Vancouver is days away from marking a pandemic milestone, one the struggling tourism industry has been eagerly awaiting. The restart of cruise ship season is coming next week, and while there will be some changes for travellers, there’s hope it will be the first step in rebuilding a sector once worth billions to the B.C. economy.
The Caribbean Princess is set to arrive in Vancouver next Thursday, after making a stop in Victoria.
The last cruise ships left local waters in 2019, and then the pandemic shut down the 2020 season before vessels had a chance to return to B.C.
Tourism Industry Association of B.C. CEO Walt Judas said cruise ships used to generate just under $3 billion in economic activity for the province each year, with the majority of passengers who set sail from Vancouver coming from outside of Canada.
“They’re the big spenders,” he said. “They’re the ones that stay in hotels, eat in restaurants, use transportation companies, go to attractions, frequent the retailers. There’s a whole eco-system built around cruise, and it’s so vital to our province every year.”
This season will come with some changes for passengers. Even though vaccinated travellers entering Canada to get on a cruise will no longer be required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test as of April 1, they will still be required to test before boarding the vessel: a molecular test within 72 hours, or a an antigen test within one day.
Lawyer for Cruise Lines International Association Barry Penner said it’s not a new measure.
“That requirement is fairly standard now. Most people who’ve cruised out of the six million in the last year and a half around the world have had to be tested before getting on a ship,” he said. “It does add an extra step to the boarding process, but in the United States where cruising resumed last year, testing was required before getting on a ship.”
Penner said the industry is hoping there may be some streamlining when it comes to the ArriveCan app.
“For the majority of people that will be cruising out of Vancouver, that’s anybody coming from outside of Canada, they’ll have to do two ArriveCan app processes, we’re told,” he said. “One before coming into YVR or driving across the land border, and another one before getting on the ship...it’d be nice to see if there would be a way to combine those two into one, so people don’t have to fumble around with their phones when they’re standing in line at Canada Place.”
Cruise ship crews and passengers must also be fully vaccinated, with few exceptions, according to the new federal guidelines, and self-monitor for symptoms. Cruise lines are responsible for testing suspected cases on board and isolating confirmed cases.
Penner said cruising has already resumed in more than 90 different markets around the world over the last two years.
“Canada is one of the last countries in the world where cruise will resume,” he said. “There’ll be a couple more ships (in B.C.) in April, and then a real resumption starting in May, when we’ll get back to a regular season.”
Judas said it remains to be seen how full those ships are, at least at the outset.
“They might not be at maximum capacity if only because people want to get comfortable with getting on a cruise again,”he said. “Ideally, as we see the first cruise ships depart in the coming weeks, people will gain that confidence.”
