Cecelia Chei, left, and Alice Ip, of Vancouver, take some snapshots of Nanaimo’s waterfront Monday (April 9). The women are passengers about the M.V. Star Princess on an eight-day cruise from Los Angeles, Calif., to Vancouver. (CHRIS BUSH/The News Bulletin)

Cecelia Chei, left, and Alice Ip, of Vancouver, take some snapshots of Nanaimo’s waterfront Monday (April 9). The women are passengers about the M.V. Star Princess on an eight-day cruise from Los Angeles, Calif., to Vancouver. (CHRIS BUSH/The News Bulletin)

Star Princess port of call kicks off cruise season in Nanaimo

M.V. Star Princess brings hundreds of passengers to Nanaimo as part of eight-day cruise itinerary

The M.V. Star Princess opened Nanaimo’s 2018 cruise season when it paid its only Vancouver Island visit on Monday.

Travelling from Los Angeles to Vancouver, hundreds of passengers disembarked the ship to take in sights and activities around Nanaimo, such as the downtown and Old City Quarter, cannon firings at the historic Bastion and Maffeo Sutton Park as well as out of town tours to Parksville and Qualicum, Port Alberni and Cowichan Valley.

The Star Princess, owned by Princess Cruise Lines, is 290 metres in length, has a crew of 1,250 and can accommodate 3,100 passengers.

The ship’s eight-day cruise included stops at Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Astoria, Ore.

The ship leaves Nanaimo at 9:30 p.m. for it’s final stop in Vancouver.

photos@nanaimobulletin.com

Nanaimo News Bulletin