Cruise season picks up, meaning busy days for island tour operators

The Caribbean Princess, with more than 3,000 cruise passengers and 1,200 employees, called at Charlottetown on Tuesday in what continues to be a busy cruise season.

Despite labor shortages, Mike Cochrane, CEO of Port Charlottetown, said tourism operators are working to ensure they have enough staff to meet the needs of cruise ship passengers.

« The best thing we can do is communicate to our partners, you know, like the Tourism Industry Association, let everyone know that these are going to be busy days. And, you know, everyone just try to do the best they can and move forward with the resources we have.”

Cruise ships are expected to visit Charlottetown more than 70 times this year after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. There have been no cancellations so far.

The Caribbean Princess is the largest ship to visit Charlottetown since the season began on April 22. This was the first of five visits this year.

There are several days in the fall shoulder season when multiple cruise ships will be docked in the port – including four on October 4 and 9 – which will increase demand on tourism resources.

« Everyone has challenges, so this is not a unique situation, not unique to Charlottetown, PEI, » Cochrane said. « It’s all over the world. It’s not unique to Canada. It’s everywhere. »