Two cruises to arrive in Halifax Tuesday, first since pandemic struck

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started more than two years ago, Halifax will welcome cruise ships to port on Tuesday. 

The Ocean Navigator, with a capacity of 200 passengers, is set to arrive at 6 a.m.

Then at 8 a.m., the much larger Norwegian Getaway will arrive with a passenger capacity of 4,000. 

Lane Farguson with the Port of Halifax tells CityNews, the return will be a help for local businesses after two challenging years. 

“In 2019, we had economic impact studies done for the port, and on the cruise side of things the studies found cruise for the local economy is worth about $166 million each year in economic benefit,” Farguson explained, saying that figure includes passenger spending, port fees and local provisions for the ships. 

The last cruises to arrive in Halifax came in 2019, before the federal government banned cruises amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Farguson says there are still measures in place given the pandemic is not over.

“Generally speaking, everybody who's on those ships needs to be fully vaccinated, and then they need to be tested within 72 hours of boarding as well,” Farguson explained. 

Halifax will welcome three more vessels in April but the busiest part of the season is September and October.