Viking Cruises' Viking Octantis launches international cruises season at the port of Quebec

The Port of Québec launched the 2022 international cruise season with the arrival of the Viking Octantis operated by Viking Cruises at the Ross Gaudreault Cruise Terminal, in the presence of Ms. Catherine Vallières-Roland, Acting Mayor of Québec City, Chief Carlo Gros-Louis of the Huron-Wendat Nation, and Mr. Robert Mercure, General Manager of Destination Québec cité. For the occasion, Port of Québec President and CEO Mario Girard had the pleasure of presenting Captain Anders Gillis Steen with the medal awarded to the first cruise ship of the year to dock at the Port of Québec.

This tradition dates back to the early 1990s, when Québec City welcomed its first cruise ships. The medal features engravings of migratory birds, symbolizing the beginning of spring and the cruise season. This year, the captain and his crew were doubly honoured, as the ship’s inaugural visit to the Capitale-Nationale region was also celebrated. Originally from Norway, the Viking Octantis, with 378 passengers and 260 crew members, arrived from New York and then headed to the Great Lakes region.

About cruises
Québec City is very popular with visitors and has become a top world destination for many cruise lines and travel media. The city’s popularity among cruise lines generates significant business in the region. For the 2019 season, Cruise the Saint Lawrence estimated that business was over $700 million annually for the province, including $106 million for the Québec City area alone.