3313 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

More on ICON of the SEAS: https://www.cruisecr...f-the-seas-news

[Victoria Watcher]

Despite fewer scheduled trips, Greater Victoria is anticipating another strong cruise ship season starting April 3 when ­Norwegian Bliss pulls into Ogden Point to mark the first of 315 visits from ships that mainly ply the popular Alaska route.

 

Nanaimo is also celebrating the return of cruise ships — two are booked for this season, the first since 2019.

 

This will be a “good year,” Robert Lewis-Manning, chief executive of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, said Thursday.

 

Last year, the harbour authority estimated that 326 ship visits delivered about 970,000 passengers and 370,000 crew members to Ogden Point.

 

The final day of this year’s season is Oct. 27 when Norwegian Sun pulls in. By then, Lewis-Manning figures ships will have brought about 950,000 visitors into the capital region.

A few new ships will make inaugural visits to Victoria, including Explora One*** on April 17 and Celebrity Edge*** on May 23.

 

A new rule came into effect globally last year requiring ships to slow down in order to reduce carbon emissions. That means vessels arrive later in Victoria, resulting in less time for passengers to tour the region.

 

As cruise lines adapt to new regulations, they are thinking about adjusting their itineraries, Lewis-Manning said.

 

“I think the difference from last year is that so many of the local businesses are really engaged in trying to find ways to make it work even with the later and shorter stays.” he said.

 

While there’s little change in itineraries expected for this year, Lewis-Manning anticipates 2025 will see some lines testing new offerings, such as spreading out the days they come into port. Instead of focusing on Friday through Sunday for example, we may see more vessels pulling in on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

 

 

https://www.timescol...ce-2019-8498325

 

 

The harbour authority has been working on bringing in shore power. The engineering schematics are complete and a business case is being prepared for the harbour authority’s June board meeting for a decision on what direction to take, Lewis-Manning said.

 

“It’s a very complex project.”

 

The province contributed $9 million last year and the harbour authority is applying for a $25-million federal grant, he said.

 

It’s too soon to state the final price tag, he said.

 

 

 

 

***

 

A new era of ocean travel has arrived

 

 

On 1 August 2023, EXPLORA I departed on her Maiden Journey, sailing from Copenhagen, Denmark on an epic 14-night journey through seven captivating destinations with a two-night stay in Reykjavik, before returning to the Danish capital.

This marks the start of a series of itineraries spanning three continents, offering guests cultural immersion and an opportunity for inner and outer discovery on their quest to the Ocean State of Mind.

 

 

 

 

Celebrity Edge was the first Celebrity ship to be equipped with what the cruise line dubs the "Magic Carpet," a tangerine glass-sheltered platform that protrudes and is suspended from the starboard side of the vessel. It was designed to facilitate more accessible tender embarkation and disembarkation. When not in use as a tender platform, it can rise or descend alongside the ship on its track and otherwise hosts additional dining and lounge space.

 

https://en.wikipedia.../Celebrity_Edge

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 22 March 2024 - 10:19 PM.

[splashflash]

Two cruise ships will set course for Nanaimo this year

“Given that we haven’t seen a cruise ship here since 2019, it’s pretty exciting,” she said. “We’re starting over again, really, and it’s a great opportunity to show what Nanaimo is and what we can do and who we are and why we’re great and why we have a unique product offering in terms of, not specifically the port, but the city itself and the excursion opportunities.”

Thomas noted Nanaimo’s local features, such as its craft breweries, as well as its location as a hub for excursions, such as winery tours, Cathedral Grove and other attractions the central Island has for tourism.

https://www.nanaimob...is-year-7333193

[Victoria Watcher]

Two cruise ships will set course for Nanaimo this year

“Given that we haven’t seen a cruise ship here since 2019, it’s pretty exciting,” she said. “We’re starting over again, really, and it’s a great opportunity to show what Nanaimo is and what we can do and who we are and why we’re great and why we have a unique product offering in terms of, not specifically the port, but the city itself and the excursion opportunities.”

Thomas noted Nanaimo’s local features, such as its craft breweries, as well as its location as a hub for excursions, such as winery tours, Cathedral Grove and other attractions the central Island has for tourism.

https://www.nanaimob...is-year-7333193

 

 

 

The Seabourn Odyssey carries between 450 and 540 passengers along with 330 crew. Its seven passenger decks include 225 cabins with the total ship’s length reaching just under 200 metres, or 650 feet.

 

The Oceania Regatta is slightly smaller on the water, 181 metres or 594 feet, however carries between 698 and 803 passengers and 372 crew.

 

https://nanaimonewsn...ivals-for-2024/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 23 March 2024 - 05:55 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Two Holland America Line crew members died on board Friday while the ship was in the Bahamas, the company said in a statement.

Holland America Line said "there was an incident in an engineering space" on board the Nieuw Amsterdam ship while at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, which resulted in the deaths. The cause of death is currently being investigated.

