2019 cruise season in Port Vancouver officially started on Friday, March 29 with the arrival of Emerald Princess to Canada Place cruise terminal.
More than 1 million cruise passengers on a total of 290 ship calls are expected in the port in 2019, which is a 21% increase in passenger numbers in comparison with 2018 and is to mark an all-time record for cruisers through Canada Place.
In preparation for more cruise passengers, the port authority invested in upgrades to Canada Place terminal to improve the guest experience and prepare for the newer cruise ships that are coming to the port.
As a top global destination, the port of Vancouver continues to appeal to a wide variety of cruise lines and travelers from around the world. In 2019, 41 ships from 24 cruise companies will be visiting Canada Place, ranging from luxury and expedition-style ships to some of the largest vessels in Alaska cruise market.
Vancouver cruise industry stimulates on nearly US$3 million in direct activity to the local economy for each cruise ship that visits Canada Place terminal, generates around 7,000 jobs across Canada and US$300 million in wages, and contributes USD 840 million to national GDP.
Highlights for 2019 include:
- New cruise lines coming to the port of Vancouver including Azamara Cruises with Azamara Quest, Cunard with Queen Elizabeth, Viking Ocean Cruises with Viking Orion, and Hurtigruten with MS Roald Amundsen.
- New ships to Vancouver this year include Ovation of the Seas, Celebrity Eclipse, Norwegian Joy, Royal Princess, Star Legend, Silver Muse, and L’Austral.
- Canada Place welcomes the return of Celebrity, Crystal, Holland America, Princess, Norwegian, Oceania, Regent, Disney, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn, Silversea, and Windstar. These lines all have ships using the Port of Vancouver as homeport to begin and end each voyage.
- 1,077,000 passengers are expected on 290 cruise ship calls in Vancouver this season. This represents a 21% increase in passengers compared to last year.
- The last cruise ship of the season, Star Princess, will depart from Canada Place on November 1.