Salt Springers got a rare chance to see The World without even leaving the island over the weekend.

The luxury cruise ship spent two days anchored in Captain’s Passage, attracting the curiosity of the many islanders able to get a close-up look of the 196-metre (644-foot), 12-deck behemoth.

The ship’s size, however, didn’t necessarily translate into the much anticipated higher-than-usual sales for Saturday market vendors.

Only 47 of the estimated 200 passengers aboard the vessel chose to make landfall and explore the island. Shuttles carried passengers to and from the ship.

“I think there was a fair number of people who had hoped more passengers would come on shore,” said Kees Ruurs, the Parks and Recreation Commission’s operations manager. “A lot of vendors in the market had anticipated a large increase and that didn’t materialize. There wasn’t as much of an increase in the sales based on what I’ve heard.”

Whereas cruise ships may be a frequent sight in destinations like Victoria and Vancouver, the weekend visit of the Bahamian-registered M/V The World marks the first time in memory such a major vessel has stopped at Salt Spring Island.

The ship is owned by Florida-based ResidenSea Inc. Company representatives contacted the Salt Spring Island Chamber of Commerce about the visit back in January.

Chamber president Mafalda Hoogerdyk said the ship’s captain arranged the island stop after he visited some close personal friends here on Salt Spring.

“He visited and realized it was such a nice place,” she said, adding that she was a bit nervous about the ship’s arrival.

“I thought there may be protests,” she said.

Though she was disappointed so few passengers actually visited the island, Hoogerdyk said it would be interesting to determine the precise economic impact the ship’s visit had on the island.

Hoogerdyk said she is not aware of any plans to make Salt Spring a regular stop on the cruise-ship circuit, but said a ship passing by from time to time could benefit local businesses, restaurateurs and artists.

“If one stopped by once a year, it could be a help,” she said. “There is a domino effect and tourism is our main industry.”

According to the ship’s online itinerary for 2010 and 2011, The World is not scheduled to revisit the island.

The vessel’s Salt Spring sojourn marked the halfway point of the ship’s 2009 itinerary. The voyage began in Bridgetown, Barbados on Jan. 1 and wraps up in Sydney, Australia on Dec. 31.

The ship will spend July touring the coast of British Columbia and Washington State before heading to Alaska and across the Bering Sea to Asia in September.

The World features 165 rooms, most of which are owned by live-aboard residents.

The ship carries anywhere between 100 and 200 residents and guests along with a crew of up to 250 people.

Nightly stays on The World start at $1,300 for a two-person studio suite.

On board amenities includes a movie theatre, swimming pools, a casino, five gourmet restaurants, a golf simulator, putting green, full-sized tennis court, jogging track, fully equipped gym and high speed internet access in each room.

Traffic to and from the ship raised some concerns among islanders, though a Coast Guard spokesperson said The World did not pose any threat to navigation.

“It was well lit, well marked and well anchored,” said Ian Kyle of the Ganges Coast Guard. “If anybody hit that thing they’d have to be blind.”