Halifax welcomed its first cruise ship of the season on Monday, and while Maritime hospitality was as warm as ever, Mother Nature’s wasn’t.

The weather was wet and cold for the more than 600 passengers that disembarked from MS Amadea, keeping most them inside browsing gift shops, or boarding the bus for a quick excursion to Peggys Cove.

The Amadea, operated by Germany-based company Phoenix Reisen, kicked off cruise ship season in the Maritimes’ largest port when it arrived early Monday morning.

While the last week of April is typically marked by kiosks opening up and a growing number of people on the waterfront, this year Halifax is experiencing a run of cooler temperatures and mixed precipitation, even though spring is well underway.

“By the time our regular season, which is May on, starts up, hopefully most of this winter weather will be behind us,” said Lane Farguson of the Halifax Port Authority.

The city’s tourism industry is hoping for more pleasant weather too.

“The weather kind of dictates the flow of customers we get here, as you can imagine, as a place on the waterfront, but we make the most of what we got,” said Nick Tutssell, working at Rum Runners Rum Cake Factory.

More than 240,000 passengers are expected to visit Halifax this season, which would be a 10 per cent increase from last year.

The Amadea is scheduled to sail into Sydney on Tuesday.

Cruise ship season in the Maritimes typically runs until the end of October or early November.

It will begin in P.E.I. on May 10 when Charlottetown welcomes its first ship, and in New Brunswick on May 11 when Saint John sees its first arrive.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Suzette Belliveau