It is another record-breaking year for cruise ship passenger volumes at the Port of Vancouver.
The Norwegian Jewel will be the last cruise ship of the 2024 season at the Canada Place cruise ship terminal in downtown Vancouver. It will depart tomorrow, October 29, 2024.
At the close of this season, 1.32 million passengers on 327 cruise ship visits will be logged at Canada Place, representing a 7% year-over-year increase or over 80,000 more than in 2023.
The 2024 season even saw all-time record highs for daily passenger volumes; six of the top 10 busiest days now belong to 2024, including the second busiest day ever, April 29, when nearly 20,000 passengers were recorded.
Even with more passengers, Canada Place has also been able to speed up its US customs processing time by up to 94%, with the average time dropping from two to three minutes with the use of new facial scanning technology.
“We want to thank everyone who helped 2024 be such a successful cruise season in Vancouver — to have back-to-back record years run so smoothly is a huge accomplishment and testament to the dedication of those involved,” said Shri Madiwal, vice president of operations and supply chain at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, in a statement today.
The 2024 cruise ship season began weeks earlier than usual on March 11, when the Disney Wonder arrived at Canada Place.