Locals in Victoria gathered to welcome Holland America’s Koningsdam and more than 1,200 passengers to the city’s cruise ship dock at Ogden Point on Saturday morning. Visitors and residents told CTV News that the start of the cruise ship season is welcome after two years of restrictions related to COVID-19. “For me, it’s just a real return to something normal and positive,” said Nancy Schrader, a resident of Victoria Bay, Victoria, who celebrated her 20th wedding anniversary in Koningsdam three years ago. “It’s absolutely proof of the renewal to see it here,” added her husband James Gannon. Businesses in Victoria’s hard-hit tourism and hospitality industries have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first of more than 350 cruise ships scheduled to visit the city from now until November. “I was really drowning when I saw the ship coming in,” said Alan Thilmot, director of the Victoria Pedicab Company. In the last two years, due to the lack of tourists caused by the pandemic, the Thilmot business has been reduced from 28 bicycle cabins on the road to just three. It is currently in the process of re-hiring staff. “It will be a wonderful summer,” he said. The Greater Victoria Harbor Authority estimates that the large ships will bring about 780,000 visitors to the city this year. In the past, cruise ship visitors were estimated to bring about $ 140 million to the local economy. “Seeing Cunningham just outside the breakwater was just a wonderful sight and it was a long time ago and it was just a fantastic feeling,” said Ian Robertson, GVHA CEO. Despite the fact that the arrival of the ship brought feelings of relief and normalcy, however, the spectrum of the pandemic remained. All passengers and crew on ships docking in Canada must be vaccinated against COVID-19 and the federal government has strict safety protocols for cruise lines. Canada is also in the midst of a resurgence of coronavirus transmission, fueled by a combination of loose public health mandates and Omicron’s highly contagious BA.2 subtype. Koningsdam was not going to be the first ship to arrive in Victoria this year. Princess Cruises has suspended the arrival of the Caribbean Princess ship, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday. The ship is currently docked in Oregon for maintenance and the company said the decision to skip visits to Victoria and Vancouver was made to give more time to prepare for the extended stay in the ship’s tank. The Caribbean Princess was also listed as an “Orange Status” on the US Centers for Disease Control, which means there were enough COVID-19 cases on board to conduct research. Koningsdam arrived in Victoria marked “Green State”, meaning that no cases of COVID-19 or similar disease have been reported on board. “The fact that our first ship here today has a green code – which means everything is clear to Covid – is a big sign,” said BC Transport and Infrastructure Minister Rob Fleming on Saturday. “It probably won’t be like that on every visit, but hopefully it will be like that for the vast majority of them.” With files from Anna McMillan of CTV Vancouver Island
