Cruise ships ditch some Quebec stops over new speed limits in Gulf of St. Lawrence

[Sopwith]

A move by the Canadian government to protect North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is having an impact on the cruise ship industry in parts of Quebec, as stops in the Gaspé and Saguenay have been cancelled.

 

The Celebrity Summit ship's stop at the wharf in La Baie scheduled for October 2 was also cancelled.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/cruise-ship-industry-quebec-speed-limit-1.4273807

[CrusieToy]

thanks for the info. Love Canada to bad they canceled 2 great stops

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Love Canada. Love whales. Thanks, Canada, for taking steps to protect the few right whales left. We'll muddle through with our revised itinerary. Maybe do a little whale watching from the balcony.

[comcox]

Glad to read that they are doing this although those already booked on cruises probably very disappointed. Now would someone please do the same for the Alaska cruise area. Whales are getting killed there every summer now and the ship lanes are far too overcrowded.

[Bruinboy]

We are on one of these cruises. Missing one port is a small price to pay to protect endangered species. Though we have seen plenty of whales off Kauai, Cabo San Lucas and British Columbia, it's always fun to see these amazing creatures. Just fortunate enough to afford to cruise and in the scheme of things ... for us ... it's no big deal.

 

 

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[Can'tstopcruising]

I wonder if they have cancelled the local boats that go through the fjords from Saguenay.

 

We did the day boat ride many years ago and saw a variety of whales and gorgeous scenery.

[cruising cockroach]

Port of Vancouver has a trial voluntary programme for ships to slow down to 11 knots. This is for noise reduction only.

 

A few years ago, some cruise ship came into Vancouver with a whale impaled on the bow. They weren't sure if the whale was already dead or otherwise when it was hit.

 

https://www.portvancouver.com/environment/water-land-wildlife/marine-mammals/echo-program/vessel-slowdown-trial-in-haro-strait/

[CruisingChick]

Just read this article in Seatrader Magazine:

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/18017-saguenay-closes-2017-expects-big-2018.html

 

The Crown Princess concluded the Saguenay cruise ship season, calling on October 27 with some 3,114 passengers aboard, according to a statement. This marked the 55th and final call of a record season for the Canadian port.

Of note, 19 ships docked in 12 days between September 29 and October 12 – peak foliage season.

On October 6, the port saw some 6,000 passengers in one day. Another highlight was the length of the average call increasing to 15 hours and 25 minutes, compared to just eight hours in 2016.

2018 looks even stronger, with 60 calls confirmed including the Queen Mary 2 and the first-ever call from Disney Cruise Line.

It seems plenty of other ships had no trouble going to Saguenay in 2017. We were supposed to dock there on October 2, 2017. But Celebrity said they had to cancel the stop because of reduced speed. Not sure why all the other lines were able to make it and not Celebrity.

[monctonguy]

it probably depends on what other stops they had and the distance it is away, as to whether or not a slower speed would impact the cruise or not.

 

This has affected stops out in Atlantic Canada as well for cruise ships, with a cpl of them being fined this fall for exceeding the speed limits set out.

[cruisestitch]

Did those other lines drop some other port or otherwise alter their itineraries?

[Host Jazzbeau]

Crown Princess dropped Gaspe and lengthened the stay in Saguenay. The Sea Day in the middle was a leisurely float along the river with almost no wake. We were on the Oct. 4 Crown Princess southbound sailing with an aft-facing balcony -- saw no whales.

[Mynki]

It's a good thing IMHO. If you google 'cruise liner kills whale' you;ll find numerous stories of this happening.

 

The changes seem a small price to pay for conserving such magnificent creatures. :)

[dkjretired]

We saw it about 20 years ago in St. George, Bermuda. We were on Celebrity and made our transfer from Hamilton to St. George and arrived there to find a cruise ship out of Boston with a whale stuck in its Bow. I think it was one of the NCL ships but not absolutely sure. It was all over the news in Bermuda

[ozark74]

Just read this article in Seatrader Magazine:

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/18017-saguenay-closes-2017-expects-big-2018.html

 

 

It seems plenty of other ships had no trouble going to Saguenay in 2017. We were supposed to dock there on October 2, 2017. But Celebrity said they had to cancel the stop because of reduced speed. Not sure why all the other lines were able to make it and not Celebrity.

On our 10/08 cruise we left Quebec City 3 hours early. Arrived in Charlottetown. PEI 2 hours later than scheduled. Just shorter time in port but didn't miss any ports.

[Northern Aurora]

Love Canada. Love whales. Thanks, Canada, for taking steps to protect the few right whales left. We'll muddle through with our revised itinerary. Maybe do a little whale watching from the balcony.

 

Loved Linda's comment!! So totally agree.

 

We were on both the Summit September 24 and October 8th sailings, which were the first two legs of a B2B2B set of cruises. The changed itineraries didn't impact our lives, nor was our enjoyment of these cruises in any way diminished.

[chengkp75]

There are right whale speed restriction zones up and down the East Coast, most notably the one just south of NYC. These have been around for decades. Canada just enacted theirs because the migratory pattern has apparently shifted. The limits of the East Coast zones vary every year, and Notices to Mariners spells out the boundaries. Glacier Bay in Alaska has a speed restriction zone, started in 2014.