Cruise ship trio brought 5,000 tourists to P.E.I. Tuesday

For the first time this season, three cruise ships docked at the Charlottetown Harbour Tuesday and, with a total of 5,000 passengers and crew, that meant a boom in business across P.E.I.

The number of cruise ships coming to Charlottetown has been growing steadily over the past few years. This year, more than 77 ships were scheduled, carrying more than 130,000 passengers and crew up from 64 calls in 2014.

Also increasing are the number of days when multiple ships dock at the same time.

"It's a good day, three ships," said Sarah Greenan, who operates Emerald Island Carriage Tours, which takes tourists on horse-and-carriage rides through the city.

"It's good business, but days like today you'd want all the wagons on the road."

Smoother operations

In the past, accommodating three ships at the same time came with struggles including a lack of space for tour buses and foot traffic.

But a $5-million renovation at the port terminal, completed earlier this year, has improved the situation.

"The pedestrian and the tour traffic is moving a lot smoother than it has in the past,"said Corryn Morrissey, the Port of Charlottetown's business development manager.

"The ability to queue up all of those buses at once really made a big impact, I think, on the operation of the business."

Overnighters

Ships staying overnight in port is another first this year. The ships are smaller and more high-end.

Several have visited already, with more overnight vessels coming this weekend.

"The vessels we're seeing overnight now, they have their own niche market and they're equally as important, so I think there are a couple areas of growth that we can focus on."

Morrissey says initial reports indicate overnight ship stays are benefiting the economy. But she says the port wants to show cruise ship visitors there's more to the Island after 5 p.m. by developing more packaged experiences such as dining, nightclubbing, and even clam digging.

The Charlottetown cruise-ship season ends Oct. 25.