Saint John has welcomed its first cruise ship in more than two and a half years.
The Seven Seas Navigator and its passengers arrived late Thursday evening.
It is the first cruise ship since the end of the 2019 season — more than 900 days ago.
“912 days ago, I don’t think anyone would have thought the world would be transformed the way it has been,” said Craig Estabrooks, CEO of Port Saint John, said during a VIP event Friday morning.
COVID-19 led to the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 cruise seasons as the federal government implemented a ban on international cruise ships.
While that ban has since been lifted, several public health measures remain in place aimed at reducing the risk of spreading the virus.
All cruise ship passengers must be fully vaccinated and take a COVID-19 test within two days before boarding.
“We know very well on the ships all of the measures that we’ve had to implement and everybody is watching,” said Capt. Lukša Kristović of the Seven Seas Navigator.
But despite the public health measures in place, Kristović said it is “inevitable” that ships will see COVID cases. As of Friday, he said one crew member on board the Seven Seas Navigator was isolating after testing positive for the virus.
Capt. Lukša Kristović of the Seven Seas Navigator. (Image: Brad Perry)
Kristović said his cruise line has taken additional measures, such as requiring crew members to wear masks, and temperature checks of all passengers and crew whenever they board or disembark the vessel.
“The crew and organization on board are much stricter than what we have in any country shoreside,” said Kristović.
Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon says she is comfortable and confident welcoming cruise ships back given the stringent COVID protocols for the industry.
“Every visitor that comes here has jumped through a lot of hoops to get to my sidewalk,” said Reardon.
“That’s a huge industry. They have money, they need to protect their credibility, they need to protect their industry, they’re not going to risk it.”
Reardon said everyone in Greater Saint John knows the economic impact the cruise ships bring to the region.
The Seven Seas Navigator arrives in Saint John on April 28, 2022. (Image: Mark Leger)
Before the pandemic, cruise activity provided about $68 million to the province’s economy each year along with nearly 400 full-time and part-time jobs.
“When you get a three-ship day in the uptown, you feel like you’ve been transported to maybe New York. It’s just so busy in the uptown area and there’s a huge dynamic and an energy. It’s just fantastic,” said Reardon.
Nancy Tissington, executive director of Uptown Saint John, said local businesses have been ecstatic in anticipation of this year’s cruise season.
Tissington said her organization tracked a significant drop in pedestrian volumes without the cruise ships.
“During the pandemic, we watched our pedestrian counters, located just outside the Water Street port cruise entrance, shrink from 324,000 from May to November to an astonishing 90,000 only during COVID,” said Tissington, who noted other pedestrian counters in the uptown saw decreases of more than 50 per cent.
A total of 70 cruise ship visits are scheduled in Saint John between now and early November.
