Port Metro Vancouver: First Cruise Ship of the 2015 Season Features a Hawaii Itinerary
Princess Cruise’s Grand Princess departed Port Metro Vancouver the weekend of March 22 on the first of two back-to-back trips between Vancouver and Hawaii, bringing an earlier-than-usual start to the 2015 Canada Place cruise season.
Grand Princess arrived in Hilo the following Sunday and then spent four days cruising around the Hawaiian Islands before its returning to Canada Place on Monday, April 6, for a repeat of the same itinerary.
"We are very pleased to welcome the Grand Princess to Canada Place, commencing the 2015 cruise season and expanding on our already well-known Vancouver-Alaska cruise business," said Robin Silvester, the port authority’s president and CEO. "Thanks to Vancouver’s global appeal and the port’s world-class facilities and operations, cruise lines and passengers alike recognize the tremendous advantages of sailing in and out of Vancouver."
While berthed at Canada Place, the Grand Princess plugged into the port’s shore power installation, shutting down its engines and connecting to BC Hydro’s electrical grid for power. According to the port authority, the Canada Place shore power installation has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 11,000 metric tons since it becoming operational in 2009.
The arrival of the Grand Princess comes just days after Port Metro Vancouver was honored at the 2015 Seatrade Cruise Global Conference in Miami with awards for Best Turnaround Destination, Most Efficient Port Facilities and Most Efficient Terminal Operation.
More than 800,000 passengers are expected to pass through the Canada Place terminal during the 2015 Alaska cruise season, which officially begins April 29.
San Juan Cruise Passenger Count Sets One-Day Record
The Puerto Rico Port Authority’s newly completed Dock 3 cruise facility expansion project has apparently solidified the cruise industry’s confidence in the Port of San Juan. That was evident on February 25 when the port welcomed six cruise vessels and their 17,848 passengers. That, says the port authority, set a one-day record for passenger movements and generated an economic impact of $2 million.
The six ships that docked in San Juan that day were Carnival Glory with 3,219 passengers, MSC Divina with 2,850, Eurodam with 2,248, Quantum of the Seas with 4,292, Disney Fantasy with 3,616, and Nieuw Amsterdam with 1,622.
Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla announced last fall (Advisory, November 25, 2014) that Puerto Rico would invest $8.3 million in the Dock 3 expansion to allow the berthing of so-called mega-cruise ships capable of carrying more than 6,000 passengers.
The work included construction of a concrete platform and creating a berth and supporting structure with a 182-foot dock extension, a baggage screening facility and various engineering features. Royal Caribbean and its affiliates have preferential use of Dock 3, which is located in the historic downtown area of San Juan and used mainly by vessels on port of call visits.
The port hosted 436 cruise ship calls and 1,161,563 passengers during fiscal year 2013-14.