Backpacks may be coming out for students across Greater Victoria, but the summer tourism season is far from over.
As many students return to school Tuesday, another busy week is getting underway at Ogden Point, with 14 cruise ships scheduled to visit Victoria between Monday, September 7th and Sunday, September 13th.
Combined, the vessels have an estimated passenger capacity of 46,491 people, making this week even busier than the final week of August, when 13 ships carrying a potential 43,274 passengers were scheduled to visit the city.
While cruise traffic will gradually begin to slow as September continues, there is still more than a month remaining in Victoria’s 2026 cruise season.
This week begins Monday evening with Carnival Spirit, scheduled to arrive at 8 p.m. with an estimated 2,124 passengers.
No cruise ships are scheduled for Tuesday, but things will pick up again Wednesday morning when Emerald Princess arrives from Vancouver. The ship will remain in Victoria until 5 p.m. before departing for San Francisco.
Carnival Miracle will follow Wednesday evening, bringing the day’s combined estimated passenger capacity to 5,204.
Thursday will be the busiest day of the week by potential passenger volume.
Voyager of the Seas is scheduled to arrive in the morning, followed by Norwegian Joy in the afternoon and Celebrity Edge in the early evening. Together, the three ships can carry an estimated 10,801 passengers.
Friday will bring another busy evening at Ogden Point, with Norwegian Bliss, Eurodam and Royal Princess all scheduled to arrive within 45 minutes of one another.
The three vessels have a combined estimated capacity of 9,914 passengers.
Saturday will be almost as busy as Thursday, with three ships carrying a potential 10,516 passengers.
Celebrity Summit will arrive early Saturday morning and remain in Victoria for nearly 17 hours. Star Princess and Norwegian Encore will arrive later that evening.
The week concludes Sunday with two more large ships.
Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas is scheduled to arrive with an estimated 4,919 passengers, making it the largest ship visiting Victoria this week by passenger capacity.
MSC Poesia will arrive at 7 p.m., bringing Sunday’s combined estimated capacity to 7,932 passengers.
Norwegian Cruise Line will account for the largest share of the week’s potential visitors. Norwegian Joy, Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Encore can carry a combined 12,131 passengers.
Princess Cruise Lines follows with Emerald Princess, Royal Princess and Star Princess, which have a combined estimated capacity of 10,940.
Based on the current cruise ship schedule, approximately 279 cruise ship visits had been scheduled in Victoria between the beginning of the season and Sunday, September 6th.
Those vessels represent a combined estimated passenger capacity of approximately 839,000 people.
Passenger figures listed in the schedule represent each ship’s estimated capacity and may not reflect the number of passengers who ultimately arrive in Victoria.
This week’s cruise ship schedule:
Monday, September 7th
- Carnival Spirit: 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 2,124 passengers
Tuesday, September 8th
- No cruise ships scheduled
Wednesday, September 9th
- Emerald Princess: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., estimated 3,080 passengers
- Carnival Miracle: 8 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 2,124 passengers
Thursday, September 10th
- Voyager of the Seas: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., estimated 4,000 passengers
- Norwegian Joy: 1 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 3,883 passengers
- Celebrity Edge: 5:30 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 2,918 passengers
Friday, September 11th
- 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 12th
- Celebrity Summit: 7 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., estimated 2,218 passengers
- 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 13th
- 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
