Princess Cruises’ massive vessel, the Golden Princess, arrived in Nanaimo Monday to kick off the city’s cruise ship season.
With a capacity of 3,100 passengers and 900 crew, the Golden Princess will be the largest vessel to visit Nanaimo between Sept. 21 and Oct. 13, when Celebrity Cruises’ Mercury leaves the Nanaimo Harbour.
In that time, there is the potential for 50,000 passengers, including three stops by the pocket cruise Spirit of Endeavour, to visit Nanaimo businesses and tourist sites.
Matt Hussmann, managing director for the Nanaimo Downtown Partnership Society, said merchants are ready for the opportunity.
“We provide a pretty nice welcome for people when they step off those cruise ships,” said Hussmann. “We have a wide range of information ready for what people can see and do here.”
Nearly 900 volunteer hours go into welcoming cruise passengers each visit, he said, and merchants are encouraged to open on Sundays when ships visit.
“My mantra is Nanaimo must be a place to go to and not through,” said Zeni Maartman, president of Tourism Nanaimo.
The Port of Nanaimo estimates 2,000 people took tenders from the Golden Princess to Nanaimo during its 11-hour stay. Just 12 hours after it left port, the Mercury steamed in, carrying with it an estimated 1,800 passengers.
“We’re doing our part,” said Bernie Dumas, president and CEO of the Nanaimo Port Authority.
Port representatives met with Tourism Nanaimo and tour operators to ensure passengers’ needs are met and discuss schedules. The port also works with Miami-based cruise ship operators to ensure adequate activities and attractions.
“At times it’s like a military operation getting it all together,” Dumas said.
The port authority recently secured $8.5 million from the federal government, the last commitment required to build a new $22-million cruise ship berth. Construction is set to begin in early 2010 with completion targeted for January 2011.
Dumas said the industry expects a slowdown for 2010, with business picking up again in 2011 in time to take advantage of the new facility.
“This is a good time to gauge what the future of cruise ships will look like in Nanaimo,” said Dumas.
Sept. 29 might provide some clues.
On that day both Mercury and Celebrity’s Millennium, capable of carrying 1,950 passengers, will visit Nanaimo during the same 10-hour span. Depending on the weather, as many as 3,500 guests could be strolling the city’s streets and shops.
Hussmann said the arrival of cruise passengers is also a glimpse of what downtown Nanaimo could be like permanently.
“With an extra 1,000 or so people downtown, it really changes the feel here, which is why we’re encouraging downtown densification,” he said. “With a few thousand more people living down here, we could have this feel all the time.”
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