The Sea Princess sailed into Corner Brook for the day on Monday with 2,016 passengers and 910 crew members on board.
The Princess Cruises ship was the sixth cruise ship to visit the city this cruise season.
With 15 visits, from 14 ships, on the schedule, only seven of them are set for the fall part of the tourism season.
That’s a bit of a switch for what generally happens during cruise season, when the city sees mostly fall visits.
Nora Fever, business development manager with the Corner Brook Port Corp., said more summer visits are a trend that is being seen in Atlantic Canada.
“Cruise lines are trying different things,” she said.
And even though it does sound like a pun, she said they are testing the waters.
“They’re sort of trying visits in summer just to see how they go, what they sell and if people are enjoying it.
“Because I think a lot of their passengers are very interested in outdoor activities, hiking, walking, biking.”
The ships on the schedule, like the AIDAvita, which made its second visit to the city last week, are doing a lot of calls in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.
Fever said that when they looked at the region they could see this area as a good spot for summer activities.
And the visits seem to be working.
“I think people really enjoy the scenery, and the weather has certainly been great,” said Fever.
She said people enjoy the walking trails in the city and how walkable things are.
Fever hopes the changing interests lead to more cruise ship visits for the city, as the port can certainly handle more and the economic impact for the area would be increased.
The last summer cruise ship visit of the season will take place on Sept. 6 and then the fall visits begin on Sept. 25. The fall has been a popular time, as people like to see the changing colours of the trees.
Remaining summer visits
Aug. 27, Seabourn Quest, Seabourn Cruise Line
Sept. 6, Amadea, Phoenix Reisen
Fall visits
Sept. 25, Marco Polo, Cruise & Maritime Voyages
Sept. 26, Arcadia (inaugural call), P&O Cruises
Sept. 27, Queen Mary 2, Cunard
Oct. 3, Celebrity Summit, Celebrity Cruises
Oct. 4, Silver Wind (inaugural call), Silver Sea
Oct. 11, Crystal Symphony (inaugural call), Crystal Cruises
Oct. 11, Black Watch, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
Economic impact
The Port of Corner Brook participates in an economic impact study, along with ports in Quebec, Atlantic Canada and British Columbia, every four or five years.
The study includes surveys of passengers, crew and cruise lines to assess the economic impact of the cruise industry.
This year’s 15 scheduled calls are expected to bring approximately 16,000 passengers and 7,500 crew to Corner Brook.
Based on the results of the most recent study, which was completed in 2017, the Corner Brook Port Corp. estimates the direct economic impact to the city and region will be over $2 million.
Source: Corner Brook Port Corporation
