Cruise returns to the Port of Vancouver
The 2022 cruise season at the Port of Vancouver launches on April 10, 2022, with the inaugural visit of the Holland America Line ship, Koningsdam, to the Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver. The cruise ship will first call at the Victoria Cruise Terminal on April 9, 2022.
The Port of Vancouver has welcomed cruise passengers to Vancouver for more than 40 years. However, in March 2020, as part of its COVID-19 response, the Government of Canada prohibited cruise ships in Canadian waters. That prohibition was lifted in November 2021.
In preparation for the return of cruise, the port authority, along with cruise lines and industry partners, has been working closely with Transport Canada to follow federal government guidance on the latest public health plans and regulations. Under Transport Canada requirements, cruise passengers must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and test negative for COVID-19 before boarding ship.
Vancouver has been a leading homeport for cruises to Alaska for more than 35 years and is the only homeport to offer both one-way and round-trip itineraries through Canada’s scenic Inside Passage. This year, more than 300 cruise ships are expected to call at the Port of Vancouver, representing approximately an 8% increase in cruise ship visits from 2019.
The Vancouver cruise industry continues to be a key contributor to the local economy. In 2019, each cruise ship that called at Canada Place generated an estimated $3.17 million in direct economic activity and the industry generated $2.2 billion in total economic impact that year.
For the 2022 season, more than 60% of all cruise ship calls are expected to be shore power enabled. Since 2009, shore power, which allows ships equipped with shore power compatible technology to shut down their diesel-powered auxiliary engines and plug into low-emission electrical power, has helped reduce more than 24,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. The port authority is working on increasing shore power capacity at the Canada Place cruise terminal, so that every cruise vessel operator who wants to plug-in has the option to do so by 2030.
The 2022 season includes several new cruise lines coming to Vancouver including Aurora Expeditions, Lindblad Expeditions, Scenic Tours, and Victory Cruise Lines.
New ships to Vancouver in 2022 include the Discovery Princess, Koningsdam, Majestic Princess, National Geographic Orion, Norwegian Spirit, Ocean Victory, Quantum of the Seas, Scenic Eclipse, Silver Whisper, Star Breeze, and the Zenith.
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority welcomes the return of Celebrity Cruises, Cunard Line, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Hurtigruten, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Peace Boat, Princess Cruise, Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean International, Seabourn, Silversea Cruises, and Windstar to the Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver.
The first ship of the season, the Koningsdam, will arrive at the Canada Place cruise terminal west berth at approximately 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 10, 2022. The last cruise ship of the season, the Crown Princess, is scheduled to depart Canada Place on Wednesday, November 2, 2022.
Holland America Line was the first cruise line to call at the new Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver in 1986.
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is the federal agency responsible for the stewardship of the Port of Vancouver. Like all Canada Port Authorities, we are accountable to the federal minister of transport, and operate pursuant to the Canada Marine Act with a mandate to enable Canada’s trade through the Port of Vancouver, while protecting the environment and considering local communities. The port authority is structured as a non-share corporation, is financially self-sufficient and does not rely on tax dollars for operations.