The statement noted that previous reports that the crew members had died in a shipboard fire were inaccurate.

https://www.foxbusin...ie-ship-bahamas

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 23 March 2024 - 11:07 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

I noticed that PNW is running the fleet of buses to serve the ships now.  Not Wilsons.

 

https://pnwts.com/ownership/

 

 

 

2017:

 

The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) has signed a 10-year agreement with a new bus company to shuttle passengers from the Ogden Point cruise terminal on green buses in 2018.

 

Pacific Northwest Transportation Services, a new partnership between the Wilson’s Group and CVS Tours, will be running quieter, low-emission buses to the cruise terminal at Ogden Point. The agreement with the GVHA gives the company exclusive access for the next 10 years for dispatch and cruise shuttle services from the terminal, and to supply all buses for shore excursion tours, in exchange for providing the new buses.

 

https://www.vicnews....bus-fleet-31524

 

 

 

 

Maybe Wilson and CVS sold it?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 April 2024 - 11:57 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Seems every media outlet has a story about the return of cruise ships.

Each passenger is expected to spend $83 here.

I think we should likely be more impressed with the tourists that come here by car and passenger ferry.

[aastra]

 

Each passenger is expected to spend $83 here.

 

Methinks it would be more convenient for all concerned if they raise it to $85.

[Victoria Watcher]

The father of a 20-year-old Florida man who leapt from the 11th floor of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship 57 miles from shore last week believes his "master diver" son is still alive, according to a report.

https://www.foxnews....ise-ship-report


There were reports of an argument before Parker jumped, according to the Sun, but his father told the outlet that he had not been arguing with his son beforehand. Parker's father said his son had alcohol on the ship but that it was not a suicide, the Sun reported.

"We don't drink. I'd like to know how my son was served so much alcohol," the elder Parker told the Daily Sun.

_______

Another passenger on the Liberty of the Seas cruise told the New York Post that Parker's dad confronted the 20-year-old and his 18-year-old brother, Seth, after they'd gotten out of the ship's hot tub.

"His dad was fussing at him for being drunk, I guess," Bryan Sims told the outlet. "When we got to them, he said to his dad, 'I'll fix this right now.' And he jumped out the window in front of us all."

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 11 April 2024 - 03:23 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Deal limits number of cruise passengers in Alaska capital starting in 2026

 

 

Change starts in 2026 in Juneau, Alaska

 

https://www.timescol...in-2026-9002314

[Victoria Watcher]

Each year, a crush of tourists arrives in Alaska’s capital city on cruise ships to see wonders like the fast-diminishing Mendenhall Glacier. Now, long-simmering tensions over Juneau’s tourism boom are coming to a head over a new voter initiative aimed at giving residents a respite from the influx.

 

A measure that would ban cruise ships with 250 or more passengers from docking in Juneau on Saturdays qualified for the Oct. 1 municipal ballot, setting the stage for a debate about how much tourism is too much in a city that is experiencing first-hand the impacts of climate change. The measure would also ban ships on July 4, a day when locals flock to a downtown parade.

 

The “ship-free Saturdays” initiative that qualified this week will go to voters unless the local Assembly enacts a similar measure by Aug. 15, which is seen as unlikely.

 

Juneau, accessible only by water or air, is home to the Mendenhall Glacier, a major draw for the cruise passengers who arrive on multi-story ships towering over parts of the modest downtown skyline. Many residents of this city of about 32,000 have concerns about increased traffic, congested trails and the frequent buzz of sight-seeing helicopters transporting visitors to the Mendenhall and other glaciers.

 

Deborah Craig, who has lived in Juneau for decades, supports ship-free Saturdays. Craig, who lives across the channel from where the ships dock, often hears their early-morning fog horns and broadcast announcements made to passengers that are audible across the water.

 

The current “overwhelming” number of visitors diminishes what residents love so much about Juneau, she said.

 

“It’s about preserving the lifestyle that keeps us in Juneau, which is about clean air, clean water, pristine environment and easy access to trails, easy access to water sports and nature,” she said of the initiative.

 

 

 

https://www.cheknews...-break-1213038/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 July 2024 - 09:00 AM.

[Nparker]

Reducing tourism revenue will be much more devasting for Juneau than the effects of climate change that have been taking place for the past 20,000 years.

[Mike K.]

🔹2024 cruise ship season wraps up at the end of October with anticipated 60,000 fewer visitors than last year🔹

Although not the busiest cruise season on record, upwards of 310 cruise ships will have visited the port of Victoria once the 2024 season wraps up on October 30th.

The Harbour Authority estimated at the start of the season in April, that 910,000 passengers will have sailed up to the city at Ogden Point by season’s end. That’s a 60,000 visitor drop from last year’s 970,000 total, across 326 ships. Not all passengers aboard the vessels disembark in Victoria, however.

Scheduled remaining arrivals, weather permitting, will visit Victoria on October 25, 26, and 30.

[Victoria Watcher]

Seattle Times:


Cruise terminals join electric makeover of Seattle waterfront

New electric terminals make Seattle one of the only ports globally able to power three cruise ships with low-carbon electricity.