Downtown Vancouver set to be busy Monday as cruise ship season kicks off early

Tourists are expected to flood downtown Vancouver on Monday as cruise ship season kicks off, which is a lot earlier this year than in previous years.

The Disney Wonder is slated to dock at 7 am, the first ship of the season, and will take passengers to San Diego for some fun in the sun. It’s about a month earlier, and it’s welcome news for the hospitality and tourism sector, which has been dealing with the winter lulls and the ongoing effects of the pandemic.

It could be a record-breaking year, with 1.27 million passengers expected to be travelling through Canada Place cruise terminal between March 11 and October 29.

Many of those ships spent the winter in other parts of the world and came back to the Pacific Northwest for the Alaska season, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said.

“We expect 2024 to be another strong season for the award-winning Canada Place cruise terminal as we solidify Vancouver as a premier homeport servicing the popular Alaska market,” said Mandy Chan, manager of cruise services at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

“As a homeport destination, the Vancouver cruise industry injects an average of almost $3 million into the local economy for each ship visit, supports nearly 7,000 jobs across Canada and $300 million in wages, and contributes $840 million to Canada’s GDP,” the authority added in its news release Friday.

Following Monday’s arrival, the next ship, the Norwegian Bliss, will be arriving overnight on April 4.

Water Street in Gastown (Dgu/Shutterstock)

The Gastown Business Improvement Association is among those looking forward to the return of cruise ships.

“[It’s] a nice surprise,” Executive Director Walley Wargolet said about this year’s earlier start.

“When you look at probably the top three economic drivers [in Vancouver], tourism is always in that,” he said. “Our organization has always felt well if we build an amazing place that has a great mix of retail and hospitality and service and arts and culture for our locals, which is what we really focus on, then the tourists are going to come because you know they’re going to want to see what the locals enjoy.”

“I think that tourists are important, but the locals are equally important to us here,” he said, adding that the current construction projects are a concern for local businesses.

Traffic changes within and near Gastown for road repairs, March to June 2024. (City of Vancouver)

He said they are working on getting signage up to help that transition as roadway paver repairs and the summertime Water Street car-free pilot project are underway.

He added that there’s a new incentive: the parking lot at 151 West Cordova is now available for three hours of free parking once a week to help folks visit this historic neighbourhood.

With files from Kenneth Chan