Cruise ships return to Canada - Royal Caribbean extends Spectrum homeporting in Singapore
Cruise ships return to Canada - HAL's ms Koningsdam is the first to dock in Victoria Harbour BC
The first cruise ship to visit Canada since the start of the COVID crisis berthed in Victoria Harbour BC, on Saturday, April 9.
Carrying ~1200 passengers (less than 50% of the max capacity), HAL-Holland America’s ms Koningsdam arrived in the capital of the province, marking the return of one of the major tourism drivers in British Columbia.
The return of the industry comes as some experts warned of a 6th COVID wave amid rising hospitalizations and the spread of the Omicron BA.2 subvariant.
The new cruise rules in Canada require all passengers to be COVID-vaccinated and tested.
Saturday’s arrival was hailed by government leaders and businesses, who described the occasion as the much-needed kick-start to the beleaguered tourism economy of the province.
HAL's ms Koningsdam is the first cruise ship to dock in the port city in 905 days.
Victoria Cruise Industry Alliance estimates that cruises inject ~US$130 million annually into the economy of the city. Province-wide, it estimates the cruise industry is worth ~US$1.8 billion to the economy.
Greater Victoria Harbour Authority is expecting to see 350+ ships call this season, carrying ~780,000 passengers, up from the ~709,000 who came through back in 2019.
MS Koningsdam was not meant to be the first cruiser to hit British Columbia's waters in 2022. Princess Cruises’ vessel Caribbean Princess was due to dock in Victoria (April 6) and Vancouver (April 7) but the calls were canceled at the last minute. According to the company, the move was to give extra time for a scheduled drydock on April 7.
However, the vessel had also made it on the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “orange” status list, meaning 0.3% or more of passengers had tested positive for COVID, triggering an investigation.
As of Saturday, a total of 44 out of 102 cruise ships being tracked by the CDC were listed as “orange.”
MS Koningsdam remains listed as “green,” which means there were no reported cases of COVID/COVID-like illnesses.
Royal Caribbean extends Spectrum OTS homeporting in Singapore through to April 2023
In late March, RCI-Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas arrived in homeport Singapore, to start passenger shipping operations on April 11th.
In celebration of Asia's currently most innovative and action-packed cruise liner homeported in Singapore, RCI extended Spectrum's first season in the region for a full year through April 2023.
Starting on Monday, April 11, vacationers can enjoy all that the 2019-built boat has to offer, from Singapore’s first virtual reality, bungee trampoline adventure, Sky Pad, to the luxurious Suite Enclave with amenities like private dining and drinks crafted by robot bartenders at the Bionic Bar. There is also an array of Asian-inspired dining at Sichuan Red, Hot Pot, Teppanyaki, and more.
With 3- and 4-night Ocean Getaways (cruises to nowhere/itineraries without call ports), Spectrum OTS provides ultra modern amenities and unique facilities, like the FlowRider (surf simulator); the RipCord by iFly (sky diving simulator); SeaPlex (the largest indoor sports complex at sea); North Star (glass-walled observation capsule rotating 300 ft / 92 m above sea level).
Nothing is more upsetting than getting to the cruise ship and realizing you have forgotten something important. Always have everything you need by checking off what you need on this very handy checklist.