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At least 300 visits expected as B.C.'s 2023 cruise ship season officially launches

Cruise ships returned to B.C. last year following a two-year, COVID-19 related break
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People swim in the pool as others stand on the outer edges of the deck aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Serenade of the Seas as it passes under the Lions Gate Bridge while leaving port in 91Ô­´´, B.C., Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022. Cruise ship season officially launches in British Columbia as the Sapphire Princess berths in Victoria for a one-day visit. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Cruise ship season officially launches in British Columbia as the Sapphire Princess berths in Victoria for a one-day visit.

The vessel then travels to 91Ô­´´ to begin that city's season.

The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority expects 330 ships between April and October, bringing at least 850,000 passengers to the capital.

The Port of 91Ô­´´ says 331 cruise ships are scheduled over the same period, potentially delivering more than one million visitors into the downtown core, with almost daily arrivals and departures at the height of the season between May and September.

Prince Rupert's cruise ship season doesn't start until May 3 with the arrival of the Carnival Miracle, but 43 more ships and nearly 80,000 passengers are scheduled to visit before the season ends at that north coast port in early October.

Cruise ships returned to British Columbia last year following a two-year, COVID-19 related break, with the Port of 91Ô­´´ saying it welcomed a record 307 ships, a seven per cent increase over visits in 2019. 

This report by The 91Ô­´´ Press was first published April 11, 2023.

The 91Ô­´´ Press