Nanaimo Cruise Ship Terminal's First Ship

---

Our First Guest Under Cloudy Skies

The Norwegian Pearl

A Small Floating Town

The cruise ship the Norwegian Pearl had the honor of being the first visitor to our new Cruise Ship Terminal on Saturday. Counting passengers and crew there was over 3500 people suddenly added to our Saturday morning in Nanaimo.

There was a steady stream of tour buses being loaded with guests who would be shuttled around Nanaimo or taken on guided tours to other parts of our Island in the Pacific. Unfortunately they were not greeted with the best weather our home has to offer, but that couldn't put any real damper on their time spent here.

There were some crafters assesmbled in Pioneer Plaza hoping to capitalize on the opportunity to offer something unique to the visitors to our fair shores. They, and downtown merchants would certainly have noticed a 'bump' in traffic, how that translates into the bottom line is the subject of a future article.

There was a bit of a parking snarl along Fry Street as local residents parked and made their way down to see the new Terminal, which was not open to the general public at the time. The only criticism I could offer about the new location, is the inability for guests to simply walk off their ship and wander through our downtown without the aid of shuttle buses.

The new terminal will be open to the general public for a grand opening planned for either late June or early July according the the Nanaimo Port Authority.

The next ship to visit Nanaimo will arrive on May 20 with the arrival of the Celebrity Century and then there is a long break until our next visitor in Sept.