to assess how we will participate'

In a statement to Seatrade Cruise News, Princess Cruises said: 'We are reviewing the draft RFP to assess how we will participate and will commit and contribute to the project materially.'

This updates information that was provided earlier by a Carnival Corp. spokesperson.

'Love Boat' brought cruising into the mainstream

Princess and the Port of Los Angeles have a decades-long history and brought cruising into the mainstream with the 1970s show 'The Love Boat.'

Half the Princess fleet calls Los Angeles home for half the year and it is where cruises embark to Mexico and access Hawaii and the South Pacific, and reposition to South America/Antarctica and Alaska. 

Discovery Princess, the line's newest ship, is among them. Its first embarkation was staged using tents at the Outer Harbor, where the new terminal is planned.

More Princess ships in North America

Princess is a global cruise line, with 330 destinations, Padgett said, adding the world's pandemic recovery has not been equal.

'Asia is still complicated. We repositioned those assets back to North America and we're seeing very nice growth ... Our assets are mobile and they will stay where the guest volume and demand is at. The more demand out of LA, the more of our assets will be there and the more we will be leveraging the Port of LA.'

According to Padgett, California is a top drive market for cruising. And, as LA's hometown cruise line, Princess wants the port to have world-class facilities for its guests.

Each cruise call generates $1m impact

For his part, Seroka reiterated each cruise call represents $1m for the local economy. By end of the port's fiscal year, June 30, it will reach the 1m passenger mark, the highest figure in years.

Seroka added there's growing interest in developing the Outer Harbor for cruise ships. The draft RFP 'has folks from all over the world talking with us about that guest experience,' he said.