This week, the City of Avalon City Council will meet and discuss the approval of a preferential access agreement with Disney Cruise Line for calls to Catalina Island off the coast of California.
You may recall, earlier this year during a February meeting, the council authorized the City Manager to execute a term sheet with Disney Cruise Line. The City Council additionally authorized the City Manager to negotiate an Agreement with Disney Cruise Line incorporating the terms as set forth in the approved Term Sheet.
At this time, negotiations with Disney Cruise Line have resulted in an agreement addressing and incorporating all of the relevant terms previously established. Staff recommends authorizing the City Manager to execute a Preferred Access Agreement with Disney Cruise Lines with the following terms:
- Initial term length of five years commencing upon execution of the Agreement and ending September 14, 2030, with two additional five-year renewal options.
- Preferential scheduling for Saturdays and Tuesdays during the “Peak Season” (September 15 to May 15).
- Preferential scheduling for Tuesdays during the “Summer Season” (May 16 to September 14).
- Disney Cruise Line proposes to remit a Cruise Line Fee equal to the City Wharfage Rate plus an additional Passenger Service Charge equal to twenty percent (20%) of the Wharfage Rate for each passenger on the manifest as consideration for preferential scheduling.
- This rate will be subject to annual adjustments equal to 2.5% per year.
- Disney Cruise Lines shall guarantee a minimum of 120,000 passenger visits to the City per year.
- In the event of a shortfall in any given year, Disney Cruise Lines will remit payment at the current wharfage rate plus the applicable “Passenger Service Charge” set forth in the Agreement.
At this time, Disney Cruise Line has two vessels on the West Coast – Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. Both vessels have a maximum passenger capacity of approximately 3,000 passengers. Though the capacity of these vessels is significantly less than the capacity of other cruise ships that currently visit Avalon, the proposed increased wharfage rate and Passenger Service Fee is anticipated to offset any potential loss of wharfage revenue associated with diminished passenger counts. Additionally, smaller capacity ships may provide an overall more enjoyable experience for passengers as well as other Island visitors and residents. The reduced crowds will result in less congestion, greater activity opportunities, and quicker queuing at the Cabrillo Mole.
The Preferential Access Agreement between the City of Avalon and Disney Cruise Line can be viewed in this PDF, which is an excerpt from the full agenda packet published by the city here.
All port agreements entered with any cruise line will align with City of Avalon Resolution No. 24-34, a resolution that establishes guidelines for approving cruise ship visitation in Avalon which was recently discussed in a July meeting.
Per the 24-34 resolution:
- Number of regularly scheduled cruise ship vessels shall not exceed 3per week during the Summer Season (Memorial Day to Labor Day) without final written approval of the City Manager and Harbor Master.
- No cruise ship vessels shall be allowed on the weekends during the Summer Season (Memorial Day to Labor Day) or during special event weekends – such as Jazz Traxx – without final written approval of the City Manager and Harbor Master.
- Number of regularly scheduled cruise ship vessels shall not exceed 3 per week during the “Off Season” (Labor Day to Memorial Day) without final written approval of the City Manager and Harbor Master.
- Repositioning, infrequent, or small cruise ship vessels (1,000 passengers or less) may be considered for visitation by the Harbor Master, taking into account the day requested, holidays, event(s), harbor activity(ies), impacts to public safety, etc.
If the council approves this agreement, it doesn’t mean Disney Cruise Line will be the sole cruise line to visit Catalina Island. The City Staff expects to present final port agreements with additional cruise line partners to the City Council in the near future. A Carnival Cruise Line representative was an active participant in the during the July council meeting while a Royal Caribbean proposal was also included in the discussion.
You can watch the October 7, 2025 City Council Meeting via the City of Avalon’s YouTube Channel.
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We will follow up after the city council meeting on October 7th to provide an update on the council’s discussion and vote regarding the city manager’s request to execute a preferential access agreement with Disney Cruise Line.
With 120,000 committed passenger calls per year, a finalized port agreement would strongly suggest Disney Cruise Line will homeport the Disney Magic or Disney Wonder on the West Coast for a significant portion of the year, if not all year starting in late 2027. Disney began visiting Catalina Island as a seasonal port of call in 2022.
Appeared first on: Disneycruiselineblog.com
