The biggest cruise ship to ever visit the Canadian Atlantic coast, Oasis of the Seas, was welcomed by dozens of onlookers and sunny blue skies as she sailed into the Port of Halifax on Tuesday morning. The ship is sailing on a 5-night cruise from New York City.
The first visit to the capital of Nova Scotia is also the last one for this year. After her current voyage, Oasis of the Seas will be sailing a series of cruises from her homeport in New York to the Caribbean.
Oasis Of The Seas Receives Warm Welcome
After a period when cruise ships were not welcome in Canada, one of the biggest cruise ships in the world received a warm welcome from the locals in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Canada lifted a cruise ban that had been in place during the pandemic earlier this year. Now the cruise lines are slowly starting to visit again.
The president and CEO of the Port of Halifax said the arrival of Oasis of the Seas is a sign the cruise industry is bouncing back from the pandemic:
“We were saying that the cruise industry was growing, that the desire to bring the biggest ships here and get more passengers through Halifax was coming, and here’s a good example,” said Cpt. Allan Gray.
Sailing a five-night cruise from her homeport of New York City, Oasis of the Seas arrived after a day at sea. Guests spent the day in Halifax, with the ship setting sail again to Saint John, New Brunswick, where she is today, June 8. Oasis of the Seas will return to New York City on June 10.
Royal Caribbean’s president, Michael Bayley, was equally excited with the arrival of one of his vessels in the historic city:
“Exciting day! This morning, Oasis of the Seas arrived in historic Halifax, Nova Scotia, as the first Oasis Class ship ever to visit Atlantic Canada! Tomorrow, our amazing guests will visit Saint John, Canada’s oldest incorporated city, and the Bay of Fundy, home to the world’s highest tides.”
The fourth-largest cruise ship in the world, the Oasis of the Seas weighs 226,838 gross tons and has a capacity of 5,606 passengers.
She will spend the rest of her summer season cruising from New York on 7-night Perfect Day and Bahamas cruises and 9-night Eastern Caribbean voyages. In November, Oasis of the Seas will reposition to Miami for her winter season.
Halifax Cruise Season Just Getting Started
As an important stopping point on the New England and eastern seaboard cruises, Halifax’s cruise season is just getting started. The area is especially popular toward the end of the summer and into fall when the beautiful fall colors come through in the trees.
Halifax will have six more cruise ship calls this month, including four calls by Holland America Line’s Zaandam. This number will be steadily going up over the coming months.
In August, there will be 17 cruise ship calls by ships such as Nieuw Statendam, Enchantment of the Seas, Norwegian Breakaway, Celebrity Summit, and more.
September will be the absolute busiest time of the year, with 52 cruise ship calls scheduled by cruise ships from all major cruise lines. On most days, two or even three ships will be in the port each day.
