Cruise: Long Beach, Vancouver (Canada)

Carnival Begins Renovation of Long Beach Cruise Terminal

The Long Beach Cruise Terminal with a Carnival Line vessel at berth and historic liner Queen Mary in the sheltered basin
Photo/Carnival Corp.

Carnival Cruise Line marked the beginning of a multimillion-dollar renovation of its Long Beach Cruise Terminal facility with a "FUNstruction" groundbreaking ceremony on April 12.

Carnival has operated the city-owned terminal since 2003 using a partial area of the Geodesic Dome, a former museum built to display Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" attraction.  Last fall, Carnival signed a renewed lease agreement that gave it 100 percent use of the dome and cleared the way for a complete remodeling.

The renovation will increase the space Carnival occupies in the terminal facility from approximately 66,000 square feet to 142,000 square feet. The expansion and new design will allow what the company describes as "dramatically enhanced passenger experience and operational flow within the terminal." The project also includes the expansion of portside "cold-ironing" to enable larger ships to plug into the local electric grid while docked. Further enhancements to the area surrounding the geodesic dome and the adjacent Queen Mary attraction are also planned. View a rendering of the interior of the renovated terminal.

"The start of construction on this project further cements our commitment to the City of Long Beach and the outstanding relationships we have built with the leaders and people of this community," said Torres de Navarra, Carnival’s vice president strategic and commercial port development. "Our operations bring tremendous economic benefit to this area and expose hundreds of thousands of people a year to this great city. These new terminal enhancements will further grow that positive impact," he added.

Currently, Carnival operates three ships from the Long Beach Cruise Terminal -- Carnival Inspiration and Carnival Imagination, which offer three- and four-day Baja cruises, and Carnival Miracle which operates week-long Mexican Riviera voyages along with 14- and 15-day cruises to Hawaii and Alaska. In 2018 when the larger Carnival Splendor replaces Carnival Miracle, the line will carry more than 700,000 guests annually from Southern California, operating nearly 250 three- to 14-day cruises a year.

Ships now dock five days per week at the Long Beach terminal, which processed approximately 1.2 million embarking and debarking passengers in 2015 and again in 2016. Carnival expects passenger throughput to reach 1.4 million annually following the arrival of Carnival Splendor.

"The expansion of the Carnival Cruise terminal is great news for Long Beach and great news for visitors to our city," said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. "The added capacity will bring more tourism and economic activity to Long Beach, and we're pleased to continue working with Carnival for many years to come."

Vancouver Kicks Off 2017 Cruise Season, Expects Record Passenger Volumes

Cruise ship activity at the Port of Vancouver
Photo/Vancouver Fraser Port Authority

The 2017 cruise season officially kicked off April 11 at the Port of Vancouver with the arrival of the Star Princess at Canada Place cruise terminal. Approximately 840,000 cruise passengers on 237 vessel visits are expected in Vancouver this year, a 2.0 percent increase in passenger volume compared to 2016.

This year, 33 different vessels from 15 cruise lines will be visiting Canada Place cruise terminal at the Port of Vancouver ranging from luxury and smaller expedition style ships designed to carry small groups of passengers to some of the largest vessels in the Alaska cruise market.

Holland America, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent, Disney Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Crystal Cruises and Silversea Cruises will all be homeporting vessels in Vancouver in 2017.

According to the port authority, the 2016 cruise season directly generated nearly 7,000 jobs across Canada, C$300 million in wages, and contributed C$840 million to national GDP. Each cruise ship that docks at Canada Place contributes, on average, C$2.85 million to the local economy.

"Vancouver cruise passenger volumes have been strong and steady since 2013. This year, we are forecasting our highest passenger volumes since 2010," said Robin Silvester, president and chief executive officer of Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. "We are thrilled to welcome even more visitors this year to our cruise terminal at Canada Place."

View Vancouver’s 2017 cruise schedule.