Seven Seas Mariner port call sends visitors ashore Sunday

The Seven Seas Mariner arrived in
Prince Rupert on Sunday afternoon

The second cruise ship of the 2016 Cruise Season pulled into Prince Rupert Harbour on Sunday afternoon, as the Seven Seas Mariner tied up at the Northland Cruise Terminal at 1PM, with many of its passengers taking to the sights to be found ashore through the afternoon and into the early evening.

Many it appears took advantage of some of the shore based excursion opportunities offered at the Northland Terminal, or by way of the bus and walking tours of the region, while others wandered on their own, checking out the Cow Bay area and ventured further into the downtown core of the city.

The prospect of Sunday arrivals though may be a making for a day which offer some challenges for those looking to rebuild the city's cruise industry.

Yesterday, a number of local small businesses and restaurants chose to keep the Sorry Closed for the Day signs up in their windows.  Something which left those travelling up and down the two main streets of the downtown area to view a range of closed doors, or empty storefronts along their tour of the city's main shopping area.

City Hall was closed for the day
during the Sunday visit of the
Seven Seas Mariner

The Closed for the day theme even extended to City Hall, which normally hosts tours and provides for a resting place for cruise ship visitors during the work week, on Sunday however, the lights were off and the doors closed to visitors.

That made for one less downtown attraction for visitors to view as they took the complimentary shuttle service that was taking visitors from the Cruise Ship dock to the city's downtown district.

And while shopping and attractions may have been limited, the visitors did find things to do to mark their stopover in Prince Rupert.

Many were spotted on Sunday taking in the various murals that mark the city's buildings, while some of the adventurous  travelled further afield, taking some of the city's walking trails to explore a bit beyond the downtown area and into some of the city's neighbourhoods.

A shuttle bus stands ready to take
visitors downtown from the
Northland Cruise Terminal 

Visitors of the Seven Seas Mariner 
were offered the Opportunity 
of a Free Cruise Shuttle on Sunday

Sunday's visit brought the possibility of over 700 passengers and staff from the Seven Seas Mariner  ashore to explore the city, the next Cruise Ship Day for the city arrives on June 14th a Tuesday when the MS Regatta arrives in town.

There are three more Sunday arrivals for local organizers to focus on as well, with 1070 passengers to arrive on Sunday July 24th aboard the Crystal Serenity.

Smaller passenger loads will be found on July 31 and September 11th when smaller pocket cruise ships arrive in town. The Sunday arrivals make up one quarter of all of the twelve cruise ship visits for the 2016 Season.

A few more snapshots from Sunday's Cruise visit can be found below:

Visitors from the Seven Seas Mariner wait for their shore based excursion
plans to get underway Sunday Afternoon

A view of the Seven Seas Mariner from the Cow Bay Dock on Sunday

There was lots of room to explore on the Cow Bay Dock but a low tide
may have kept a number of the visitors from taking the walkway down to the boardwalk

The Seven Seas Mariner at berth at the Northland Terminal

You can find more about the 2016 Cruise ship season from our archive page.