Carnival announced it will operate a cruise out of San Francisco beginning in 2020. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Carnival Cruise Line for the first time in its 46-year history will offer cruises from San Francisco, starting in 2020.

The cruise line said Tuesday its Carnival Miracle, with a guest capacity of 2,214 and crew of 934, will set sail from the city in 15 months. The 963-foot ship, christened in 2004, will sail out of the Herman R. Herman Terminal that opened in 2014.


Beginning on March 19, 2020, the voyages will include four-night trips to Ensenada, Mexico, and five- and six-night trips to Ensenada, Catalina Island and San Diego. Other voyages will include 10- and 11-night Alaska cruises with calls at Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Sitka and Tracy Arm Fjord. A 15-night cruise from San Francisco will travel to Hawaii with stops at four islands.

With the addition of San Francisco, Carnival will operate from 19 North American home ports. Roughly half of the U.S. population is within a 5-hour drive of a Carnival home port, the line said.

Ports from the West Coast include San Diego; Long Beach, Calif.; Seattle; and Vancouver, B.C.

"Carnival is the number one cruise operator from the West Coast, and these new programs from San Francisco and San Diego, as well as the deployment of the brand new Carnival Panorama from Long Beach, speaks volumes to our confidence in growing this important market," Carnival President Christine Duffy said in a statement.

The Pier 27 terminal is equipped to handle ships with up to 4,000 passengers, according to the San Francisco Port.

Before its West Coast deployment, the Carnival Miracle will offer a 17-day Panama Canal transit in March 2020. The ship will operate a winter schedule of voyages from San Diego beginning Oct. 4, 2020.

Other cruise lines that depart San Francisco are Cunard, Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceana Cruises, Princess Cruises and Regent Seas Cruises.