Tuesday was meant to be a historic day with four ships pulling into Charlottetown’s port for the first time.
However, Holland America’s Veendam cancelled because strong gusts had been forecasted for later in the day.
“It’s a big disappointment for us but I guess these are the things we don’t have control of,’’ says Corryn Clemence, Port of Charlottetown business development manager.
“It’s still a great day. We have three ships here…a lot of activity around the port.’’
Those ships – Pearl Mist, Norwegian Dawn and Seabourn Quest – carried a combined 2,900 passengers to the capital city.
Assuming no more cancellations, there are still 23 more cruise ship visits scheduled for Charlottetown.
So the total for 2017 of about 70 cruise ship visits with approximately 95,700 passengers will be a record breaker, well up from the 57 ship visits with a combined 66,500 passengers last year.
Clemence notes Charlottetown has the highest disembarkation rate in Canada at 99 per cent as well as the highest average expenditure at roughly $100 per passenger.
The cruise visit tally could have been much better for the city this year but 10 visits were cancelled due to speed restrictions put in place last month in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to prevent further deaths of endangered right whales, resulting in about 8,000 fewer passengers.
Clemence does not anticipate any more cancellations due to the restrictions.
To see the full cruise schedule for 2017, go online to www.portcharlottetown.com.
