Victoria Clipper to resume Seattle sailings this week
The Victoria Clipper fast ferry from Seattle will resume service to Vancouver Island on Friday after a year and a half of suspended operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Seattle-Victoria service will only be available to American travellers, as the U.S. continues to bar recreational travel for Canadians through land and sea borders until at least Sept. 21.
Bookings for the Clipper are already open, with the company offering sailings four days a week to and from Victoria, with added sailings planned around Christmas and the American Thanksgiving holiday.
All U.S. citizens and Canadian residents living in the U.S. will be required to be fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to arriving in Victoria. Clipper travellers will be required to provide proof of vaccination and submit their travel information to Canadian authorities within 72 hours of their arrival, according to Clipper Vacations.
Fully vaccinated travellers will be exempt from quarantine, however all travellers must still provide a quarantine plan and be prepared to quarantine in case it is determined at the border that they do not meet the necessary requirements, the company said.
The Clipper ceased sailing in March 2020, cutting its workforce from 200 year-round staff and seasonal employees to just eight administrative staff, the company said in a news release last month.
“The pandemic has had a devastating impact on our company like so many others, but I’m incredibly proud of the support from the Victoria community and my staff’s resiliency and determination to return to our core international operations once again,” said Clipper CEO David Gudgel.
“We could not be more excited to reinstate our safe, trusted fast ferry service and to provide the core connection between Victoria and Seattle that so many have relied upon for travel over the past 35 years.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.