Hornblower tours season launching
Hornblower Niagara Cruises is set to sail for a fourth season, starting Saturday.
The relatively mild winter meant there was no ice buildup in the Niagara River, so the boat tour operator set the April 1 start date and also began accepting bookings last month.
“We have some weather and ice-modelling programs that we’ve created over the last couple of years and, about a month ago, we knew there were not going to be any significant ice concerns so we livened up our ticket sales,” said general manager Mory DiMaurizio.
The popular tourist attraction also opened April 1 last year.
“It was a great early start to the season and a great indicator of what was a landmark year,” he said.
By comparison, the 2015 season didn’t start until April 30, following one of the coldest, longest winters on record. It’s inaugural season in 2014 started May 15.
Boats are equipped with radiant heaters and visitors have the option of viewing the cataracts from “dry zone” areas.
The tour boat company has gone through “significant capital investments,” DiMaurizio said, to enhance the visitor experience.
All four elevator cars have been upgraded, which has increased passenger capacity by about 25 per cent.
“You will see a significant drop in people having to wait in line too long. We hope to make those lineups as short as possible.”
Also, work is continuing on refurbishing the former Maid of the Mist Incline railway which will further reduce lineups.
The incline, which operated from 1977 to 1990, had the capacity to carry 900 passengers an hour from the foot of Clifton Hill to the gorge below.
“Building anything down in the gorge doesn’t happen overnight,” DiMaurizio said of the ongoing project.
“You have a lot of environmental and geological things you have to take into consideration. We anticipate it will be operational later this season.”
More than 2.2 million passengers boarded the boats during the 2016 season, up from 1.8 million in 2015 and 1.6 million during its first season in 2014.
DiMaurizio is predicting another successful year.
“All avenues we get information from including Destination Canada are predicting growth. We are anticipating growth over and above last year.”
Hornblower operates two catamarans and a 150-passenger rescue boat. The catamarans can carry up to 700 passengers.
While Hornblower operates on the Canadian side of the river, the Maid of the Mist offers boats tours from the American side.
Maid of the Mist’s 132nd consecutive season is also scheduled to begin Saturday.
“Our captains, crew members and associates are prepared to welcome guests from around the world as we build on last year’s record season,” said Christopher Glynn, president of Maid of the Mist.
The Maid of the Mist launched its 2016 season April 2, which was the earliest opening in the history of one of North America’s longestrunning tourist attractions.
A record 1.6 million guests boarded Maid of the Mist vessels last year, a nine per cent increase from the 2015 record.