THUNDER BAY – The city welcomed a new cruise ship to its port on Saturday as the Ponant Le Champlain made its way to Pool 6.
The turnaround stop was one of many the French vessel will make along the North Shore this week.
Yannick Simon, Le Champlain's captain, said he enjoyed travelling around Lake Superior and is hoping the ship will visit Thunder Bay again next year.
“It’s really nice to be here. We have to say that our welcome was great. We really thank everyone for all the services and the really nice welcome we had today.
“The ship Le Champlain was built in Norway in 2018. So it's six year old ship. She's the second ship of a series of six sister ship built from 2018 to 2020.
“And the capacity of the ship is for 180 guests. The speed of the ship is 15 knots, and we are able to sail all over the world, even in the ice, if necessary,” he said.
The ship is leaving the port tonight at 7 p.m. for Silver Islet. The ship will briefly be back in Thunder Bay on Wednesday to switch crew members.
Paul Pepe, manager of tourism Thunder Bay, said it's the first time since the early 2000s that Ponant has been in the community.
“So really excited to have more of the turnaround business here in the city. It's great for the airport. Great for hotels. Great for the food suppliers and logistics companies here in the city and making sure that they have an exceptional experience here in the community for their passengers and crew.
“Cruise shipping is really important to our overall tourism economy. Even though the number of visitors that arrive on cruise ships is fairly small in terms of the over all number of visitors that come to the city each year, these are our visitors that are affluent, they're educated, they're influential and they're curious.”
Pepe said this is an opportunity to showcase the community and the region to a whole new audience of people that appreciate what we have.
“It's really the history, it's the Indigenous culture, it's the geology and geography of the region. That is something that we have here in our community and in our region that is world class.
“This is an opportunity for us to really showcase it to a new audience and they go home and they tell their friends. That's something that's really important in terms that helps to raise the profile,” he said.
The other side of cruising is that it brings an enormous media profile with it, Pepe said.
“In terms of coverage in all sorts of travel magazines and travel video and content creation, cruising is a big deal.
“The media attention that cruising brings to Lake Superior, into Thunder Bay, really elevates our reputation as a global destination and what we have out here. Talking to the passengers, talking to the crew, the captain today, what we have out here in Lake Superior, what we have at our doorstep is world class. Sometimes we take it for granted here because we see it every day.
“This is something that is very special to people from around the world that they don't have,” he said.
Pepe said this year there has been a total of 16 cruises overall.
“We’re very happy with that. That is a record for Thunder Bay, the most number of cruise ships that we've had. Next year we're about 14 booked so far.
“We're really, once again, happy with that and we have to be mindful. The industry is cyclical cruise lines, always mixing up their itineraries because the majority of their guests are loyal. They come back time and time again and they always want something new from them.
“We're mindful that some years are going to be busier than others, but we're definitely happy with what we're seeing in terms of the increased interest in Thunder Bay and in the Great Lakes and in Lake Superior from the cruise lines and their commitments to the city."
