Cruise ship bookings on the rise
Industry looks to ride wave of optimism into 2022
SYDNEY — Pent-up consumer demand is propelling a wave of optimism that the cruise ship industry will enjoy a successful rebound in 2022.
For a business that is always looking ahead several years, it should come as no surprise that major players such as Holland America are taking bookings for future cruises and are in the midst of an advertising campaign to entice travellers to return to a tourism sector that was booming before the COVID19 pandemic.
With the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons wiped out, industry players like the Port of Sydney Development Corporation are quick to recognize any signs of positivity in the beleaguered tourism sector.
PENT-UP DEMAND
“We’re quite optimistic because we are hearing directly from the cruise lines that there is a pent-up demand and that people are booking cruises,” said Port of Sydney CEO Marlene Usher.
“And we hear there is a lot of pressure within the United States to lift some of the restrictions to allow cruising in North America. That may not happen, and we don’t think that will happen in 2021, but we are quite confident that it will happen in 2022.”
Usher, who confirmed that more than 100 cruise ship visits are already tentatively booked for next year, also said potential travelers can take comfort in expected cruise ship protocols that will most likely include enhanced coronavirus testing in terminals and a proof of vaccine stipulation for passengers and crew.
Destination Cape Breton Association chief executive officer Terry Smith reports that he has also heard of the underlying and increased desire of travelers to once again pack their bags for recreational trips and tourism.
“What we are hearing globally is that there is pentup demand out there and, of course, we are hoping to open up to the rest of the country and the world at some point,” said Smith.
“It seems that as more and more vaccines are being rolled out, people are really looking, dreaming and planning trips, so once it is safe hopefully we will see that pent-up demand translate into good visitation for us.”
BOOKINGS ON THE RISE
Meanwhile, Port of Sydney cruise manager Nicole MacAulay said she remains busy despite being in the midst of what will be at least a twoyear cruise ship hiatus from Atlantic Canada ports.
“I have actually been really busy lately with 2023 and 2024 bookings so that is another great sign along with the fact that we haven’t seen a great deal of change to our 2022 schedule,” said MacAulay.
“We don’t know what 2022 is going to look like. It’s certainly going to look different once the ships come back. But right now we don’t know at what capacity they are going to be coming in at or how controlled the shore excursions are going to be.”
The Port of Sydney suffered a $2-million revenue loss from the cancellation of the 2020 cruise ship season when 117 ships had been scheduled to visit the Cape Breton port. Twenty-seven of those were slated to dock at the port’s new second berth that has been named the Liberty Pier. All told, an estimated 212,000 passengers and 89,000 crew were to have been on the ships.
The number of lost visits to Halifax is even larger as Nova Scotia’s largest city welcomed more than 320,000 passengers in 2019 when 179 cruise vessels entered the harbour.
CRUISE DEALS
Holland America is offering 11 cruises in 2022 that are scheduled to drop anchor in Sydney. The trips start at $1,424 (per person/double occupancy) for an inside cabin on the Zaandam for a sevenday Canada and New England Discovery cruise that starts in Montréal and includes stops in Charlottetown, Sydney and Bar Harbor, Maine before ending in Boston.
The most expensive trip that includes a Sydney stop on the cruise line’s menu is the 24-day Canada, New England and Iceland trip which starts at $6,831 (per person) for an inside cabin.
That journey is on the Nieuw Statendam and starts and finishes in Boston with stops slated for Sydney, Corner Brook, Red Bay (Labrador), Qaqortoq (Greenland), five stops in Iceland, Nanortalik (Greenland),
St. Anthony and St. John’s (Newfoundland), Nanortalik (Greenland), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Halifax and Bar Harbor again.