The Port of Vancouver (BC Canada) had a busy Sunday as it welcomed 4 cruise ships.
With only 3 berths available, the port authority had the 4th ship, Viking Orion, at anchor in the harbor and cruise passengers were ferried ashore.
The Canada Place docks have a capacity for 3 large ships, and once in a while more than that number opt to visit Vancouver on the same day. That left Viking Cruises' Orion on the outside looking in, with Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Eclipse in the east berth, RCI-Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas in the north, and HAL-Holland America's ms Noordam in the west.
According to port spokesperson Arpen Rana, usually, those extra ships would anchor during the day and move to berth later when those cruise ships at berth depart.
As Vancouver is a popular destination for many passengers, some wished to go ashore even though their vessel was anchored offshore. Small boats were brought in to ferry them into the port city.
In this case, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority worked with the cruise operator and Canada Border Services Agency in order to accommodate the disembarking passengers via the harbour master south float.
Rana said they anticipated that it would be a busy cruise season this summer as Vancouver BC was considered to be a top city for cruisers to visit.