2011 Cruise Ship Season

[Nickfro]

Cruise ship business up sharply with more than 200 calls for 2011

Disney's arrival in Vancouver is most promising development, port official says

[/b]

By Brian Morton, Vancouver Sun, January 21, 2011

2011 is shaping up as an excellent year for Vancouver's cruise ship industry, with overall business expected to climb more than 15 per cent over last year.

And for much of that, the city can thank Mickey Mouse.

"The numbers are pretty strong," Greg Wirtz, manager of trade development for Port Metro Vancouver, said in an interview Thursday. "The total impact [for the city] is approximately $1 billion. It's a huge economic generator."

He said there were 177 cruise vessel calls in Vancouver in 2010 and that, so far, the cruise schedule for 2011 shows 200 calls -- a number that will likely rise.

Wirtz said the biggest development this year is the introduction of Disney Cruises' ship Disney Wonder to the Alaska cruise market, which arrives in Vancouver May 3 and will make a total of 18 calls to the city by September.

"It [the Disney Wonder] will be in the order of $40 million-plus in economic impact [on Vancouver]," he said.

Companies that benefit from cruise customers are looking forward to the potential new business coming their way.

"We do very well from visitors to the city from cruise ships," Sue Kaffka, vice-president of sales and marketing for Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver, said in an interview. "Any new ship in town is a positive for us."

Kaffka said she's particularly keen about the Disney Wonder coming to Vancouver. "We're a family attraction, so we expect we'll have more visitors.

"And Tourism Vancouver works hard with the cruise companies to make sure passengers know the benefits of staying an extra day."

Wirtz said the Disney Wonder carries about 2,500 passengers and that all ships should be fully booked.

But Wirtz said the new ship also represents a fresh cruise market for the city.

"This is the most positive development in our growth for this year. It's the first time a product coming here is specifically oriented to families."

Wirtz said the ship will be in Vancouver every Tuesday and that about 5,000 people will be processed through the port each time -2,500 disembarking and 2,500 other passengers arriving for their trip.

Wirtz also cited another new line that will stop in Vancouver this year -- Oceana Cruises' Regatta, which carries about 700 passengers.

"It will do 11 calls [in Vancouver] this season. It's a smaller ship, but a new luxury product."

Wirtz said Crystal Cruises' Symphony, homeported in San Francisco, will return to Vancouver this year for nine calls.

Wirtz said the number of cruise ship calls to Vancouver dropped sharply last year when the Alaska government initiated a $50 per person tax on passengers. That's been reduced this year, he said, to $19.50 per passenger.

Donna Spalding, director of administration for North West & Canada Cruise Association, an industry association that represents 10 member cruise lines, said in an interview that 14 ships will call in Vancouver this year, up from 12 in 2010.

"I think it bodes well for the city," she said. "This year we'll see an increase in passenger and ship calls. We're hopeful that the curve will continue."[/size][/quote]
Link to article HERE.

[gordon]

This is very good news and it shows that alot of the reasons for the overall reduction in ship capacity to Alaska was the very firm reaction of the industry to an unwise tax regimn is Alaska which has been remedied.

The main advantage Seattle has over Vancouver is what is referred as Air lift capacity more airlines (low fair) from various parts of The U.S.

Next year Princess is adding a 4th ship to it's Vancouver Itineries( Voyage of the Galciers) potentially another 50,000 pasengers.

[novabus9228]

That and the fact that Cruisers sailing out of Seattle do not have to deal with the Border Line-ups. It took me about 4 1/2 hours to Travel from The Greyhound depot in Seattle to Vancouver. Mind you Greyhound stops in Everett, Mount Vernon and Bellingham enroute. Once at the Border, It took about 45 minutes to go through the customs. (There were only about 15 passengers on the bus) OOPS, I forgot Coquitlam too.

Now if the bus as full I bet you it would take at least a extra 30 mins. The point is the border crossing alone delays add up. If you are on a coach travelling from Seatac or Bellingham, Trying to make connections to the ship can be tricky. What if there is another bus or two in Front of yours. Its eaisier for the Cruise ship customers to avoid the lengthy border delays and sail direct from Seattle.

Monitoring Vancouver Traffic (VHF Marine FreQ) durring Cruise Ship season gives you a indication of how many Schedualed departures are delayed from leaving on time.

