Optimism outweighs fear as Atlantic ports ready for 2020 cruise season

There is optimism for a record-setting cruise ship season in the Maritimes despite the COVID-19 outbreak.

Danielle Timmons, vice-president of cruise operations for Aquila Tours in Saint John, said preparation for the upcoming cruise season hasn’t really been any different than seasons past.

She said her company offered offshore excursions and tours for about 60,000 cruise passengers in 2019. Bigger numbers were expected this year.

But the outbreak of the coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has prompted angst and fear in the travel industry worldwide. Some ships have been quarantined because cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in passengers on board. Other ships have been turned away from ports out of fears the virus will spread further.

But Timmons believes this season should run smoothly in Saint John.

“We have started conversations with the Port, Health Canada, CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency), shipping agents,” she said. “So we’ve started those conversations to see what kind of precautions we need to take. We want to be prepared. We don’t want to panic, but at this point, nothing has changed.”

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The cruise season begins in late April in Saint John.

Jim Quinn, the president and CEO of Port Saint John, said he was expecting 90 ships and more than 225,000 passengers and crew to call on the port city this year – both record numbers.

Quinn said cruise ships must adhere to regulations put in place by Health Canada and other regulators to ensure illnesses of any kind are reported well in advance of entering into the harbour.

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Quinn said he was scheduled to be at a conference in California this week, which was cancelled at the last minute to due fears over COVID-19

But he said those regulatory checks and balances give him confidence that everything will run according to schedule in Saint John.

“But we’re watching all the advisories that are issued by the Government of Canada and public health agencies because we’re guided by them,” Quinn said. “They take the lead and we will follow their directions and work closely with them as we go into the cruise season.”

The Port of Halifax is also expecting record numbers: 208 cruise ships and more than 350,000 passengers and crew.

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Halifax Port Authority spokesman Lane Farguson said officials there are also in constant communication with health and government officials.

“It’s not that dissimilar right now to what we see when we know of a vessel coming in that is showing an elevated level of gastrointestinal outbreak on the vessel,” Farguson said of health officials monitoring COVID-19. “We would take our direction from the public health agency of Canada in that circumstance as well.”

The cruise season begins in early April in Halifax. Farguson said he is also optimistic of a smooth-running season.