2017: the year our ship comes in

A record 26 cruise ship visits are scheduled this year, six more than last year's all-time record of 20 visits

Cruise ship Victory 1, docked at Roberta Bondar tent pavilion on Monday, September 12, 2016. Photo by David Helwig, SooToday

Tourism Sault Ste. Marie declared 2016 to be our best-ever year for cruise ship visits, based on last year's 20 dockings.

This year is expected to be still better, with a record 26 visits scheduled so far, according to a docking list presented at this week's meeting of the local historic sites board.

Kathy Fisher, curator of the Ermatinger-Clergue National Historic Site, said that cruise ship passengers are taken to her destination as well as to the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre.

Two ships will account for all of this year's visits: M/V Victory 1 and Pearl Mist.

The 87-metre M/V Victory 1 has a crew of 84 serving up to 202 guests.

Built in 2001, M/V Victory 1 previously sailed as Cape May Light, Sea Voyager and MS Saint Laurent.

U.S.-based Haimark Line Ltd. spent US$3.5 miIlion to refurbish MS Saint Laurent in 2015.

Less than two weeks after its inaugural Haimark cruise, the Saint Laurent slammed into a concrete wall bumper at the Eisenhower Lock near Massena, New York, injuring 19 passengers and three crew members.

The five-deck ship was taken out of service for repairs and Haimark subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Miami-based Victory Cruise Lines now operates the vessel under the M/V Victory name.

Victory sails to Cuba during winter months.

The 100-metre Pearl Mist has six decks.

Launched in 2008, Pearl Mist carries 210 passengers and 70 crew.

Pearl Mist offers seven-, 10- and 11-day cruises that cost between US$5,180 and US $10,640 per passenger.

Great Lakes cruises on the M/V Victory cost between US$6,199 and US $9,088.

Port charges add $399 to the price for the Victory and between $290 and $410 extra to Pearl Mist cruise prices.

If you drop down to the Roberta Bondar tent pavilion to see the cruise ships, be aware that Transport Canada imposes strict security regulations on the local port facility when passenger vessels are in town.

"These regulations require fencing be put up along the waterfront portion of the Hub Trail in front of the Roberta Bondar pavilion, in order to secure this area from the public," says Rick Borean, the city’s supervisor of community services,

"Signage is in place denoting the restricted area. An alternate route for the general public is to walk under the Roberta Bondar pavilion which connects to the Hub Trail on both sides, Borean says.

The following is a listing of all passenger ship visits booked so far for 2017: