The 33rd cruise season at the Canada Place terminal at the Port of Vancouver is projected to bring 1,080,000 passengers on 288 calls, according to Carmen Ortega, manager of trade development, who told Cruise Industry News it will be a record year. 

Among the new customers is Viking Ocean Cruises, which will homeport a ship for the season, while Cunard Line will do five turnarounds with the Queen Elizabeth. Azamara Club Cruises is another newcomer to the port and will be making five calls.

The Celebrity Eclipse will replace the Infinity. In addition, Vancouver will see repositioning calls by the Norwegian Bliss and Joy as well as Royal Caribbean’s Ovation. And in 2020, Royal Caribbean will homeport the Serenade of the Seas in Vancouver.

Last year saw a 7 percent increase in passengers from the previous year, reaching 889,162 passengers on 241 calls.

“The increase was driven by a combination of larger ships and more calls,” said Ortega. “We had the Norwegian Bliss calling on Sept. 30; we had been working with the Pacific Pilotage Authority and Norwegian’s marine department for two years preparing for the call.”

The largest ship to call in Vancouver so far, the Bliss had a three-meter clearance under the Lions Gate Bridge at low tide, Ortega noted.

“We can handle three ships simultaneously, but have managed to accommodate four in one day,” she said. “A smaller vessel can anchor and tender in and then come alongside when another ship has left.

“We manage our schedule very carefully, however, and this year we basically have ships every single day during the season. Our goal now is to fill up Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Always looking at ways to improve the passenger experience, Ortega said that the port is working with the Vancouver International Airport on a luggage transfer program.

Other efforts are focused on streamlining passenger processing as Vancouver must do both U.S. and Canadian clearances, meaning there are more steps involved than at U.S. ports.

“This requires a lot of work with our stakeholders and our partners, both with Canadian and U.S. customs,” Ortega said, “as well as with our destination partners, Tourism Vancouver and Destination BC.

“We are also working now on how to address the coming growth of the industry, looking at short, medium and long-term options.”

Among the first ports to offer shorepower, Ortega said all the Princess ships plug in, in addition to Disney Cruise Line, and some of Holland America’s ship.

Ships that plug in receive reduced harbor dues as an incentive, which is now being extended to ships featuring other green technologies as well.

Vancouver is also continuing its ECHO program, which is a voluntary speed reduction in waters approaching the port, which are feeding areas for whales.

The port is also one of the founding partners in the PollutionTracker program, a new monitoring program for coastal British Columbia that looks at the levels of pollution in the ocean.

Other energy initiatives include providing tenants with resources, technical expertise and also financial support from BC Hydro to implement energy-saving measures.

“We got very good feedback from our customers from some of the improvements we made last year,” Ortega said. “We are continuing to make improvements. Over the next two years, we will be finalizing upgrades to our gangways and fendering system so we can take larger ships.

“I am looking forward to this season. It will be amazing. We have such a variety of ships, appealing to every market.”