[FNS]

With Disney's arrival in Vancouver this summer, I wonder how many times we'll be hearing that famous whistle tune from their ship?



Can't wait to hear this in person in Vancouver! Perhaps our musical moderator as well!!

[Kam]

Jan 27, 2011 14:19:25 GMT -8 @4roads said:

Jan 24, 2011 19:21:10 GMT -8 FNS said:

Sounds mickey mouse to me. Disney Wonder sails into Terminal City in late May.

Be here when it happens.

Good seats available near Prospect Point and Brockton Point.

Easily accessible from the Stanley Park bus loop. Take the 19 Stanley Park from Hastings and Burrard.

We'll have to active the Coast Stations on the day of her arrival.

Sounds like a good day to set up shop with lunch and camera :-)

[WettCoast]

Jan 28, 2011 13:07:02 GMT -8 @4roads said:

Definately not a mickey mouse location for viewing.

Yes, but it will be a Micky Mouse ship that you are viewing ;D

[gordon]

The Radiance of the Seas will be at the Esquimalt Graving Dock
in may for some re-fit work before she starts her summer Alaska Cruises from Vancouver.

[grk]

Radiance of the Seas has a major mechanical issue, running on only 1 pod since December. Drydocking needed to repair the pod.

[Deleted]

Radiance of the Seas will be dry docked in Esquimalt this spring for a face lift. This is according to an article that I read in the Victoria Times Colonist on Feb 19, 2011. Face lift includes redoing some of the restaurants and the night club. She has to be back in service by June.

[Koastal Karl]

Disney Wonder will be in Victoria May 2nd the day before she arrives in Vancouver!

[gordon]

Disney Cruise Lines is Moving the Wonder to Seattle for the 2012 season running on the same Itinerary. I wonder what their reasoning is? the cruises are selling well July & Aug are already partiallysold out.

[Neil]

More bad news for Vancouver's cruise business, just when it looked like we'd bottomed out and traffic was building again. Disney says, "There will still be cruises departing Vancouver in 2012, but they will be greatly outnumbered by the Seattle cruises", whatever that means.

Given that the vast majority of Alaska cruisers are Americans, it's understandable that they would rather not deal with Canadian immigration, and we're going to have a very difficult time getting that business back, unless we can somehow make it worth their while to come up here to start their journey. I can't imagine how that would be done.

[gordon]

We do gain the Sapphire Princess next season.
The cost of air fare in Canada has it's effect.

[gordon]

We have a good number of the so called pocket cruise ships( 600-800pax) they tend to be fairly high end. Seven Seas Voyager.

[EGfleet]

Disney chooses Seattle, snubs Vancouver, for Alaska cruises
(Seattle PI)

Seattle is about to discover the giant mass of humanity that loves Mickey Mouse and megaships after Disney Cruise Lines announced that Seattle – and not Vancouver – will be its home port for Alaska cruises.

The Wednesday announcement came two years after Disney snubbed the Emerald City and chose Vancouver for its Alaska line. That 2009 decision was expected to add 100,000 passengers into Vancouver’s cruise market, which had been ailing with increased competition from Seattle, according to The Globe and Mail.

This time, Disney chose Seattle as one of three new ports for its 2012 itineraries. The other ports are New York City and Galveston.

“In 2012, we’re making it easier than ever for families to enjoy a Disney Cruise Line vacation by offering cruises from a variety of regional homeports,” DCL president Karl Holz said Wednesday.

The decision is sure to inject some zing into the local cruise market, which took a hit after Holland America downsized its number of Seattle cruises from 69 in 2010 to 50 this year, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported.

Last year, Seattle had its best-ever cruise season, with a record 223 ship docks in the city, generating an estimated $425 million in business revenue, the PSBJ said. In contrast, Vancouver’s cruise market plunged by about 30 percent from 2009 to 2010.

Disney’s Alaska cruises will be aboard its “Wonder” ship, with stops in Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria.

Click the link for an ultra cheesy photo of Donald Duck pointing to the Space Needle:
blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2011/04/06/disney-seattle-to-alaska-cruises-to-begin-next-year/

[mrdot]

:)maybe Disney knows something, the Cdn $ was 1.04 against the US greenback this morning and looks like its firm and climbing! mrdot.

