Hullo Ferries to temporarily move Nanaimo terminal on eight days for cruise ships | Daily Hive

Hullo Ferries to temporarily relocate Nanaimo terminal for cruise ship visits on eight days

Hullo Ferries' temporary Downtown Nanaimo terminal location at the W.E. Mills Landing Marina. (Submitted)

There will be temporary changes to the location of Hullo Ferries’ Nanaimo terminal on eight separate days during the 2026 cruise ship season.

The high-speed passenger ferry company’s Vancouver Island terminal is normally located at the Port of Nanaimo facility just south of Downtown Nanaimo. At this port location, it shares a facility with HeliJet.

This port facility was upgraded to include a cruise ship dock in 2011 as part of a strategy to attract mid-itinerary cruise ship stopovers and provide a boost to local businesses and tourism. This differs from how cruise ships use Downtown Vancouver’s Canada Place terminal as a pivotal homeport, where voyages begin and end, passengers are exchanged, and ships are resupplied.

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However, on eight days throughout this peak season, Hullo Ferries has noted it will temporarily relocate its Nanaimo terminal north to W.E. Landing Marina at 304 Front St. in Downtown Nanaimo — just east of the seaplane terminal and north of BC Ferries’ Gabriola Island ferry terminal.

The temporary terminal location will be used on April 24, May 30, June 21, July 11, Aug. 1, Sept. 5, and Oct. 2 and 9. The move will accommodate visits by Holland America Line’s Noordam and Azamara Cruises’ Azamara Pursuit on those dates.

One of those cruise ship stopover dates, June 21, will also coincide with Hullo Ferries’ special late-night return service to Nanaimo following the FIFA World Cup match between New Zealand and Egypt at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver.

In total, Hullo Ferries is offering eight special late-night sailing dates throughout June 2026, including four dates for the FIFA World Cup matches and three dates for concerts, such as Mumford & Sons, Alex Warren, and Machine Gun Kelly. At the time of writing, the company has yet to release its special late-night sailing schedule for July 2026.

hullo ferries nanaimo temporary terminal august 26 2024

Hullo Ferries’ temporary Downtown Nanaimo terminal location at the W.E. Mills Landing Marina. (Submitted)

Hullo Ferries is advising passengers that the temporary terminal is an outdoor location with no shelter. Travellers are encouraged to prepare for weather conditions and allow extra travel time. Additional staff will be on site to help guide passengers.

The closest parkade to W.E. Landing Marina is the Harbour Front Parkade. Hullo Ferries’ complimentary shuttle service will also pick up and drop off passengers at the nearby bus exchange. The company also emphasized that there is no access to the temporary terminal through BC Ferries’ Gabriola Island terminal.

Driving distance from Hullo Ferries’ regular Nanaimo Port Authority terminal location to the temporary Downtown Nanaimo terminal location at the W.E. Mills Landing Marina. (Google Maps)

The Port of Nanaimo has seen a growing number of cruise ship visits in recent years, increasing from two in 2024 to four in 2025 and eight in 2026. There were no cruise ship visits between 2020 and 2023.

Preliminary cruise schedules — subject to changes and additions — also show seven planned stopovers at Nanaimo in 2027 between March and October. Additionally, four cruise ship visits are already scheduled for the first two months of the 2028 season in April and May. Prior to the pandemic, Nanaimo’s port officials were aiming to attract two to three dozen cruise ship stopovers per season.

Hullo Ferries also temporarily relocated its Nanaimo terminal on occasion in previous years to accommodate cruise ships, using the W.E. Landing Marina as well.

In early April 2026, ahead of a major change in the fare structure beginning in June 2026, Hullo Ferries shared that they have recorded over 1.3 million cumulative passengers on more than 8,000 sailings since launching in August 2023.

Hullo Ferries’ temporary Downtown Nanaimo terminal location at the W.E. Mills Landing Marina. (Submitted)

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