Vancouver’s 2015 cruise season is expected to be the longest on record despite fewer sailings and fewer passengers than last year.
The trend toward larger ships explains how the cruise lines intend to combine to make 6.2% fewer stops in Vancouver yet only suffer a passenger drop of less than 1%.
The extra-long season is a result of multiple cruises to Hawaii before the main Vancouver-to-Alaska run starts and after it completes.
“We’ve always had repositioning calls to and from Hawaii,” said Carmen Ortega, Port Metro Vancouver’s (PMV) business development manager.
“Typically it has been one at the beginning and one at the end. This is the first time we’ve seen back-to-back sailings at the beginning of the season and the same thing at the end of the year.”
Late-season sailings to California are also historically common. This year, however, there will be a northbound sailing to Vancouver from California on November 30, which is later than ever before.
The season officially ends December 15, when Princess Cruises departs Vancouver for Los Angeles.
“There’s a very good strategic niche for Vancouver in the Hawaii market,” said Greg Wirtz, president of Cruise Lines International Association North West & Canada.
Wirtz explained that the advantage stems from the U.S. Passenger Vessel Services Act, which requires foreign-flagged cruise ships that leave a U.S. port to touch a foreign port outside of North America before arriving at a second U.S. port. Passengers on ships that sail to a second U.S. port must stay on the ship until they return to the sailing’s departure port.
That means that passengers who leave Seattle on a cruise to Hawaii must make the lengthy and expensive round trip whereas those who leave from Vancouver can fly back and cut their trip in half.
Wirtz believes that the Alaska cruise run will continue to be the Vancouver cruise sector’s bread and butter but that the Hawaii run offers the best growth opportunity.
The biggest challenge Vancouver faces is ever-larger ships – some of which, Wirtz said, are too tall to sail under the Lions Gate Bridge.
“Looking out 10 years into the future, PMV has to figure out a plan to continue to grow the business given the Lions Gate Bridge situation that exists today.”
He noted that while some ships have been able to “periscope” their masts down to fit under the bridge; other ships have smokestacks that can’t be lowered.
Carnival Corp. dominates Vancouver cruise sector
Carnival Corp. (NYSE:CCL) remains the dominant cruise-line operator in an oligopolistic worldwide industry, as well as the company that is most heavily invested in the Vancouver cruise sector.
Carnival operates the two biggest brands that dock in Vancouver: Holland America and Princess Cruises. It also has a namesake brand, Carnival Cruise Lines, which is expected to make two stops in Vancouver this year.
Carnival Corp.’s other big brands, such as Costa, P&O Cruises and AIDA, do not sail to Vancouver.
PMV will not reveal exact numbers, but Holland America and Princess each carry substantially more than 100,000 passengers to Vancouver annually – far more than any other cruise line.
Carnival Corp.’s chief rival, Royal Caribbean International (NYSE:RCL), primarily sails its Celebrity Cruises line to Vancouver. With 24 stops, that brand ranks as the third-largest cruise line to make stops in Vancouver.
Like Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean International also has a namesake brand, Royal Caribbean Cruises, which is expected to make 12 stops in Vancouver this year.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. is the third-largest company to sail to Vancouver both with a namesake and another brand.
Its Norwegian Cruise Line and Regent Seven Seas brands plan 16 and nine sailings to Vancouver respectively.
Competing cruise operators stopping in Vancouver this year include Disney Cruise Line, Silversea Cruises and newcomer Compagnie du Ponant.•
