More than 43K cruise passengers expected in Victoria as September arrives

Summer may be starting to wind down, but Victoria’s cruise ship season certainly isn’t.

As September arrives on Tuesday and the first hints of fall begin creeping into the city, another busy week is ahead at Ogden Point, with 13 cruise ships scheduled to arrive between Monday, August 31st and Sunday, September 6th.

Combined, the vessels have an estimated passenger capacity of 43,274 people.

That’s actually slightly more potential passengers than last week, despite two fewer ships being scheduled to arrive. This week’s 13 ships can carry about 1,000 more passengers, largely due to several of the larger vessels returning to the city.

It also continues a trend seen throughout the summer, with many weeks bringing upwards of 40,000 cruise passengers through Victoria.

Earlier in August, for example, the August 3rd to 9th schedule included 15 vessels carrying an estimated 46,520 passengers.

The new month does, however, mark the beginning of a gradual slowdown.

The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority’s (GVHA) main schedule listed 68 cruise ship arrivals during August, compared with 56 scheduled for September.

October will see the season wind down much more significantly before the final scheduled vessel arrives later in the month.

This week begins Monday night with Carnival Spirit, which is scheduled to arrive with an estimated 2,124 passengers.

September officially gets underway Tuesday with Norwegian Joy arriving. The ship is scheduled to remain in Victoria until just before midnight and carries an estimated 3,883 passengers.

Wednesday will be relatively quiet, with Carnival Miracle arriving late in the evening and carrying an estimated 2,124 passengers.

Things will pick up considerably beginning Thursday with Voyager of the Seas scheduled to arrive at 3 p.m. with an estimated 4,000 passengers, followed by Celebrity Edge at 5:30 p.m. with another 2,918.

Friday will once again be one of the busiest evenings of the week at Ogden Point.

Norwegian Bliss, Eurodam and Royal Princess are all scheduled to arrive within about 45 minutes of one another between 7:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. bringing an estimated 9,914 passengers.

Saturday will bring another 8,298 potential passengers aboard Star Princess and Norwegian Encore.

But this week, Sunday takes the title as the busiest day by passenger capacity.

Three vessels are scheduled to arrive throughout the afternoon and evening, beginning with Queen Elizabeth in the afternoon. 

Royal Caribbean’s massive Anthem of the Seas followed a couple hours later with an estimated 4,919 passengers, making it the largest ship of the week by passenger capacity.

MSC Poesia rounds out the week with a scheduled 7 p.m. arrival.

Combined, Sunday’s three vessels have an estimated capacity of 10,013 passengers.

Norwegian Cruise Line will account for the largest share of this week’s potential passengers, with Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Encore carrying a combined estimated 12,131 people.

Royal Caribbean follows with Voyager of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas, which together can carry an estimated 8,919 passengers.

Princess Cruise Lines’ Royal Princess and Star Princess account for another 7,860.

Based on the current GVHA cruise ship schedule through Sunday, August 30th, approximately 266 cruise ship arrivals have been scheduled in Victoria since the season began with the Nieuw Amsterdam on April 10th.

Those vessels represent a combined estimated passenger capacity of approximately 796,000 people.

At the beginning of the season, the GVHA projected Victoria would receive more than one million cruise passengers over the course of 2026.

And while summer is beginning to fade, there is still plenty of cruise traffic ahead before the season wraps up in October.

This week’s cruise ship schedule: 

Monday, August 31st

• Carnival Spirit: 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 2,124 passengers

Tuesday, September 1st

• Norwegian Joy: 1 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 3,883 passengers

Wednesday, September 2nd

• Carnival Miracle: 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 2,124 passengers

Thursday, September 3rd

• Voyager of the Seas: 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., estimated 4,000 passengers
• Celebrity Edge: 5:30 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 2,918 passengers

Friday, September 4th

• Norwegian Bliss: 7:30 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 4,250 passengers
• Eurodam: 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 2,104 passengers
• Royal Princess: 8:15 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 3,560 passengers

Saturday, September 5th

• Star Princess: 7 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 4,300 passengers
• Norwegian Encore: 7:45 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 3,998 passengers

Sunday, September 6th

• Queen Elizabeth: 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., estimated 2,081 passengers
• Anthem of the Seas: 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., estimated 4,919 passengers
• MSC Poesia: 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., estimated 3,013 passengers