VancouverMETRO VANCOUVER NEWS
Vancouver welcomes its largest cruise ship as the season winds down
Princess Cruises’ Star Princess called at Canada Place on Sept. 27, becoming the largest cruise ship ever to visit Vancouver. Its arrival and departure were timed for low tide to clear the Lions Gate Bridge safely.
Canada Place welcomed the largest cruise ship ever to visit Vancouver over the weekend. Princess Cruises’ Star Princess arrived at 1:45 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, and departed at 1 a.m. Monday, Sept. 28. The calls were timed to coincide with low tide so the vessel could safely clear the Lions Gate Bridge. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority confirmed the milestone to Daily Hive Urbanized.
At 177,882 gross tons (GT), Star Princess surpassed Vancouver’s previous record-holders: Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore, built in 2019 at 169,116 GT, and Norwegian Bliss, built in 2018 at 168,028 GT. Norwegian Encore first called at Canada Place in 2023; Norwegian Bliss debuted in Vancouver in 2018. Bliss was then the world’s ninth-largest cruise ship, but has since fallen to 36th after larger vessels entered service. Star Princess is currently ranked 25th in the world, while Norwegian Encore is 32nd.
Star Princess is among a growing number of new large cruise ships powered by lower-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG). Norwegian Bliss visited Vancouver once during the 2026 cruise season, in April. All three ships typically homeport in Seattle during the Alaska cruise season and occasionally visit Vancouver at the beginning or end of the season on repositioning itineraries, usually bound for the Caribbean.
After leaving Vancouver, Star Princess stopped in Victoria that day before continuing to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and the Panama Canal. Although ships are compared by gross tonnage, Star Princess is also 1,133 feet (345 metres) long and 155 feet (47 metres) wide. It has 20 decks and can carry 4,300 passengers and more than 1,500 crew members.
Vancouver’s 2026 cruise season began on Feb. 26 with the early arrival of Disney Wonder. The port authority described 2026 as a banner year and projected the city’s busiest cruise season on record by passenger volume. More than 1.4 million passengers are expected, above the previous record of 1.32 million in 2023 and the 1.2 million recorded in 2025.
From May to September, the peak season, nearly 40,000 to 50,000 passengers travelled through Canada Place each weekend, with as many as 56,000 on the busiest weekends. The port authority defines a weekend as the four-day period between Monday and Friday. Multiple ships visited Canada Place almost every day during the peak season. July 2026 set an all-time monthly record of 290,000 passengers.
The port authority also projected nearly 360 cruise ship visits to Canada Place in 2026, up from 290 in 2019, 331 in 2023, 327 in 2024 and 301 in 2025. Five more visits are scheduled after that day before the season officially ends on Tuesday, Oct. 13, with Norwegian Encore’s departure. Its slightly smaller sister ship, Norwegian Joy (167,725 GT), is scheduled to visit Vancouver on Thursday, Oct. 1.
The season also brought several firsts for Vancouver. Brilliant Lady and Luminara made inaugural visits, marking the city debuts of Virgin Voyages and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, respectively. Disney Magic made its first visit and homeported in Vancouver throughout the season. With Disney Magic joining longtime Vancouver regular Disney Wonder, Disney Cruise Line effectively doubled its long seasonal presence in the city.