The Prince Rupert Port Authority has released the cruise schedule for the 2015 season, with three fewer vessels and 256 fewer passengers coming to the North Coast than in 2014.
In total, seven vessels will bring 3,366 passengers to Prince Rupert between May 31 and September 22, down from 10 vessels and 3,622 passengers last year. The biggest vessel of the year will be the MS Regatta, which will bring 684 passengers to town on June 13 and July 12 for 10 hours and nine hours, respectively.
But before the Regatta arrives, the Seven Seas Navigator will carry 490 passengers to Prince Rupert for eight hours on May 31. The vessel will call on Prince Rupert again on Aug. 10 and Aug. 24, with all calls from the Navigator lasting eight hours.
The final two ships to arrive will be operated by luxury cruise line Ponant, with each vessel carrying 264 passengers. The L’Austral will arrive on Sept. 6 for a five hour visit with Le Boreal will arrive at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 22 for a fourteen-and-a-half hour visit to wind down the 2015 season.
Port authority director of public affairs Ken Veldman was asked about the future of cruise in Prince Rupert during a presentation to Port Edward council on March 10, and said cruise lines making their way north have undergone some planning changes in recent years.
“The reality is that since 2008 the Alaska market has been very flat. On top of being flat, the market has gone to larger ship to be more economical so that they have less stops. Within their itinerary, as opposed to stopping at five places, a lot of them have cut their stops back and secondary ports have lost business and we fall into that category,” he said.
“It’s not gone by any means. Even those dozen ships bring in several hundred thousand dollars into the region and the tour packages offered get rave reviews and we often sell out available seats. The product itself is strong.”
As for the future of cruise in Prince Rupert, Veldman said the port authority and stakeholders are undertaking a market assessment to determine the best strategy for the next five years.
“We’re in the business and we’re not getting out of the business … we own and operate the terminal and we will always be in the cruise business,” he said.
“We’re still very active within it, we still believe that if that market takes off we will come back off the bench and get into the starting spots, but at the moment it is what it is.”
