The Port of Montreal (Quebec Canada) announced the commencement of the 2024 cruise season with the inaugural arrival of HAL-Holland America's ms Volendam.
Notably, MS Volendam previously served as a refuge for 1,500 Ukrainian citizens in April 2022. This marks the ship's first visit to the city, and in adherence to maritime customs, Captain Laurentius Oscar van Eerten was presented with a customary gift.
Anticipated to match the success of the previous year, the 2024 cruise season expects to welcome ~50,000 passengers from May 4 to October 28, with a total of 41 operations comprising 9 visits and 32 embarkations/disembarkations. The vessels visiting vary widely in capacity, from the 180-passenger Le Bellot to the 1,440-passenger Volendam.
9 ships will make their inaugural calls to Montreal during this season:
- Holland America's Volendam, the season's first and largest ship
- Two Ponant ships, Le Champlain and Le Lyrial, offering an intimate luxury experience for 180 and 264 passengers, respectively
- Villa Vie Odyssey from Villa Vie Residences, accommodating 924 passengers
- World Explorer from Rivages du Monde, designed for adventurous journeys with a capacity of 200 passengers
- Seven Seas Grandeur from Regent, with 750 passengers
- Nautica from Oceania Cruises, carrying 684 passengers
- Borealis from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, welcoming 1,320 passengers
- Azamara Journey from Azamara Cruises, marking the return of this cruise line to Montreal after an 8-year hiatus, with 718 passengers.
Additionally, three significant milestones will be celebrated, underscoring the strong relationship major cruise lines maintain with Montreal as their preferred port of call:
Regent's Seven Seas Grandeur will host its 25,000th passenger on September 19th.
Viking OCEAN's Viking Neptune will welcome its 30,000th passenger on September 27th
Oceania's Nautica will reach its 40,000th passenger on October 6th.