Monterey CA (California)

Monterey is a port city located on the southern part of Monterey Bay, California USA. The city is at elevation 8 m (26 ft above sea level) and has population around 28,000.

Monterey was Alta California's capital under both Mexico and Spain. It was California's only port of entry for taxable goods. Following the Mexican-American War (1846-48), California became part of the USA. Monterey City has California's first public building, school, library, and theater.

Among the notable current-day attractions are the Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row, the annual Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey Museum of Art, Salvador Dali Museum, premium art galleries.

Monterey CA is popular for the diversity and abundance of its marine life, including sea otters, sea lions, harbor seals, kelp forests, bat rays, dolphins, pelicans and several species of whales. Just a few miles offshore is Monterey Canyon, the biggest and deepest (3.2 km /2 mi) underwater canyon off North America's Pacific coast, which within hours provides scientists with access to the deep sea.

As cruise destination, Monterey Bay is visited seasonally and on voyages to ports in Alaska or Mexico. Most cruise vessels visiting Monterey are on relocation itineraries (RepositionCruises.com) scheduled in Spring and Fall.

In 2017, Port Monterey (locode USMY3) handled a total of 10 cruise ship calls (compared to 2016's only 2 and 2015's 6). Additionally, the privately/residents-owned ship MS The World remained anchored here for 3 days.

In February 2023, the City Council voted 3-2 in favor to terminate passenger landing (docking and disembarkation) services for cruise ships. The vessels continue to be allowed to anchor in Monterey Bay and ferry their tourists to the shore via tender boats. However, cruise companies/ship operators are required to hire staff at the Port to process the visitors at the public dock. According to CLIA data, cruise tourists spend ~US$125 per person (average) while ashore in the USA.

Prior to the COVID crisis, the Port had between 7 and 12 cruise calls/ship visits annually. In 2023, Monterey had a total of 21x cruise ship calls/visits scheduled for March-April-May-October-November.

Monterey CA cruise terminal