DrT
September 12th, 2009, 01:57 AM
Disney to base cruise ship in the port of Vancouver.
Great news for our cruise terminal after some recent relocations of ships to Seattle.
Link:http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Disney+Vancouver+home+port+Alaska+bound+cruise+ships/1984696/story.html
From The Sun:
Disney to use Vancouver as home port for Alaska-bound cruise ships
By Marke Andrews, Vancouver Sun
September 11, 2009 2:27
VANCOUVER - The announcement Friday that Disney Cruise Line will use Vancouver as a home port for 18 Alaska cruises in 2011 comes as a shot in the arm for Port Vancouver, which has experienced a drop in cruise line business.
Between May 3 and Aug. 30, 2011, the cruise ship Disney Wonder will make 18 seven-night sailings from Vancouver, expecting to bring almost 100,000 passengers through the city.
The Disney Wonder, which will visit Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, has a passenger capacity of 2,700, and would both embark and disembark in Vancouver, so the passenger count is doubled at the home port.
Robin Silvester, president and CEO of Port Metro Vancouver, welcomed the news at a time when port traffic has dropped due to the economy. Silvester said the port expects a 30-per-cent drop in passengers in 2010, a total of 600,000 cruise line travellers. Prior to the recession, the port would handle one million passengers.
Disney will also run a five- and six-night cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver and Vancouver to Los Angeles, with stops in San Francisco and Victoria.
Silvester said Port Metro Vancouver has been talking with Disney for two years about running a line from Vancouver.
“The Disney cruise experience will introduce a whole new generation of cruise passengers to Vancouver,” Silvester predicted.
Vancouver has lost port business to Seattle, a prime port destination in part because of the greater number of cheaper flights in and out of Sea-Tac Airport compared to Vancouver International Airport. Almost 80 per cent of Alaska cruise ship passengers are American, and it is cheaper for them to fly to Seattle than to Vancouver.
In March, Holland America announced it would replace 20 seven-day sailings between Vancouver and Alaska with 10 14-day sailings out of Seattle, beginning in 2010. Also in March, Carnival Cruise Ships announced that nine round-trip sailings between Vancouver and Alaska would be relocated to Seattle in 2010.
Vancouver’s cruise ship industry was also hurt when Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines decided to cancel 19 sailings between Vancouver and Alaska, moving that cruise to the Caribbean. Norwegian Cruise Lines changed 10 round-trip sailings between Vancouver and Alaska to one-way trips.
Each round-trip sailing has an economic impact of $2 million for the city.
Jeff James, vice-president of sales for Disney Cruise Lines, said the decision came as a result of passenger demand for Disney to run sailings to Alaska. The customers wanted Vancouver as a home port, James wrote in an e-mail.
“Seattle is a great port, however, we listened to our guests and believe that Vancouver will provide the experience they are asking for,” James said.
In addition to carrying up to 2,700 passengers, the Disney Wonder is staffed with about 950 crew members.
The ship has 877 staterooms, a theatre with Broadway-style shows, an adults-only restaurant and adults-only entertainment district, cafes, a spa and salon, a movie theatre, three swimming pools, a nursery, and activity rooms for children and teens. The ship is also populated by people wearing costumes of Disney characters.
Rates for the seven-night itinerary start at $939 US per person for a standard inside stateroom, based on double occupancy.
Great news for our cruise terminal after some recent relocations of ships to Seattle.
Link:http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Disney+Vancouver+home+port+Alaska+bound+cruise+ships/1984696/story.html
From The Sun:
Disney to use Vancouver as home port for Alaska-bound cruise ships
By Marke Andrews, Vancouver Sun
September 11, 2009 2:27
VANCOUVER - The announcement Friday that Disney Cruise Line will use Vancouver as a home port for 18 Alaska cruises in 2011 comes as a shot in the arm for Port Vancouver, which has experienced a drop in cruise line business.
Between May 3 and Aug. 30, 2011, the cruise ship Disney Wonder will make 18 seven-night sailings from Vancouver, expecting to bring almost 100,000 passengers through the city.
The Disney Wonder, which will visit Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, has a passenger capacity of 2,700, and would both embark and disembark in Vancouver, so the passenger count is doubled at the home port.
Robin Silvester, president and CEO of Port Metro Vancouver, welcomed the news at a time when port traffic has dropped due to the economy. Silvester said the port expects a 30-per-cent drop in passengers in 2010, a total of 600,000 cruise line travellers. Prior to the recession, the port would handle one million passengers.
Disney will also run a five- and six-night cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver and Vancouver to Los Angeles, with stops in San Francisco and Victoria.
Silvester said Port Metro Vancouver has been talking with Disney for two years about running a line from Vancouver.
“The Disney cruise experience will introduce a whole new generation of cruise passengers to Vancouver,” Silvester predicted.
Vancouver has lost port business to Seattle, a prime port destination in part because of the greater number of cheaper flights in and out of Sea-Tac Airport compared to Vancouver International Airport. Almost 80 per cent of Alaska cruise ship passengers are American, and it is cheaper for them to fly to Seattle than to Vancouver.
In March, Holland America announced it would replace 20 seven-day sailings between Vancouver and Alaska with 10 14-day sailings out of Seattle, beginning in 2010. Also in March, Carnival Cruise Ships announced that nine round-trip sailings between Vancouver and Alaska would be relocated to Seattle in 2010.
Vancouver’s cruise ship industry was also hurt when Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines decided to cancel 19 sailings between Vancouver and Alaska, moving that cruise to the Caribbean. Norwegian Cruise Lines changed 10 round-trip sailings between Vancouver and Alaska to one-way trips.
Each round-trip sailing has an economic impact of $2 million for the city.
Jeff James, vice-president of sales for Disney Cruise Lines, said the decision came as a result of passenger demand for Disney to run sailings to Alaska. The customers wanted Vancouver as a home port, James wrote in an e-mail.
“Seattle is a great port, however, we listened to our guests and believe that Vancouver will provide the experience they are asking for,” James said.
In addition to carrying up to 2,700 passengers, the Disney Wonder is staffed with about 950 crew members.
The ship has 877 staterooms, a theatre with Broadway-style shows, an adults-only restaurant and adults-only entertainment district, cafes, a spa and salon, a movie theatre, three swimming pools, a nursery, and activity rooms for children and teens. The ship is also populated by people wearing costumes of Disney characters.
Rates for the seven-night itinerary start at $939 US per person for a standard inside stateroom, based on double occupancy.