Three cruise ships in uptown Saint John's harbour (Image: Port Saint John)
Saint John is preparing for the return of cruise ships once cruise travel prohibitions lift across Canada on November 1, 2021.
Port Saint John Cruise Development Manager, Natalie Allaby says they are very excited about the ban being lifted and are working with Transport Canada on the finalization of what Canadian protocols will be for the country’s cruise ports.
“It gives a clear signal to all of our partners in the community that cruises will be back and we’re going to be ready with all the right steps in place to make sure it’s as safe as possible,” adds Allaby.
On June 5, Celebrity Millennium (part of the Celebrity Cruises line owned by Royal Caribbean Group) sailed out of St. Maarten; it was the first major cruise ship to set sail in North America 15 months after the pandemic began.
Claudine Pohl, founder of cruise tourism consulting firm LemonEight, was present at the Celebrity Millennium’s voyage. She says it was a big celebration for the entire cruise industry and since then many cruise lines have set sail.
“Everybody has different protocols in place, but safety is the number one priority and following the guidelines with the CDC,” said Pohl, who adds cruise lines have implemented a 95-100 per cent vaccination rule and that every ship had to be tested by the CDC to make sure they were meeting regulations.
Pohl observes that those who are returning to cruise ships have so far been made up of many loyal, repeat cruisers, instead of a specific demographic.
Three cruise ships make a port of call in Saint John (Image: Port Saint John)
Port Saint John currently has about 70 vessel calls lined up for the 2022 cruise season, with the first ship set to arrive in May 2022, although ship capacity has not yet been finalized.
In the US, many cruise lines are staggering their fleet-entries with ships restarting with 50 or 60 per cent capacity.
“We’ve always had a reputation in our region and in Saint John as a port-of-call as clean and safe and friendly,” said Allaby. “We’re not an overly congested city and we’ve always been known for that, so I think it’s going to serve us well post-COVID.”
Allaby says a set of national protocols have been developed for Canada and are currently being reviewed by Transport Canada.
“We can’t definitively say right at this moment what the exact protocols will be, but it can be assumed that some of the patterns that we’re seeing down in the US could come to fruition here,” she adds.
Ioannis Bras, CEO of Five Senses Consulting and Development, is helping Cruise Atlantic, Cruise Maine and Cruise St. Lawrence develop safety protocols and prepare each on how to receive cruise ships, and says Canada will benefit from the lessons and experience learned by global cruise industry.
“To me, this is a great opportunity for local businesspeople to try to develop better services through talking with the cruise lines,” said Bras.
Port Saint John meets monthly with Cruise Saint John’s Business and Community Cruise Liaison Committee to share information with uptown community members and businesses.
“I think it’s going to make businesses directly in the Uptown area and organizations that are part of the cruise ecosystem feel a lot more confident and comfortable,” said Allaby.
This story was originally published on Huddle.Today – an Acadia Broadcasting Limited content partner.
