Quebec Yachting
Yves Gilson, deputy director of cruises at the Port of Montreal, and Laurentius Oscar van Eerten, captain of the Volendam.
The Port of Montreal is proud to announce the official launch of the 2024 cruise season with the arrival of Volendam of the Holland America company, a ship with an unusual history, having served as a refuge for 1,500 Ukrainian citizens in 2022. This ship is making a first visit to the metropolis, and as tradition dictates, a gift was given to the captain Laurentius Oscar van Eerten.
A promising season
The 2024 cruise season promises to be as good as last year’s: around 50,000 passengers are expected between May 4 and October 28 during 41 operations, including 9 stopovers and 32 embarkations/disembarkations. In terms of capacity, the expected vessels range from vessel Le Bellotwelcoming 180 passengers, Volendam with a capacity of 1440 passengers.
“This new cruise season reflects the appeal of Montreal as a premier tourist destination. We are extremely proud to offer an exceptional reception space with the Grand Quai and the Port of Montreal Tower, which have become emblematic tourist symbols of our city. It is also a great opportunity to highlight our commitment to innovation and sustainability within our port thanks in particular to our shore power system,” declared Julie Gascon, president and CEO of the Port of Montreal.
“Like every spring, we are excited to see the arrival of the first ship of the season, marking the start of an exciting period for tourism in Montreal. Cruise passengers are warmly welcomed by our remarkable Bonjour structure, dominating the green roof of the Grand Quai of the Port of Montreal. As the gateway to the Americas, the metropolis is a must-see destination along the St. Lawrence River. Tourisme Montréal is proud to collaborate with this sector, creating significant economic benefits for the restaurateurs and merchants of Old Montreal,” says Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal.
Nine ships will visit Montreal for the first time:
– THE Volendam of the Holland-America company, the first and largest ship of the season
– Two ships from the Ponant company, the Champlain and the Lyrial, accommodating 180 and 264 passengers respectively, offering a luxury and intimate cruise experience
– THE Villa Vie Odysseyfrom Villa Vie Residences, with 924 passengers
– THE World Explorerfrom Rivages du Monde, with a capacity of 200 passengers, focused on the adventure experience
– THE Seven Seas Grandeur of Regent Seven Seas, with 750 passengers
– THE Nauticafrom Oceania Cruises, with 684 passengers
– Fred Olsen’s Borealis, with 1320 passengers
– THE Azamara Journey of Azamara Cruises, with 718 passengers, marking a return of the cruise line to Montreal after an eight-year absence.
In addition, three significant events will be celebrated, highlighting the loyalty of major shipping companies in choosing Montreal as their stopover of choice:
- The 25,000e passenger of the company Regent Seven Seas, on September 19 aboard the Regent Seven Seas Grandeur
- The 30,000e passenger of the Viking Cruises company aboard the Viking Neptune September 27
- The 40,000e passenger of the Oceania company on October 6 aboard the Nautica
Presentation of a copy of a work created by an Indigenous artist
The launch of the 2024 cruise season marks a change of direction in one of the Port of Montreal’s most cherished maritime traditions: that of presenting a plaque to ships making their first visit to Montreal. The APM has in fact organized a competition to renew the traditional plaque based on a work by an indigenous artist linked to the maritime environment. As a result of this competition, it is the work All on board by Manon Sioui, originally from Wendake, who was selected to welcome the new ships during their maiden voyage to Montreal. To learn more about the work and its meaning, click here.
An exhibition in tribute to Ukrainian refugees
Following an agreement between the government of the Netherlands, the city of Rotterdam and Holland-America, the Volendam served as a refuge for 1,500 Ukrainian citizens for a period of six months starting in April 2022. To commemorate this act of humanity, a permanent exhibition took place on board the ship. It features photographs, drawings made by children and other testimonies provided by Ukrainian refugees.
The exhibition was officially inaugurated in the presence of Julie Gascon, CEO of the Port of Montreal, the crew of the Volendamthe honorary consul of Ukraine, Eugène Czolij, and the honorary consul of the Netherlands, Michael Polak.
An ever greener port
THE Volendam is one of the ships that uses shore power technology, allowing ships to turn off the engines when the ship is docked and thus reduce GHG emissions. The trend is increasing at the Port of Montreal for the use of this ecological solution, with a record set last year when 9 cruise ships benefited from this installation, resulting in a reduction of nearly 400 tonnes of GHGs. This year, this system is expected to be deployed to an even greater number of ships, demonstrating our continued commitment, and that of cruise lines, to supporting the maritime industry’s evolution towards decarbonization.
A symbolic tulip to highlight the friendship between Canada and the Netherlands
Note that a tulip was symbolically given to all the representatives present on board the ship to mark the National Day of Remembrance, observed in the Netherlands in tribute to the victims of wars or peacekeeping operations that have occurred since the start of the Second World War. From the fall of 1944 to the spring of 1945, nearly 175,000 Canadians took part in the campaign to liberate the Netherlands and more than 7,600 of them sacrificed their lives.
Click here to view the full cruise schedule at the Port of Montreal.
Sources: Port of Montreal and Tourisme Montréal
