The 2,000 passenger MS Noordam is poised to bookend the local cruise season in Nanaimo in 2026, part of an eight-visit schedule this year. (Image Credit: File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

Double up

Arrivals of cruise ships increasing in Nanaimo this year

Feb 9, 2026 | 5:47 AM

NANAIMO — For the third consecutive year, the number of cruise ships visiting the Harbour City will notably increase from the year previous.

Three unique vessels are scheduled to make a total of eight ports of call in Nanaimo between April 24 and Oct. 9, 2026, adding to the four visits in 2025 and two arrivals in 2024.

First on the schedule, on April 24, is the MS Noordam, operated by Holland America Line, with upwards of 2,000 passengers and 800 crew on board.

It was one of the four arrivals in 2025 and is the biggest ship in terms of physical size and capacity seen in Nanaimo waters in recent memory.

Currently sailing between Australia and New Zealand, the vessel will also return to Nanaimo on Sept. 25 and Oct. 9.

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Two of the Noordam’s visits to Nanaimo will come at the tail end of a round trip from Seattle, touring the Great Bear Rainforest in southern Alaska and northwestern B.C.

It’s third arrival comes part of a 14-day roundtrip cruise of the Alaskan coastline, again departing from Seattle.

The MS Noordam docked in Nanaimo in 2025, with around 1,900 passengers on board. (Image Credit: File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

New to Nanaimo this year will be the Azamara Pursuit, part of Azamara Club Cruises.

The 700-passenger, 400-crew vessel is also presently operating between Australia and New Zealand, but will make four stops in Nanaimo this spring and summer on May 30, June 21, July 11 and Aug. 1.

All of the Pursuit’s visits to Nanaimo come during trips between Vancouver and Whittier, Alaska.

A third vessel, the Roald Amundsen, is listed on the Nanaimo Port Authority’s schedule for a port call on Sept. 23.

However, multiple third party cruise scheduling websites list the boat as sailing between Iceland and Canada in late September.

It has previously docked in Nanaimo in June 2025 and can carry around 600 passengers and 150 crew on board, and is presently operating between Argentina and Antarctica.

We’ve reached out to the Nanaimo Port Authority for further clarification.

The Azamara Pursuit will arrive in Nanaimo multiple times in 2026. (Image Credit: Azamara Cruises)

Cruise impacts to Nanaimo tourism sector

Slow and steady growth in the number of cruises arriving locally is seen as a win on multiple levels by Tourism Nanaimo CEO Carly Pereboom.

She said exposing visitors to Nanaimo and the mid-Island will pay off in many ways down the road, likening it to when people see a location on a movie or TV show and make plans to visit in the years following.

“It is still very early stages in the visitor economy journey for that. Some ships are using Nanaimo for operational stops or passenger transitions, which is great for the Port and the marine sector, but it doesn’t always translate into large numbers visiting and exploring downtown, which is okay right now.”

Pereboom told NanaimoNewsNOW the way things have gone in Nanaimo is “very typical” for growth in this sector and they’re aiming to use the opportunities to make a good first impression.

“When it comes to cruises, it’s about building those relationships and people trusting the destination. Over time, as visits become more consistent, you typically see more passengers choosing to come back independently, which is a great opportunity I think for local businesses and seeing that steady growth in the sector.”

Tracking those return trips, along with getting a sense of how many cruise passengers are exploring locally, as opposed to booking a regional excursion, are key performance indicators moving forward.

It’s information which will help inform future decision making, including development of more localized cruise excursions to further encourage return visits.

“It’s not always just about heads and beds. It’s also about how long are people staying? What kind of experiences are they looking at? Are we hearing from our transportation partners that they’re getting increased bookings? Are we hearing from the art gallery and the museum that they’re seeing more visitors come through their door? There’s a lot to different partners that were kind of pulse checking consistently.”

The eight planned arrivals in 2026 come after three ships were due to visit a total of six times in 2020, however COVID-era travel restrictions cancelled the arrivals which were to start in May.

No ships with visitors aboard docked in 2021, 2022 or 2023.

The facility targeted a goal of 25-30 ships annually tying up in Nanaimo when the cruise ship dock opened in 2011.

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