We live in Vancouver, Canada. It’s a rather nice place, where water is plentiful. The primary area for visitors is downtown, which happens to sit on a bay. It’s a lovely place, such that the city has spent much effort and money to make it a place to see. And, as you’ll see in other posts on this site, it is a prime location for large (in this case, cruise ships) to dock here. For completeness, all cruises sailing from the U.S. must stop in Canada or another foreign port due to the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA). Under this act, foreign-flagged ships must visit at least one foreign country during the cruise. A cruise line would face significant penalties for not complying. That’s nice for Vancouver’s tourist revenue, although tourists like to come here anyway.
One concern, though, is the size of the cruise ships. They are getting bigger by the day, such that – in Vancouver’s situation – they may be too big to cruise under the main Narrows bridge. That presents all sorts of problems to almost everyone: the Port Authority, the cruise ships themselves and, of course, cruise ship passengers.
So far, it has been a more or less manageable situation. But – and this is the main topic of this post – what happens if the ships get too big? It’s entirely possible that Vancouver and other global ports will have some work to do, especially when this is happening right now. Brace yourself for The Icon of the Seas cruise ship. Click here to be amazed.
Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas will be the biggest cruise ship in the world and offer amazing new features including a water park, infinity pools, and dedicated area of the ship for families. Big? Yes. Exciting? Even more!
When the time comes, Cruise Direct will be ready. Click here to get in the queue.