The Oasis of the Seas cruise ship visits Port Saint John in June 2022. Image: Submitted/Port Saint John
Halifax is expected to have one it’s busiest Cruise Ship seasons ever this year.
191 cruise ships are expected to port at our waterfront, and the only time the city had more was in 2018 with 196.
As for guests, around 325, 000 are expected. Port Spokesperson, Emily Richardson says it’s possible the total number of passengers that arrive could break the record from 2019 of 323, 709.
“We won’t know for sure until the end of the season, as we can lose calls due to inclement weather and other unforeseen circumstances, but there’s a lot of potential for a record-breaking season. This ties back into [there being] bigger ships, more people, and fewer small ships,” Richardson says.
One of the highlights this year, will be the visit from the 4th largest cruise ship in the world. Oasis of the Seas, is expected to arrive May 31 and is 15 tennis courts long, 20 stories high, and capable of carrying 5,400 passengers and about 2,400 crew.
Richardson says a challenge last year was support all the tourism after losing employees due to the pandemic. She says agencies are hopeful many employees will want to return to meet the demand.
She says it’s too early to know what the economic impact of last-year’s cruise season was, but expects it to be similar to pre-pandemic numbers, and the demand isn’t going down.
