Catalina Island Shifting to Formal Port Agreements With Cruise Lines
True to its Southern California vibe, the city of Avalon on Catalina Island has historically taken a laid-back approach to cruise ship visits, allowing ships to call without firm anchorage agreements in place.
However, that practice is slated to change as the city is negotiating official, long-term pacts with three major cruise lines — Disney Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean.
Catalina Island, roughly 20 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, is a frequent port call on West Coast cruises. Known for its hiking, scuba diving, water sports, and cultural activities, the island has just two towns — Avalon and the small village of Two Harbors.
Avalon’s City Council at its July 15, 2025 meeting agreed to move forward with negotiating official port and anchorage agreements and directed its city manager to work toward executing the accords.
“Currently there is no written policy regarding the scheduling of cruise ship anchorage requests. However, the City Council reviews and adopts a resolution semi-annually confirming guidelines that establish a framework by which cruise ships are approved to visit Avalon as a port of call,” the meeting agenda stated.
Disney Cruise Line’s preliminary 5-year agreement, first disclosed earlier this year, would provide preferred anchorage space on Tuesdays and Saturdays during the shoulder season and on Tuesdays during the summer season.
The line would commit to certain wharfage fees and guarantee the arrival of at least 120,000 passengers each year. Avalon has no docks for cruise ships, and all vessels must anchor in the harbor and tender guests ashore.
Port agreements with all three cruise lines would become effective in September 2027. Like Disney Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line is looking at a 5-year agreement term, while Royal Caribbean’s preliminary terms call for a 3-year plan, according to city council documents.
Carnival Cruise Line’s minimum passenger arrivals total is not included in the existing term schedule, but Royal Caribbean appears committed to bringing at least 100,000 cruise guests to the destination during each year of its agreement.
While the terms of the agreements are not yet final, Disney’s pact with Avalon likely includes two options for five-year agreement extensions, potentially giving Disney ships preferred anchorage sites for up to 15 years.
Major Lines Already Have a Robust Presence in Avalon
Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wonder and Disney Magic have included Catalina Island on certain itineraries for the past few years. In 2024 and again this year Disney Wonder called at Catalina Island on her 3- and 4-night Baja Cruises, which sail from San Diego and also visit Ensenada, Mexico.
Read Also: Disney Cruise Ships by Size: Largest to Smallest
In 2026, the ship is set to return to San Diego in March and begin another series of Baja cruises that feature calls to Catalina Island.
Currently, both Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have ships calling at Catalina during the summer season. Both Carnival Radiance and Carnival Firenze, homeported at Los Angeles, visit the island on their 4-night Baja Mexico voyages.
Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas, also based in Los Angeles, is sailing 4-night Catalina & Ensenada cruises during summer 2025. Other ships due to call at the popular island include Holland America Line’s Koningsdam, which will visit in October 2025 as part of her 21-night Circle Hawaii and California Retreat voyage.
Indeed, Catalina Island has grown in popularity in recent years, with a surge of cruise ships making their inaugural calls at the destination in 2024. They included luxury line Seabourn’s Seabourn Sojourn.
Catalina Island Shifting to Formal Port Agreements With Cruise Lines