'Phenomenal' cruise ship season brings thousands of tourists to Saint John
Cruise ship season is in full swing in Saint John, N.B., with three different ships making the call to the Port City on Tuesday.
The Arcadia, Enchanted Princess, and Norwegian Jade brought nearly 8,500 passengers with them, with many of them pouring into the uptown to explore Canada’s oldest incorporated city.
“The season has been phenomenal,” says Port Saint John cruise excellence director Natalie Allaby. “We started back in May and we're building all throughout the summer. Now we're definitely in the peak weeks.”
Allaby says there have been a few extra overnight stays so far this season, allowing tourists to explore the Port City during the evening and check out a show or enjoy dinner uptown. She also says overnight passengers get to experience the full effect of the world’s highest tides in the Bay of Fundy.
“We mostly came for the Bay of Fundy,” says couple Angela and Barry Dixon. “It seems like it's the only place in the world that it quite works that way so it was worth getting off the boat and taking a look around.”
A number of passengers said the Reversing Falls were their favourite attraction in the city.
When some people think of going on a cruise, a sunnier destination tends to come top of mind. For Mike and Carol Priest, who travelled from overseas, the history of Saint John is what drew them.
“It’s a bit more interesting than just going to a sunny place,” the couple says. “There is plenty of history (in Saint John) associated with the revolution and the War of Independence.”
For a quartet of sisters, they are doing the cruise in honour of their late sister who loved Saint John.
“It's been really fun to go and visit the places that she's always loved to visit and go to,” say the sisters. She did this cruise about four times and she just loved it.”
Alexa Bailey and Kyle Suttie live on the city’s east side and they say it’s been a different perspective when it comes to enjoying their hometown from a cruise ship.
“This morning I was ecstatic just seeing the port from the water,” says Bailey. “Seeing the other side of Partridge Island, like things that you just you don't see when you're standing on the ground in Saint John, so it's just it's so cool.”
“The city is doing a great job at representing the folks that are here,” Suttie says. “I'm really proud to call (Saint John) home today.”
The peak cruise season has become a crucial time of year for uptown businesses. Gaye Ann Walsh, owner of Walsh Luggage inside Market Square, admits some days can be exhausting with so many customers.
She says the ships have allowed her to grow her business in a way that wouldn’t be possible on local sales alone. She adds the newly finished public space outside Market Square has added more foot traffic to the area.
“It was a little tricky,” Walsh says. “But now that things seem to be calmed down, at least for them to walk through everything. It’s not totally finished, but they're getting there.”
The cruise ship season generates around $68 million a year in regional economic impact.
While Saint John’s uptown benefits the most from the cruise ships, Allaby says buses shuttle passengers across the Bay of Fundy shoreline to other towns and major attractions.
“It's really a southern New Brunswick success story where those dollars are being sprinkled throughout the Bay of Fundy region,” says Allaby. “We know passengers enjoy our uptown and Saint John, but they're also going to St. Martins, going up to Hopewell Rocks, they are going down to Saint Andrews to go whale watching, so it's really a positive southern New Brunswick success story.”
There are plenty of busy days left for the port, highlighted by back-to-back three-ship days on Oct. 2 and 3. The final ship slated to make the call to the Saint John port will arrive on Nov. 4.
For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian drink company tastes controversy after Simu Liu raises cultural appropriation questions
Controversy bubbled for a Canadian drink company after its founders drew the ire of a Marvel superhero on an episode of a “Shark Tank”-style reality series.
China sends 125 military aircraft in exercises aimed at Taiwan in single-day record, Taiwan says
China employed 125 military aircraft in exercises aimed at Taiwan on Monday, a record for a single day, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence said.
Canadian comedian, talk show host Mike Bullard dead at 67
Canadian stand-up comedian and former talk show host Mike Bullard has died.
Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, study finds
The 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, Spanish scientists said on Saturday, after using DNA analysis to tackle a centuries-old mystery.
Woman killed by malfunctioning ottoman bed
A 39-year-old British woman was killed when a malfunctioning ottoman bed fell on her neck and asphyxiated her, a coroner’s report said.
Thousands of miles from home, Trudeau learns of dissension in his caucus
The free trade agreement with ASEAN is expected to be signed at the end of 2025. If Trudeau is pressured to step down, or if his government falls and loses the next election, Trudeau will not, as prime minister, be there to see the fruits of his labour.
Warmer than normal temperatures lead to duller fall colours in Ontario
An especially warm fall in Ontario means the province may not get the colourful array of fall foliage that usually transforms treetops this time of year.
3 in 4 Canadians show support for defence spending on new submarines, Nanos survey shows
Three in four Canadians support defence spending on new submarines, according to a new survey from Nanos Research and CTV News.
Only roughly 1 in 5 childless adults say they'll have children, survey finds
New data from the Angus Reid Institute shows that only one in five childless adults 50 or younger are confident they will have children.