We’ll see cruise ships in the harbour once again, but not until next summer.
Ships from the Holland America line will visit three times in 2019
Dave McCormick from the Port Authority said they’ve been working closely with the city and various cruise lines to bring the big ships back to Port Alberni.
McCormick said market conditions prevented cruise lines from looking at expanded routes for the past few years, and Port Alberni will be on an Alaskan route that also includes Astoria Oregon.
He says our community rated very high in passenger satisfaction ratings, which helped representatives from PAPA and the city make their case.
When cruise ships tie-up in Nanaimo, the most popular excursion for passengers is a bus trip to Cathedral Grove followed by a train ride to McLean Mill.
On the other hand, a docking problem in 2009 allegedly led the captain of the Statendam to write in his log book: “Port Alberni – Never again”.
McCormick said he was unaware of the issue, which won’t happen again as the ship will anchor in the harbour and passengers will be ferried to Centennial Pier by smaller vessels.
It’s been 5 years since the last cruise ship visited Port Alberni.
Holland America ships will be here three times in the summer of 2019.