First Cruise Ships of the Season Could Bring 6,000 to Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - The first two cruise ships of the season could bring more than 6,000 passengers to Santa Barbara Wednesday and Thursday.

The overall cruise ship business has been reworked in Santa Barbara after city meetings with concerned groups who raised environmental concerns.

In the past as many as 30 cruise ships were visiting per year.

Now the city policy is for a maximum of 20 per year, with no cruise ship stops in the summer. There are also no cruise ship stops on weekends.

Ships do not dock and use tenders or small boats to bring passengers to the Santa Barbara Landing.  

Strict environmental guidelines are followed and routinely checked by the Waterfront staff and oversight groups concerned about water quality and waste disposal.

The Waterfront Department collects a fee of $15 per passenger whether they disembark or not.

Each passenger can stop by a  hospitality team on Cabrillo Boulevard and  get information on local sights, shops, restaurants, and the downtown area.

Shuttle and tour vehicles also pick up there.

The first ship is the Royal Princess which arrived at 7:00 a.m. It will depart at 4:30 p.m.  It has a capacity of 3,560.

The second ship Brilliant Lady (Thursday) will arrive at  8:00 a.m. and depart at 6 p.m. with a capacity of 2,770.

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