The first cruise ship of the season – the Sapphire Princess – arrived in Vancouver yesterday, officially kicking off what is expected to be a record season for the industry in BC. A total of 331 cruise ships visits are scheduled for the Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver between April 12 and Oct. 24, destined to bring more than a million visitors to the city.

The Princess vessel docked in Victoria for the day before continuing to Vancouver – the first of 330 vessels scheduled to call in the capital during the season, bringing at least 850,000 passengers.

Prince Rupert’s cruise ship season doesn’t start until May 3 with the arrival of the Carnival Miracle, but 43 more ships and nearly 80,000 passengers are scheduled to visit before the season ends at that north coast port in early October.

Vancouver’s cruise traffic this year will be an increase of approximately 8% compared to 2022, with almost daily arrivals and departures at the height of the season between May and September.

Cruise ships returned to British Columbia last year following a two-year, COVID-19 related break, with the Port of Vancouver saying it welcomed a record 307 ships, a 7% increase over visits in 2019.

“Vancouver continues to be one of the world’s top cruise destinations and an award-winning homeport,” said Mandy Chan, manager of cruise services at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the federal agency mandated to enable Canada’s trade through the Port of Vancouver. “After a two-year pause and an incredible restart in 2022, we are now gearing up for another big season for the Vancouver cruise sector as well as the local hospitality and tourism industries it supports.”

A record 1.2 to 1.3 million passengers could travel through the Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver in 2023 – an increase of about 10% over the record set in 2019 of 1.1 million.

Vancouver has been a homeport for Alaska cruises for more than 30 years, acting as the home base for one-way and round-trip cruises through the Inside Passage. As a homeport destination, the Vancouver cruise industry injects an average of almost $3 million into the local economy for each ship that visits Canada Place, generates nearly 7,000 jobs across Canada, $300 million in wages and contributes $840 million to national GDP.

Fast facts

• The first ship of the season, the Sapphire Princess, arrived at the Canada Place cruise terminal east berth at 7 a.m. on April 12. The last cruise ship of the season, the Koningsdam, will depart Canada Place on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

• The following six ships will visit Canada Place for the first time in 2023: Brilliance of the Seas, Silver Whisper, Hanseatic Nature, Fridtjof Nansen, Seabourn Venture and Scenic Eclipse II

• Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver will see the return of Holland America, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Cunard Line, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Seabourn, Regent Seven Seas, Windstar, Viking Cruises, Victory Cruise Lines, Hurtigruten, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Silversea Cruises, Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours and Oceania Cruises

• Port of Vancouver will become the first homeport cruise terminal in Canada to offer pet relief stations for service animals. Created as part of a larger plan to improve the terminal’s overall accessibility, the stations offer a welcoming area for service animals during their visit to the cruise terminal.

• In 2022, nearly 70% of cruise calls were shore power enabled, compared to 50% in 2019. Demand for shore power has steadily increased since 2009, when the Port of Vancouver became the first port in Canada and the third in the world to introduce shore power for cruise ships. The technology enables ships to shut down their diesel-powered auxiliary engines and plug into land-based electrical power. Shore power at the Port of Vancouver has helped reduce port-related greenhouse gas emissions by more than 25,000 tonnes since 2009.

• Cruise returned to the Port of Vancouver on April 10, 2022, with the inaugural visit of the Holland America Line ship Koningsdam, following a two-year pause due to pandemic restrictions. There were 307 cruise ship visits and 810,090 passengers last year.