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Victoria welcomes the first cruise ship to dock in Canada in more than 2 years

Victoria welcomes the first cruise ship to dock in Canada in more than 2 years | iNFOnews.ca
The Holland America Koningsdam cruise ship arrives in Victoria, Saturday, April 9, 2022. The cruise ship is the first to call to a Canadian port since prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, 358 ship visits carrying an estimated 780,000 passengers are expected in the city this year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VICTORIA – The first international cruise ship to dock in Canada in more than two years arrived in Victoria Saturday morning.

Ian Robertson, chief executive officer of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, says the Koningsdam cruise ship arrived around 9:40 a.m., about 20 minutes early and was cleared by the Canadian Border Services Agency before its 1,215 passengers began exploring the capital.

Robertson says cruise ship passengers were required to have two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine and a negative test at least 24 hours before they boarded.

In early March, Canada gave cruise ships the go-ahead to dock in Canadian ports for the season, which runs from April to November.

The first ship of the season was supposed to dock Wednesday, but Robertson says the Caribbean Princess decided to forego its stops in Victoria and Vancouver and headed straight to Portland, Ore., which is not uncommon for cruise liners.

He says the authority is expecting around 790,000 passengers, the same number as it saw in 2019.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2022.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

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Carli Berry

Carli Berry has been telling stories in the Okanagan for the past three years and after finding her footing in the newspaper industry, joined the Infonews team in January 2020. Recipient of the 2019 MA Murray award for feature writing, Carli is passionate about stories that involve housing, business and the environment. Born on Vancouver Island, she is happy to say Okanagan Lake reminds, her slightly, of the ocean. Carli can be reached at (250) 864-7494 or email cberry@infonews.ca.

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