City of North Van still waiting for their Olympic cruise ship to come in
Although the City of North Van doesn't have a cruise ship booked for 2010 there’s still interest, says the city’s director of corporate services Francis Caouette.
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Updated: November 26, 2009 11:09 AM
So far no cruise ships are booked at North Vancouver’s Burrard Dry Dock Pier over the Olympics — but the city’s working hard to change that.
In April, the city said it was close to securing two cruise ships at the pier during the Games. Seven months later no signatures adorn the dotted line. “There is no confirmation of any cruise ships,” Mayor Darrell Mussatto said. “We have not received formal applications.”
But there’s still interest, confirmed the city’s director of corporate services Francis Caouette. Two parties, representing fairly large ships, are in discussion with city staff, he said.
“We are in the process of working through the details,” Caouette said.
Those details include whether passengers will be aboard the ships when they pull up to North Van’s pier or if the vessels will solely be used as floating hotels, he said.
Caouette is hoping to iron out the wrinkles and have a presentation for council within the next few weeks.
The city wants to welcome cruise ships at it shores during the Games, Mussatto said, adding it would be a big economic boost for the community. Next door, on the District of North Vancouver’s shoreline, the luxury NCL Star cruise ship will be berthed at Kinder Morgan Canada Terminals, the district’s director of corporate services Gavin Joyze said.
“It is good because quite a few North Vancouver businesses will be providing services to the ship,” he said.
The 300-metre Norwegian Cruise Liner still has space available, according to vancouver2010cruiseship.com.
With 1,119 rooms, the cruise ship “will be the largest hotel in Vancouver during the Olympics,” Newwest travel president Dennis Laliberte told the Outlook in July.
raldous@northshoreoutlook.com
