#Croisière
Hurtigruten’s MS Fram Kicks off The Port of Québec’s International Cruise Season
05/02/2019
Québec, May 2, 2019 – In the presence of the Minister of Tourism, Mrs Caroline Proulx, The Port of Québec has launched its earliest international cruise season with the arrival of Hurtigruten’s MS Fram at the Ross Gaudreault Cruise Terminal. The expedition vessel is the first of its kind to call at the Port which has an expanding season and facilities to accommodate a variety of ship sizes and types.
Hurtigruten, the world’s greenest cruise line and world leader in expedition cruises, operates a growing fleet of 16 ships exploring spectacular destinations around the world such as Antarctica, South America and Caribbean, Canada, Northwest Passage, Svalbard, Greenland and Norway.
As the rest of the Hurtigruten fleet, MS Fram is custom built for expedition cruises – often to ports where bigger ships can’t go. MS Fram features Hurtigruten’s signature Expedition Team, hand-picked experts in a variety of fields creating a deeper understanding of the areas the ship visits.
“The Port of Québec is thrilled to welcome so many new cruise lines this summer starting as soon as May 2nd with the MS Fram. Hurtigruten is a pioneer expedition ship companies that paves the way for an always evolving cruise industry. Their vision is aligned with the strong commitment of the Port of Québec towards the environment and we are fortunate that they chose Québec city as their turnaround port,” said Mario Girard, President and CEO of the Québec Port Authority
“As we are expanding our fleet, we are also expanding our number of destinations. Quebec is not only a must-see destination in itself, it is the ideal gateway to areas such as St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, John Downey at Hurtigruten, says.
“Both Quebec and surrounding areas are perfect fits for Hurtigruten and our modern-day explorers. We are excited about this being our first call in Quebec. I am sure it’s just the beginning of what will be more calls in broader parts of the year, Downey says.
“The cruise industry is growing and generates more than $193 million in annual tourist spending in Québec. Despite keen international competition, Québec City and the Port of Québec stand out and are contributing to the rapid development of Québec tourism. They are the ideal gateway for cruise passengers who arrive in the heart of charming, pastoral, lively Old Québec City,” noted Minister of Tourism, Caroline Proulx.
2019 Maiden Calls to Québec
In 2019, nine ships will make inaugural calls to Québec: Hurtigruten’s MS Fram, Ponant’s Le Champlain, TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 1, MSC Cruises Spa, MSC Meraviglia, Peace Boat’s Ocean Dream, Viking cruises Viking Sun, Scenic’s Scenic Eclipse, Oceania cruises’ Riviera and Holland America Line’s Zaandam. Five of those lines are inaugurals to the port including TUI Cruises, MSC Cruises Spa, Peace Boat, Scenic, and Hurtigruten.
A Record Deployment
The 2019 Canada cruise season will see record deployment from Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Cunard including numerous overnights in Québec, offering passengers more time to enjoy the city. Holland America Line has the longest and most extensive cruise season in Québec. Four Holland America ships will make 34 calls in Québec from May through October. Princess Cruises will offer six 10-day sailings and one 13-day repositioning cruise on its newly renovated Caribbean Princess, with overnights in Québec on every sailing. Princess will also make its first summer call in Québec, departing on August 9. Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 is offering an extended Canada deployment in 2019 with five overnight calls to Québec between summer and fall 2019.
Québec City has seen record breaking growth year-over-year. In 2018 the Port welcomed 230,940 visitors, a nearly 15% increase over the 200,000 visitors in 2017. Committed to continuing to grow the cruise sector, with the goal of welcoming 400,000 cruise visitors by 2025, the port has announced the investment in a second cruise terminal installed at Berth 30, located in front of the UNESCO World Heritage Panorama.
Cruise ships’ schedule
Over the years, more and more Québec residents have flocked to admire the ships moored at the Port of Québec. To see the cruise ships’ schedule and information on each vessel, visit the Port of Québec website: Cruise ships schedule – Port of Québec.
About the Port of Québec:
A UNESCO World Heritage site, Québec is an award-winning city and one of the highest-rated destinations in the world. The Port of Québec is a highlight of the Canada New England cruise itinerary. As one of the largest cruise ports in Canada, it welcomes many of the most renowned cruise lines in the world. The strategically located terminal in the center of Old-Québec can accommodate both transit calls and embarkation and disembarkation operations. The Québec Cruise Committee, comprised of port, government and tourism representatives, coordinates all cruise tourism promotion with the goal of increasing Québec City’s cruise business.
About Hurtigruten:
Building on 125 years of Norwegian pioneering heritage, Hurtigruten is today the world's largest expedition cruise company. Hurtigruten’s rapidly growing fleet of custom-build expedition ships takes modern-day adventure travellers to the world’s most spectacular destinations on our Planet - from the High North to Antarctica in the south.
Hurtigruten believes in enhancing destinations, runs a responsible and sustainable global operation, and is considered the world’s greenest cruise line. In 2019, Hurtigruten is introducing the world’s first hybrid battery powered cruise ship, MS Roald Amundsen, followed by MS Fridtjof Nansen in 2020 and a third hybrid powered ship in 2021.
As the first major travel company, and first cruise line in the world, Hurtigruten banned all unnecessary single-use plastic in 2018. By 2021, Hurtigruten is upgrading at least six of their existing ships, replacing conventional diesel propulsion with batteries, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and Liquefied Bio Gas (LBG) made from organic waste– another industry first.
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For information :
Port of Québec
Marie-Andrée Blanchet
Public Relations and Events Advisor
418 648-3640
[email protected]
Hurtigruten
Rune Thomas Ege
VP Sustainability and Public Affairs
(+47) 988 288 68
[email protected]
Office of the Minister of Tourism
Marie-Julie Couturier
Press secretary
418-998-8655
[email protected]