We’re heading into the peak cruise ship season in Saint John, with the Carnival Sunshine slated to arrive on Wednesday and bring 3200 guests to the city.
Cruise ships are expected to make 23 calls to the Port City in the month of September alone with this year one of the longest cruise seasons on record for Port Saint John. 85-percent of the volume of cruise ships, guests, and crew for this year will visit between September 5 and November 1.
Manager of cruise development with Port Saint John Betty MacMillon says the economic impact for the Saint John region from cruise has gone up.
“It has originally been 50-some-dollars and now they’re saying it’s up over 80 dollars per passenger. And then there’s crew members as well, they definitely get out and spend money. So, the economic impact is real,” says MacMillan.
“There’s still 53 vessels to call this season, so it’s a little quiet over the summer but it’s going to be pretty busy this fall. Actually we’ve got 12 double ship days.”
There are also four triple ship days. The season began on April 27 with Holland America Line’s ship Veendam docking at the Marco Polo Cruise Ship Terminal and the final ship expected to visit Saint John this season is the Seven Seas Mariner on November 1.
