Vancouver's record-breaking cruise ship season ends with $1 billion+ economic boost | Daily Hive

Vancouver's record-breaking cruise ship season ends with more than $1 billion economic boost

Celebrity Edge at the Canada Place cruise ship terminal in Downtown Vancouver, May 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Vancouver is closing out its busiest cruise ship season on record, with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority estimating the industry contributed more than $1 billion to the local economy for the 2026 season.

With just days until the last ship of the season departs, the Canada Place cruise ship terminal in Downtown Vancouver is now expected to finish the season with about 1.4 million passengers — in line with the record estimates made from the outset of the season — and 358 cruise ship visits.

According to the port authority today, those totals represent increases of 18 per cent for passenger volumes and 19 per cent for cruise ship visits, compared with 2025, when the terminal recorded about 1.2 million passenger visits and 300 ship calls.

The season’s final vessel, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore, is scheduled to arrive at Canada Place at 2:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, and depart 24 hours later.

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The critical mass of cruise ship passengers in Vancouver supports attractions, shops, restaurants, bars, hotels, entertainment, transportation, and other services, especially businesses within and near Downtown Vancouver.

However, the economic benefits extend beyond passengers boarding and leaving their cruise ships. Unlike the cruise ship terminals at Victoria, Quebec City, and Halifax, the overwhelming majority of the cruise ships that visit Vancouver use Canada Place as their homeport — the starting and ending point for Alaska cruises, giving local businesses opportunities to supply vessels with food, fuel, repairs, and other services between voyages.

The port authority estimates each cruise ship call generates an average of $3 million in economic activity.

“We are thrilled to celebrate another successful cruise season, with more than $1 billion injected into the local economy as cruise lines and passengers increasingly make Vancouver a core part of their Alaska adventure,” said Jeff Scott, the vice president of operations and supply chain at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, in a statement.

Passengers are also increasingly adding time in Vancouver to their vacations.

According to the Pacific Rim Cruise Association’s latest passenger survey, 76 per cent spend time locally before or after their cruise, up from 70 per cent in 2023.

The survey found average local spending of $1,144 per passenger on accommodation, dining, shopping, tours, attractions, and other purchases. Passengers stay an average of 1.4 nights in Vancouver before or after sailing, rising to 2.6 nights among visitors from outside North America.

“Cruise passengers are making Vancouver part of their journey, not simply the place where it begins or ends,” said Royce Chwin, president and CEO of Destination Vancouver.

“With three-quarters spending time in the city before or after their sailing, that activity reaches well beyond the waterfront into our hotels, restaurants, attractions, shops and neighbourhoods. This record season is a significant boost for Vancouver’s visitor economy and an opportunity to give more travellers reasons to stay longer and return.”

This year also brought a new all-time cruise ship size record to Vancouver. On Sept. 27, as previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized, Princess Cruises’ Star Princess became the largest cruise ship by gross tonnage (GT) to ever visit Canada Place, at 177,882 GT. It surpassed the Norwegian Encore’s 169,116 GT, which visited in both 2023 and earlier in 2026.

The season also brought several notable firsts for Vancouver. Brilliant Lady and Luminara‘s inaugural visits marked the respective Vancouver debuts of Virgin Voyages and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, while Disney Magic made its first visit and homeported in Vancouver throughout the season. With Disney Magic joining longtime Vancouver regular Disney Wonder, Disney Cruise Line effectively doubled its long seasonal presence in the city.

Both the Disney Wonder and Disney Magic will return to Vancouver in 2027 to provide a two-ship presence in the city throughout the season. As well, Brilliant and Luminara will also be making a return in 2027, with 10 visits already in the preliminary schedule for Luminara.

star princess vancouver canada place september 2026

Star Princess visiting Vancouver’s Canada Place cruise ship terminal for the first time on Sept. 27, 2026. (Stephen Daniel M/submitted)

The 2026 records coincide with Canada Place’s 40th anniversary as an Alaska cruise homeport. The terminal has supported more than 10,000 sailings since 1986.

With passenger volumes and the number of cruise ship visits growing, further Canada Place terminal improvements are planned.

New elevators are planned at key passenger arrival points. Meanwhile, the port authority says average boarding times have fallen below 30 minutes since facial biometric scanning at the terminal’s U.S. customs hall was first introduced in 2024.

Construction to expand shore power capacity is scheduled to begin in the coming months, allowing more ships to connect to BC Hydro’s electrical grid and turn off their fossil fuel-powered auxiliary engines while docked. About 80 per cent of annual cruise ship calls involve vessels equipped to use shore power, although that does not necessarily mean every eligible vessel connects during each visit.

According to the port authority, preliminary bookings suggest another strong cruise ship season in Vancouver in 2027, although no projected passenger or ship totals have been provided at this time.

Currently, the 2027 cruise ship season is expected to begin on March 24, when the Europa arrives at Canada Place to be Vancouver’s first cruise ship visit of the season. But like previous years, the season will not truly kick off until late April, when Canada Place begins to see a cruise ship visit almost every single day through early October. The 2027 season will come to an official close on Oct. 8 with a visit by the Ovation of the Seas.

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