The cruise ship industry in Saint John is recovering well after two years of cancellations caused by the pandemic.
Last week, Port Saint John announced it is expecting a record 86 cruise ship calls during the 2023 season.
The port’s cruise development manager said they knew they had a strong season on the books, even before the arrival of COVID-19.
“The industry always books the berths at Port Saint John a couple of years out,” Natalie Allaby said in a recent interview.
In fact, the New Brunswick port already has a number of bookings through the 2027 cruise season, she said.
Last year, Port Saint John expected just shy of 70 cruise ship calls throughout the season.
“We’re certainly in a different and much more positive place right now in January than we were in last January. We were still having uncertainty of how the season was going to shape up last year,” said Allaby.
“We had a wonderful season in 2022 and so this year really feels quite normal for us in our preparations.”
The 86 cruise ships expected to visit Saint John this year will bring an anticipated 198,000 visitors to the region.
Allaby said cruise lines are indicating that the Canada-New England cruise itinerary, of which Saint John is a part, is really appealing for several reasons.
While fall foliage has traditionally been one of the main reasons, she said it is not the only one.
“As our product offering expands and we’ve got more and more great attractions that are opening up in our region, lots of things to do related to outdoor adventures, we’re seeing increased calls throughout the summer as well because it’s becoming a really robust season,” said Allaby.
One of those attractions is the Area 506 Waterfront Container Village, which opened for the first time in 2022.
Allaby said some vendors experienced such success that they have set up permanent locations in uptown Saint John.
The cruise business brings over $68 million annually to the Saint John and southern New Brunswick economies, according to Port Saint John.
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