By setting sail on October 30, the Ocenia Cruises ship Insignia will mark the end of a “very good” cruise season for the Port of Montreal. Preliminary assessment, one week before the official closure of the 2023 season.
According to forecasts from the Montreal Port Authority (MPA), 50,000 international passengers will have set foot on the metropolis by the end of the year. This represents a significant increase of around 32% from 2022, when that total was more like 38,000.
There will also be 16,000 crew members on board these ships, compared to 13,000 during the previous season.
We can thus speak of a “return to normal” after the pandemic summers, says Renée Larouche, director of communications for the APM.
Companies that plan a stopover there generally sell luxury cruises. Several of these companies are American, but there are also some in Europe (France, Germany, England) and finally, another which is established in Singapore.
“We have a few transatlantic routes and a few routes to the Great Lakes. But the vast majority of them are Canada–New England routes where passengers board in Montreal and disembark in Boston or New York, and where new passengers board to come to Montreal. »
The cruise season, which began on April 29, therefore lasted 185 days – or some six months.
The frequency of arrivals is low until August. The busiest months are September and October, as evidenced by the thirty ships out of around forty that stopped in Montreal during this period.
Asked by La Presse whether it faced any challenges in particular regarding cruises, the APM replied “no”.
She maintains in particular that inflation has had no impact on ticket sales: the average ship occupancy rate is around 90%, compared to 74% in 2022.
“The only constraint we have (but it is not a challenge) is that the bridges between Quebec and Montreal limit the size of the ships that can come to Montreal,” maintains Ms. Larouche.
On a few occasions, these ships simply dock for a day, as is customary on most cruises. Others, who are exceptions to the rule, sometimes spend one or two nights there – but never more.
In order to provide a complete picture of the season, the APM plans to release a more substantial report soon. She wants to ensure that the season is indeed finished before broadcasting it.
In the meantime, the management of the Port of Montreal is still able to say that it expects a slight increase in the number of passengers for 2024, planning to accommodate 52,000.
