Cruise Ship Countdown - CORRECTED

October 31 is the last day of the cruise ship season. We were expecting one last ship today, but as it turned out there were four ships in port, thanks to some very rough weather outside.

The remnants of tropical storm Philippe passing out to sea brought very high winds to Halifax and as a result
there were many delays in sailings and arrivals since late last week.  The Silver Whisper was one of two ships that arrived on Sunday October 29 and opted to remain in port.

Although not exactly red, the Sunday morning sky certainly gave sailors a warning of what was to come. 90 kph plus winds and lashing rain were the order of the day from Sunday evening to late Monday afternoon, when the rain let up but not the wind. High seas delayed pilots from getting to ships and there were numerous cancellations or postponements.
For more photos of the ship, scroll down to September 23 and October 7.

T minus 4

Silver Whisper sailed early this morning.

T minus 3

Crown Princess arrived on Monday October 30 and opted to remain in port over night. The 113,651 grt ship, built in 2006 by Fincantieri Italiani, Monfalcone, with a capacity of 3,080 passengers is one of the larger ships to call this year,.

It sailed late this afternoon, still in a brisk breeze, but at least the seas had subsided.

T minus 2

Scheduled to be the last cruise ship of the season, Sevens Seas Mariner arrived on schedule this morning, and sailed this afternoon.

At 48,075 grt, it is one of the mid-size ships, carrying only 700 passengers. Built in 2001 by Chantier de l'atlantique, St-Nazaire, it was the world's first "all-suite / all-balcony" cruise ship.

Seven Seas Mariner was the last scheduled cruise ship of the season, however....

T minus 1

The honour for last ship however will go to the inland seas vessel Victory 1. Returning from its cruise season on the Great Lakes, it arrived in Halifax Sunday, remained in port and is planning to sail late this evening.

Tucked in at pier 24 it was only possible to get a broadside shot of it.
For more, see  Shipfax 2016-10-12 and 2015-06-04 .

The End ...

of the cruise ship season for this year anyway.
By my count there were 180 cruise ship calls this season. There were also two brief med-evacs that did not tie up (not included in that number). The number does include two unscheduled diversions to Halifax due to weather. There was also only one cancellation that I am aware of. Artania AIDAmar was on the schedule for October 27 but may have by-passed Halifax due to weather The pilot boat was off station at her scheduled arrival time and I believe she kept on for her next port in rough weather.

P.S. Thanks to readers for the correction to a double error. Artania arrived on the 25th and sailed on the 26th. I may still be in error, but I am fairly certain that AIDAmar did by-pass Halifax - I await further information. 

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Lots of Length

There was lots of length at pier 20-22 today - that is if you count part of the Tall Ships Quay. Two years ago the Port installed an extra bollard at the TSQ to use when there are two large cruise ships in at the same time. It has seen frequent use as the ships get bigger and bigger.

The Seawall, as it is called, is just over 610m (2000 feet) long and was built to take two of the largest passenger ships then afloat. At the time however even the largest ships barely exceeded 900 feet, Such ships as Cunard's Aquitania (902 feet) and White Star's Olympic (883 feet) were among the biggest ships, with only the German giants Bismarck (956 feet) and Vaterland (950 feet) closing on triple digits.  

Today is was Crown Princess 290m (951 feet) and Celebrity Summit 294m (965 feet) with the bow of the former extending well north of pier 20. With three headlines out to the TSQ bollard the ship was well secured.

 
Crystal Symphony sailed first, backing out into the stream from pier 20-22. It was then the turn of Celebrity Summit which called in the tug Atlantic Willow to lend a hand pulling it off the pier and lining it up for its north about run around George's Island.

With shorter days there may be very few evening photos for a while.

Unless it is with the smart phone.

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Tight fit at pier 23

It is the peak of the cruise season with four ships in port today. The smallest ship is Regatta, and she must be wedged in to pier 23. With Crown Princess already tied up at pier 22 and its bow hanging out over the end of the pier, Regatta took a pair of tugs to help her in.

Explorer of the Seas is arriving for pier 20, and Jewel of the Seas is tied up at pier 31.

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September 11

September 11, 2001 started out as a normal day in the port of Halifax. Soon after the arrival of four cruise ships came the news of tragic events in New York. The four cruise ships in port that day, Norwegian Sea, Amsterdam, Victoria and Crown Princess carried many US passengers. The port increased security at dockside, and many shore excursions were cancelled. Also there were changes in routine aboard the ships, and with special memorial services in place of entertainment.

Halifax International Airport was coping with 40 foreign aircraft, and their passengers, who were stranded here for several days due to the closing of US air space, however all the cruise ships resumed their usual itineraries, three of them heading for Sydney, Norwegian Sea returning to a permanently changed New York.

On September 12, 2011, Crown Princess returns to Halifax.

Holland America also goes for traditional look

1. Eurodam arrives this morning, looking reasonably good.

2. Eurodam tied up at pier 20, with Crown Princess astern of her. That is the harbour tour sailing vessel Mar in the far background. The tugs Carly J and Gulf Spray have a garbage scow alongside Eurodam.

Despite her strange "Push Me-Pull You" funnels, Eurodam is not a bad looking ship for her size. Again the owners, Holland America - really just brand these days, have opted for a traditional plain look - and it succeeds.

She arrived this morning and sailed this afternoon. Crown Princess was also in today and siled this evening.