The Grand Princess will launch Victoria’s cruise ship season April 22 when the 951-foot, 2,606-passenger vessel docks at Ogden Point for a seven-hour stay.
The record-setting season winds up on Nov. 9 when the 2,590-passenger, 965-foot Star Princess ties up for a daytime stay.
Victoria is a principal stop for the lucrative Alaska cruise route. Ships pull in for stopovers on the way to destinations such as Ketchican, Skagway, Juneau and Sitka along the Alaska coast, where passengers are treated to glaciers, whales and historic sites.
Two records are anticipated in Victoria this year. The number of ship visits is expected to reach 231, eclipsing the high of 224 in 2012. Passenger levels are expected to hit 530,000 this year, up from 503,691 in 2012.
Cruise ships are growing in passenger capacity. The Jewel of the Seas will be a regular visitor at Ogden Point and it can carry 3,114 passengers, the highest number among vessels pulling in this year.
Ship visit numbers can change during the season for various reasons, including scheduling and weather.
This year’s season is a little longer than in 2014, which started May 1 and wrapped up on Oct. 6. Last year, Victoria saw 206 ship visits with 465,000 passengers.
Capital region businesses anticipate the arrival of cruise ships and are eager to serve passengers and crew who visit attractions and spend money in retail shops and restaurants. Cruise lines also hire local companies for such work as provisioning and ship repairs.
But the James Bay Neighbourhood Association has spent years expressing concerns about the industry, citing emissions from ships and vehicles carrying passengers on the streets.
A study done for the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, which owns and manages Ogden Point, said the 2012 cruise-ship season delivered a total annual economic impact of $96 million, generated 368 direct full- and part-time jobs and paid $13.6 million in wages.
The James Bay Neighbourhood Association disagrees, saying economic benefits were overstated.
“At today’s excessive levels of activity, the socio-environmental costs of cruise tourism outweigh the financial benefits,” the association’s 2011 cost-benefit analysis said.