Cruise ship season is officially underway in the Maritimes.
The first ship stopped in Halifax over the weekend, but Saint John will have to wait two more months before its port kicks off its own cruise ship season.
Halifax will have 137 ships visit their port this year, while Saint John will see just 52 ships - 12 fewer ships than last year and the lowest number since 2006.
Most of this year’s reduction can be attributed to a decision made two years ago by Carnival Cruise Lines to cut the number of visits to Saint John in half. At the time, there was a dispute with the federal government over new air emission standards for cruise ships. That dispute has since been resolved, but not in time to restore the number of ship visits to the city.
Beth Kelly Hatt organizes tours for cruise ship passengers. She is confident about the long-term prospects, despite this year’s slowdown.
“It’s just a matter of having more of these new ships coming and we’ll be back on track,” says Hatt.
“We’ve all had to make some adjustments to what we spend and how we spend it, but we are also growing other parts of our business. We’re doing training and other things and that’s moving really well.”
Hatt says the fall cruise ship schedule is a busy one, and that is what many vendors will be relying on later in the year.
“When the events on the boardwalk seemed to slow down, the cruise ships picked up and that kept us going until the end of October,” says food vendor Brandon Parent.
Only four ships will be calling on Saint John in July and August.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron
