Nanaimo - Floating cruise ship terminal planning scrapped

[Nostradama]

the Port of Vancouver has announced. The largest number of cruise ships stopping over in Vancouver has traditionally been the lower forty-eight states to Alaska via the inside passage, doing a round trip. This year Vancouver is anticipating only three of these ships putting in at Vancouver. Last year 900,000 passengers travelled through the Port of Vancouver; this year the number is anticipated to drop to 600,000.

[Wyatt Earp]

Another reason is capacity. All the new ships are too large to fit under the lions gate bridge so they need to find some place close that doesn't have this problem... Let's see if there was only a dock in Nanaimo...

[Nostradama]

Another reason is capacity. All the new ships are too large to fit under the lions gate bridge so they need to find some place close that doesn't have this problem... Let's see if there was only a dock in Nanaimo...

Makes sense. Two reporters missed that part of the story. Even I, when last living in Vancouver, can remember ships that had to come in on a low tide in order to fit under the Lions Gate. And that bridge is over seventy years old. Originally built, I was told, by a branch of the Guinness brewing family to serve a housing development they were putting in West Vancouver, the (to me) infamous "British Properties." First and, I hope to God, last time I saw a restrictive covenant on properties naming ethnic groups not permitted to buy property.

[Wyatt Earp]

You are correct on the subject of the LGB except the age. It was conceived much earlier - 1890's but finally open to the public in 1933 I think. I never knew it was a toll bridge nor did I knew it was $5.6M to build back then, surely the new Port Mann at $1.9B has got to be cheaper using today's money?

[Smokey©]

The Lions Gate Bridge was opened in 1939 by Queen Elizabeth and was sold to the Province of British Columbia in 1955 for a profit to the Guiness Family of about $86,000. Our family drove across the Lions Gate on the day they removed the toll charge in 1963. Saved us a quarter!

[Nostradama]

The Lions Gate Bridge was opened in 1939 by Queen Elizabeth and was sold to the Province of British Columbia in 1955 for a profit to the Guiness Family of about $86,000. Our family drove across the Lions Gate on the day they removed the toll charge in 1963. Saved us a quarter!

Actually, it was officially opened by this Queen's parents, George VI and his wife Elizabeth (known after his death as the "Queen Mother"), in 1939. Part of a hugely hyped public relations tour of Canada after the abdication of George's brother, Edward VIII (became and died as the Duke of Windsor, because he wanted to marry an American woman who'd already been married and divorced twice--the real reasons for objections to his marriage to the "infamous" Mrs. Simpson are just TMI for here.)

So this new King and Queen, since the Brit government, along with many others, could see what was coming in Europe--WW II--and also to pour oil on troubled waters because a lot of people disagreed with the abdication of Edward VIII, crossed Canada on a rail tour and also went to the US. Being realistic, what they were doing was securing Canadian ties to the UK, because they knew that sooner, rather than later, they'd be needing Canadian military help. Which they did.

At the same time, the street in Vancouver, Kingsway, got its name.

[Smokey©]

actually, it was officially opened by this queen's parents, george vi and his wife elizabeth (known after his death as the "queen mother", in 1939.

oops . . . .

[nza]

I try to go at least once a year to dive in and around Catalina Island off the shores of San Diego and LA. Seems like every time I'm there, there are Cruise Ships, but they are not docked. In fact all the cruise ships tender their passengers to the island. Which leads me to believe that a cruise ship dock and terminal is not necessary to bring cruisers to the shores. If Nanaimo is itself attractive enough (which the downtown is not....yet), then people will want to come ashore. Don't think that just because you build it, they will come. Nanaimo needs to become a destination of choice before cruisers will want to even step off the ship. If I was on a cruiseship and heard that Campbell River was on the itenrary, I probably wouldn't get off the boat, dock or not. Not unless there was a 3 for 1 salmon fishing day trip + golfing included in the excursion.

Nothing makes Nanaimo stand out any more than Campbell River. To a cruiser anyway. Same small town with the same shitty downtown with nothing happening. There are no tourist traps like glaciers, or maple syrup, or salmon spawning, or golfing, or wine tours, or whatever, that cruisers would love to see and experience, within walking or transfer distance...

People need to stop thinking about what Nanaimo is to them and us - the locals, but to think about how Nanaimo is perceived by the cruise ship industry, the tourism industry, and the potential 600,000 cruisers, as a whole.

my opinion as a person who's been around the world a couple of times.

[yorway]

I have to agree with you NZA, Nanaimo has very little to offer cruise passengers with the exception of the sea wall walk and its natural beauty.
If this city wants to make a success of the tourist and or cruise industry the city has to think touristy attractions within the city or a short driving distance from the city.
Things like Bouchart gardens are to far from here and more easily accessed from Victoria.
Attractions like a real, old coal mine tour or a working aboriginal village might be some of the things that attract tourists and cruisers.
The city also needs a lot more souvenir and T-shirt shops. Duty free jewelery and diamond shops as well as local craft shops. More downtown brand name stores like Guess, Coach purses etc. have to be established. The only people on cruise ships that want to go to a mall are the crew to go to Wal-Mart to replenish the personal items.
The market at Pioneer Square is a good start but it must be open when ships are in port.
Diving and fishing excursions are already available but the have to be coordinated with the cruise ship lines as do most shore excursions. Most cruisers book their shore excursions on the ship since they are wary about being ripped off by the locals.
If Nanaimo wants the money from tourists they have to play the part!

[Nostradama]

There's not enough right here in Nanaimo to pull people off the ships and into town. One of the tours which I believe is offered is a trip to Cathedral Grove. But after yesterday's "voice of doom" announcement by VIHA that the whatever-it-is nasty spore that lurks in the bark of the trees at Cathedral Grove has not only spread over a fair bit of the Island (well, we already knew that) but is probably much worse than previously reported because "the spores have either mutated or interbred with others, and many more people may have died than we know of, because cases were misdiagnosed and the causes of death were recorded as something else" that may cut down on passengers opting for bus trips to Cathedral Grove. Wonder how long it will be before warning signs of some sort go up at Cathedral Grove? Not 2010, but 2011 wouldn't surprise me.

The Bastion may mean a lot to some of us, and is historically important, but it's a short stop. The cannon firing, same thing, along with the presence of the red serge and the piper. Sure, there are some interesting shops in the area, but one typical cruiser demographic is "retired, affluent, sophisticated, frequently from cities larger than Nanaimo." They're accustomed to more, and a larger variety of, "interesting" shops.

Although it's a great idea, I don't think the taxpayers of Nanaimo or the Regional District will ante up to refurbish a mine for tourist viewing. It's already been done in the southern interior of the province, and by a native band. And a native village in operation--I don't know. It's hard to do something like that and not have it come off as somehow faked. And the cost of construction of cedar longhouses and so on would be pretty hefty. Totem poles are hugely expensive. I don't know how much more "build it and they will come" construction local taxpayers will stand for.

Where we missed the boat (or cruise ship, in this case) IMHO, is when we let them tear down the Civic Arena and the foundry. We missed the chance that the foundry and the Civic would have provided us with--an ideal site for a mini Pike Place Market, Seattle. Everything there from fresh, picked-that-day produce to "fresh from the sea" fish and shellfish especially since Pike Place is close to fishing docks (Does this sound like Nanaimo? Yep, thought so), crafts, baked goods, some really quality art work, ceramics. You name it, Pike Place Market has it. Sit-down restaurants to grab it and eat it while stolling and shopping snacks. Buskers. We could have had it all under two roofs, adjoining buildings, and we blew it. Even edging close to hinting "It's a lot like Pike Place Market but smaller and less crowded" would have pulled in a lot of cruisers, who'd have left money here. And a lot of locals, too, I'll bet.