[Northern Exploration]

Apr 6, 2011 16:22:44 GMT -8 mrdot said:

:)maybe Disney knows something, the Cdn $ was 1.04 against the US greenback this morning and looks like its firm and climbing! mrdot.

I also suspect with the slower recovery south of the border, some Seattle pencils might have been sharpened, with lower fees and perhaps taxes.

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

Apr 6, 2011 17:24:10 GMT -8 Northern Exploration said:

Apr 6, 2011 16:22:44 GMT -8 mrdot said:

:)maybe Disney knows something, the Cdn $ was 1.04 against the US greenback this morning and looks like its firm and climbing! mrdot.

I also suspect with the slower recovery south of the border, some Seattle pencils might have been sharpened, with lower fees and perhaps taxes.

That, and maybe the $250 (I just checked fares...accurate for early June flight as of today 4/6/11 - Friday arrival, Sunday departure) you save per person in airfare by not crossing the border. More to spend at the onboard casino...

[Neil]

No doubt air fares are a factor, probably a lot more so than the strength of our dollar.

The cruise lines' exodus out of Vancouver began in earnest with the opening of Seattle's new facility a couple of years ago, and its construction was obviously not dependent on our dollar remaining lower in exchange with the American. Cruise lines weren't happy with the availability of weekend departures from Vancouver, and the introduction of bigger and faster ships meant that the extra sailing time from Seattle wasn't so much a factor. Add to that the understandable American preference for sailing from their own ports and avoiding Canadian customs and higher airfares into Vancouver, and it all adds up to an inevitable shift south, regardless of the relative standing of our currencies, although, admittedly, that hasn't helped.

[gordon]

at this point Seattle is completely full over the weekend.

Disney's move may not be permanent, they could be back in a couple of years. Disney says they are just trying to see where the best home port for their ship is, seeing theat this is a new market for them.

[grk]

There are very significant additional costs incurred by the cruise lines when turning around a cruise program in Vancouver. These cost are over and above those that the passengers incur. Services such as stevadoring, bunkering, technical/mechanical repairs, and replentishment of supplies (dairy and meat in particular) all cost alot more in Canada. Some items are trucked up from Washington, and on occasion container loads of supplies face customs delays at the border potentially delaying a sailing.
Another very expensive additional costs for vessels sailing from Vancouver compared to those sailing from Seattle are Pilotage fees. Seattle to Port Angels is 3-4 hours. Vancouver to Pine Island (Port Hardy) is 12-16 hours, Triple Island (Prince Rupert) double the Pine Island hours. These fees are tens of thousands of dollars for each voyage!!
It is all about the money, and nothing else that sees the ships select Seattle as their turn around port!!

[gordon]

Seattle based ships I assume have to use Canadian pilots when Transiting our territorial waters would have to use Canadian pilots. That i suspect would include the Hecate strait.

As of last year our port fees were competitive with Seattle's

[mrdot]

:)one thing to keep in mind about the current port jockying is to remember the old Jones act removal and the complete change which was brought about in the playing field. my how shipwatching over in Victoria has changed! :)mrdot.

[grk]

Gordon, For all but 1 of the Alaskan cruisers out of Seattle, there is no Canadian pilot required until the last day. Once the Puget Sound pilot debarks at Port Angeles the ship does not require a pilot until in Alaskan waters. No pilot is required in Hecate St. The next Canadian pilot is embarked at Brotchie Ledge 3 miles of Victoria when the ship heads into Ogden Pt. on her last day. The one exception is a NCL vessel (Saturday departure) which for the last 2 seasons, sailed north up the Strait of Georgia, then the inside passage much like the BC Ferries route up to Triple Island off Prince Rupert with both pilots debarking there. She took a BC Pilot at the dock in Seattle, and another boarded usually off Nanaimo as she headed north. The American pilot debarks off Whitby Island. Not sure is she is doing the same this season.

[gordon]

thanks fot the info. Very few ships sail the Northetn half of the
Inside Passage( B.C. Ferry route) The Inside passage that the cruiselines refer to is the southern half of the IP. the cruiselines are missing out by not going through Fitzhugh sound & north via the as much of the IP ferry route as possible.