The cruising season has officially begun at Canada’s Port of Vancouver. Local authorities anticipate it will welcome 1.27 million passengers in 2024, a 2% increase from 2023.
During the record-breaking year, the Canada Place cruise terminal will host 329 cruise ships and over 25,000 more passengers.
| “We expect 2024 to be another strong season for the award-winning Canada Place cruise terminal, as we solidify Vancouver as a premier homeport servicing the popular Alaska market,” predicted Mandy Chan, a manager from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. |
For over 30 years, the seaport’s West Coast location has enabled cruise ships to reposition for Alaskan voyages before sailing through the Inside Passage.
As a strategic home port, each cruise ship that calls on the port generates nearly $3 million in revenue for Vancouver’s economy. It is also responsible for close to 7,000 jobs across the country, paying a total of $300 million in salaries.
In addition to offering shore power, the cruise port asks large vessels to stay away from or slow down in areas where at-risk marine species live. It also provides up to 75% off on harbor fees to cruise ships with environment-friendly features like clean fuel engines and the ability to switch to shore power. Cruise ships are also prohibited from eliminating scrubber water at the port.
With measures such as these and the cooperation of key stakeholders, the Port of Vancouver aspires to be the first zero-emission corridor in the world as it connects the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
Canada’s cruise season begans on March 11 with the Disney Wonder’s arrival and will end on October 29, 2024, upon the Norwegian Jewel’s departure. Cruise ships from Celebrity Cruises, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and Explora Journeys, to name a few, are scheduled to call on the world’s leading cruise port this year.
