(Saint John, N.B.) Next year is shaping up to be the biggest cruise season ever, for Saint John. Today, the Saint John Port Authority announced that there are 82 scheduled calls booked for 2008. This represents a substantial increase over the 53 calls that were welcomed during the just completed 2007 cruise season.
“Nobody could have imagined the growth we’ve experienced in our cruise sector since the first ship arrived in 1989,” said Capt Al Soppitt, President and CEO of the Saint John Port Authority “the investments we’ve made and continue to make into our cruise business is continuing to pay dividends for all of Saint John.”
The season will commence May 31st with a return visit from Hapag-Lloyd Line’s Bremen. The 180 passengers on-board will be the first of more than 180,000 passengers for the season.
Another strong commitment from Carnival Cruise Line, 23 calls in all, on 4, 5 and 7 day cruises. There will be six – 4-day calls on Saturdays during the summer. 2008 will mark the 10th year Carnival Cruise Line has been calling Saint John.
NCL has planned to have several vessels in the Canada-New England region in 2008 and each will make a few calls on Saint John. The Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Dream, Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Majesty will make a total of 16 calls.
Princess has increased their presence in our region from 9 calls in 2007 to 17 in 2008. The Caribbean Princess will make the first of her 9 visits in late August, which is the earliest we have seen a Princess ship in years. The Sea Princess will begin calling Sept, 17th and make 4 calls, and the Royal Princess will make 4 calls beginning Sept 22.
Both, the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth 2, will be visiting. 2008 will be the last year of cruising for the Queen Elizabeth 2 – she has been sold and will become a floating hotel in Dubai at the end of her cruising season.
The Balmoral owned by Fred Olsen Cruises (a European line based out of Ipswich, England) will make 2 calls next season. This represents an increase from their sole visit last year.
“2008 promises to be an exciting season for Saint John’s cruise industry” said Betty MacMillan, Manager, Business Development for the Saint John Port Authority “of particular note are the inaugural visits we will be receiving from the Caribbean Princess, the Norwegian Dream, the Eurodam and the Balmoral. As well, the Port will experience a rarity when we host 4 cruise ships on September 30th.”
Ms MacMillan went on to say, “this is the earliest we have ever released our cruise schedule, so it is subject to change.”
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For More Information, contact:
Bill Eaton
Saint John Port Authority
506-636-4674
beaton@sjport.com
