Vancouver ends 2025 cruise ship season with 1.2 million passengers | Daily Hive

Discovery Princess cruise ship departing Vancouver's Canada Place. (Kenneth Chan)

It was another strong cruise ship season at Canada Place in downtown Vancouver, with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority announcing today its cruise ship terminal welcomed 1.2 million passengers on 301 cruise ship visits.

The 2025 cruise ship season officially began on March 5 with the arrival of the Disney Wonder, and it will conclude tomorrow, Oct. 21, with the departure of the Coral Princess.

Just below the tallies of 1.25 million recorded in 2023 and 1.32 million in 2024 and above the 1.1 million in 2019, the figure for 2025 is exceptionally strong, especially when considering a myriad of headwind factors such as Canada’s structural economic issues, the rising cost of living, and political disputes and the impact of tariffs by the United States.

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According to the port authority, this year’s cruise ship activity contributed over $1 billion to the local economy, including $660 million spent by cruise lines on resupplying their ships with goods from local businesses and their spending on services. As well, passengers spend an average of $450 each on hotels, restaurants, shopping, tours, and local attractions — benefiting many businesses in downtown Vancouver, in particular.

“This year’s success underscores the cruise sector’s power as an economic engine,” said Shri Madiwal, vice president of operations and supply chain of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, in a statement.

“Each sailing brings millions of dollars in passenger spending that circulates through hotels, restaurants, attractions, and suppliers, helping to strengthen our regional economy.”

discovery princess cruise ship canada place vancouver

Discovery Princess cruise ship departing Vancouver’s Canada Place. (Kenneth Chan)

Canada Place is one of the largest home ports for Alaska cruise itineraries. The port authority has noted that preliminary bookings for 2026 indicate another strong forthcoming cruise ship season, with even more cruise ship visits and a higher overall passenger count.

The 2026 cruise ship season in Vancouver will also see one of its earliest starts ever, when the Disney Wonder makes the inaugural visit of the year on Feb. 26.

Throughout the 2026 season, the Disney Wonder will make a total of 21 roundtrip sailings from Vancouver, and she will be joined by her sister ship, the Disney Magic, completing 18 roundtrip sailings — nearly doubling Disney Cruise Lines’ Vancouver capacity.

This will be the first-time ever Disney Cruise Line will regularly operate two ships from Vancouver, ever since it assigned Disney Wonder to Canada Place in 2011.

“On behalf of our member cruise lines, I want to thank the port authority and all our partners and suppliers whose expertise and coordination delivered smooth, reliable operations for cruise guests this season,” said Donna Spalding, senior advisor of Cruise Lines International Association.

“Vancouver continues to be one of North America’s premier homeports, consistently attracting cruise travelers from around the globe. This reflects the growing demand for cruise vacations, and we’re excited to build on that momentum in 2026.”

Discovery Princess cruise ship departing Vancouver’s Canada Place. (Kenneth Chan)

The port authority also noted that Canada Place was once again named the leading cruise ship port in North America and nominated the world’s leading cruise port in the 2025 World Travel Awards.

As well, when it comes to environmental sustainability, over 80 per cent of cruise ship visits at Canada Place in 2025 plugged into the cruise ship terminal’s shore-power connections, enabling ships to shut off their auxiliary diesel engines and use BC Hydro’s cleaner electricity from the grid. This year also saw the first-ever LNG refuelling for a cruise ship at Canada Place.

When it comes to capacity and convenience improvements for cruise ship passengers, the implementation of facial biometric scanning at Canada Place’s customs hall since 2024 has reduced the time it takes to pass through U.S. border control by up to 94 per cent, with average times dropping from two to three minutes at manned passport kiosks to just under 10 seconds using the new technology.

Vancouver International Airport has also seen a strong air passenger count this year to date, buoyed by strong tourism, including cruise ship passengers. As well, airport statistics show there has been no major dip in passenger volumes on U.S. flight routes as of this summer, with the low Canadian dollar being in the favour of American travellers.

canada place cruise ship terminal vancouver facial biometric customs

Facial biometric customs screening at the Canada Place cruise ship terminal. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)

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