Bomb Threat Scare Leads to Lockdown at San Diego Cruise Terminal
Key Aspects:
On the morning of March 30, a bomb threat temporarily threw the Port of San Diego into a lockdown.
After a two-hour investigation, authorities thankfully determined that the cruise terminal was safe.
Only Disney Wonder was in the port, and the ship had to temporarily delay its debarkation process.
A scary situation unfolded at the Port of San Diego on the morning of March 30, 2026, while Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wonder was in the California port.
ABC 10 News San Diego reported that the B Street Cruise Terminal in downtown San Diego was put into a lockdown at approximately 7 a.m. due to an “unspecified bomb threat.” Disney was not allowed to disembark passengers during this time.
Harbor Police Sgt. Jose Torres told the news outlet that a port employee received the threat just before the lockdown and that both officers and Explosive Detection Canine Units were brought in to investigate out of an “abundance of caution.”
About two hours later, at approximately 9 a.m., police officers determined that the cruise terminal was safe and the disembarkation process was allowed to continue normally.
No further details have been released about the threat and where it came from, but Cruise Hive will continue to monitor for updates in this developing situation.
The Impact to Disney Wonder
As of the time of publication, cruise tracking data shows the 2,700-guest Disney Wonder is docked in San Diego as the ship completes the normal disembarkation and embarkation process.
The 84,130-gross ton ship had just returned from a 3-night sailing to Ensenada and is expected to set sail at around 3:45 p.m. PST on a 4-night voyage to Catalina Island and Ensenada.
Aside from a slightly delayed disembarkation, Cruise Hive has not been notified of any other impact to the Disney vessel’s operations.
The delay also wasn’t very significant, as disembarkation doesn’t even typically begin until around 8 a.m. for the earliest “Express Walk-Off” option, and the port resumed normal operations around 9 a.m.
And even if embarkation or departure is slightly delayed, the first scheduled call to Catalina on March 31 is very close, with the island only around 70-80 nautical miles away from San Diego.
After completing this sailing, Disney Wonder will continue to operate 3- to 4-night Baja-bound cruises from San Diego until May of 2026, when she will reposition to Vancouver to begin the 2026 Alaska season.
Are Bomb Threats Common?
Bomb threats at cruise ports are relatively rare, but when they do happen, they are treated as legitimate emergencies until authorities can prove otherwise.
Thankfully, the most recent bomb threats Cruise Hive has reported on before now were also false alarms. However, they were still very inconvenient and a gross misuse of emergency resources.
For example, an unfounded bomb threat in PortMiami on March 3, 2025, led to increased traffic and delays in what was already a congested day with five ships in the port.
Later in the year on August 9, 2025, P&O Cruises’ Ventura began evacuating guests due to a bomb hoax in Southampton, UK.
As bomb hoaxes cause significant delays and waste emergency resources, people who knowingly call in fake threats may face criminal charges for their actions.
Section 35 of Title 18 of the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Resource Manual, commonly known as the “bomb hoax” statute, provides civil and criminal penalties for knowingly conveying false information regarding attempts to destroy or damage aircraft, vehicles, or related facilities.
The criminal felony provision allows for penalties of up to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both.
Of course, it’s still important to speak up if you see something suspicious. People who make reports in good faith will not be penalized if the threat turns out to be a false alarm.
Bomb Threat Scare Leads to Lockdown at San Diego Cruise Terminal