Expecting its largest season on record, Corner Brook is ready to take the N.L. cruise ship crown
CBC
The City of Corner Brook is preparing for its largest cruise ship season on record, which will bring over 30 ships and 42,000 passengers to Newfoundland's west coast.
Thirty-two cruise ships will drop anchor at the Port of Corner Brook, including seven vessels arriving in the city for the first time. There will also be four days where two ships will be in the Bay of Islands at the same time.
The first vessel, the Regent Seven Seas Cruises Navigator, will arrive at the port on May 16. The 42,136 total passengers puts Corner Brook almost on par with St. John's in terms of passengers, which has 36 cruise ship calls, beginning in April.
It's an exciting time for Jennifer Hartley, the port corporation's business development manager, who hopes 2023 will be a return to form after the industry began to recover from the impact of COVID-19 over the last two years.
"[In] 2022 we really focused on cruise resumption and making sure that everything resumed safely," Hartley told CBC News on Thursday.
"Now that we did that and it was a very big success, we're looking forward to 2023, for all intents and purposes, to be a normal year for us."
The largest ship docking in Corner Brook, the Norweigian Joy, will bring over 3,800 passengers to the city on three separate trips beginning in September.
Work is underway to make sure the port is ready for the incoming passengers, who Hartley said have an important effect on the city's economy.
"I think a lot of people do not realize how big the economic impact really is for our community. In 2022 with the number of cruise passengers and crew that came here, we saw $8.6 million in economic impact," she said.
"There's so many people that get touched by cruise, that it's such an important sector to our region."
The arrival of cruise ships also brings a buzz around the city according to Glenda Simms, the City of Corner Brook's tourism coordinator.
"Having more visitors is obviously beneficial, and it brings a different vibe. It makes everybody feel like summer is happening and, you know, things are moving and growing," she said.
Simms said the city is planning summer events around the days boats will be docked, adding the city and businesses are focused on giving travellers the most memorable experience. Businesses can help by doing something as simple as putting a greeter at the door of a business, she added, which can go a long way for people visiting a new place.
Having previously worked on a cruise ship, she knows Newfoundland is a destination travellers want to visit.
In advance of what is expected to be a hot summer, the City of Kamloops is encouraging homeowners to request a free assessment of their properties to make sure they are resilient in the face of wildfire.
Friday may have been the first day of spring, but winter storms are not over yet for Newfoundland.
Daniel Doody says his trip to the Yukon earlier this month was ruined when he learned his luggage wouldn't arrive with him.
The future of a national historic site in Fredericton is up for discussion at meetings across New Brunswick in the next few weeks as the Anglican diocese considers what to do about costly repairs needed at Christ Church Cathedral.
EDITOR'S NOTE: CBC has removed the names and photo from this story. Now that the people are no longer missing, their identity is no longer in the public interest.
Brandon’s firefighter-paramedic union is sounding the alarm about a new provincial directive it says could leave the city without local ambulances when residents need them most.
CBC's road trip series Land of Living Stories explores inspiring stories of community spirit from across Saskatchewan. In our latest visit, CBC-Radio Canada hit the road to La Ronge. This is the fifth of a multi-part series from that community.
Wildfire season has officially started in Alberta. As the snow starts to melt, people are starting to wonder: Will I have to evacuate this year?
Cassandra Lee is getting ready to pack up her home and family to move more than 3,200 kilometres across the Canada-U.S. border, in search of more "support" and "stability."
To earn the title of master sake sommelier, Yoshi Takaoka says it's not just about knowledge, "we need to demonstrate how to serve the sake perfectly."
Over 115 years ago, more than 150 members of Calgary’s Black community gathered at a venue called Eagle Hall on First Street S.W. for what a local newspaper called “one of the most successful balls of the season.”
Spring is heralded by the return of geese, but to many in Alberta's poultry industry, migration means something different.
Ontario's legislature is set to resume sitting Monday after a 14-week break that ended in a veritable deluge of news, partial proposals and headline-grabbing musings from Premier Doug Ford and his government.