BC offers many shore excursions, including those that take cruise passengers back on the water, to Buntzen Lake near Vancouver.
About The Cruise Industry In British Columbia

As early as 1887 when the Canadian Pacific Railway Company began offering steamer cruises to destinations such as Vancouver, Hawaii, Shanghai, Alaska and Seattle, the cruise industry has been a defining feature along Canada's Inside Passage and the West Coast of British Columbia. Jumping ahead one hundred years to 1986 when Vancouver's Canada Place was dedicated, providing the stage for British Columbia to capture its share of the growing international cruise industry.

Today, over 530 ship calls carrying over 1.3 million passengers visit British Columbia's coast each year (based on 2006 season results). The total economic impact of this activity is estimated at $1.3 billion.

Highlights of the 2006 Cruise Season / Looking Ahead to 2007
Highlights of the 2006 cruise season include:
  • The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority hosted 182 ship calls, carrying 334,570 revenue passengers. Victoria's port calls have grown 54% between 2003 and 2006.
  • The Port of Prince Rupert has rapidly developed into a key destination for cruise tourism with a total of 48 ship calls and 63,767 revenue passengers in 2006.
  • Nanaimo Port Authority hosted 51 ship calls and 53,160 passengers.
  • Vancouver Port Authority recorded 838,500 revenue passengers on 253 vessel calls through the Port of Vancouver. The Port of Vancouver was recently named the most passenger-friendly cruise port in North America by London-based Berlitz travel publishing company, with top marks for user friendliness and luggage handling.
  • Campbell River will be welcoming its first ships in 2007 with the completion of their Wei Wai Kum Cruise Ship Terminal.

The success of the 2006 cruise season was also attributed in part to new itineraries featuring cruises to various BC ports in September and October aboard Celebrity Cruises' vessel Mercury. The itineraries included ports of call at Vancouver, Victoria, and Nanaimo. As a result of the program's first year of success, Celebrity Cruises is again offering the cruises in the Fall of 2007. A survey of passengers aboard these cruises demonstrated top marks for BC ports and destinations, with nine out of 10 passengers rating their overall cruise experience at 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 as poor and 5 as excellent).

Looking Ahead to the 2007 Season:
Campbell River's Wei Wai Kum Cruise Ship Terminal is ready to welcom its first cruise port-calls in the 2007 season. After a very successful inaugural visit on June 5, 2007, the Regent Seven Seas Mariner will be making four stops this season.

The Port of Vancouver continues to offer cruise passengers more ships and departure dates to choose from than any other port. The Port will welcom 33 ships in 2007 at its two cruise terminals, Canada Place and Ballantyne Pier. With the U.S. Direct Program now in its third year of operation, Vancouver reps anticipate more passengers will opt for the quicker and easier transfers between Vancouver Airport and their cruise ship.

Victoria continues to be a leading cruise ship service centre. This is evidenced by the five large cruise ships that will be going into local area dry-docks, and the 14 pocket cruise ships scheduled to visit the spectacular Inner Harbour. The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority is anticipating an estimated 324,000 visitors on 20 different cruise ships making 163 calls to the Ogden Point Terminal during the season.

Prince Rupert Port Authority is projecting more than a 75% jump in cruise passengers and nearly 50% in cruise ship calls in 2007. Not only are new ships scheduled to make port calls on more days, the average length of their visit will be longer.

The Port of Nanaimo continues to be an attractive destination for cruise ships travelling Canada's Inside Passage. Increases seen in the past few years will continue in 2007 including 15 sailings.


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