Over 12,000 cruise ship passengers to discover Québec today

10/18/2013

Québec, October 18, 2013 – Today will be one of the busiest days for the Port of Québec as the beautiful city and its warm people welcome five (5) cruise ships and over 12,000 passengers. This represents both a proud moment and a significant logistical challenge for the Québec Port Authority (QPA).

For the next few hours, the QPA will welcome the Queen Mary 2, the most impressive ship of the season in terms of size—truly one of the highlights of the 2013 international cruise ship season at the Port of Québec. Alongside the Queen Mary 2 will be the ship with the most passengers, the Explorer of the Seas.

 Two (2) sea giants visit at the same time

 With its 345-metre length and maximum capacity of 3,090 passengers, Cunard’s regal ship impresses and captures the imagination of the public with every visit. If we were to balance the Queen Mary 2 on its stern, it would be three (3) times as tall as Complexe G. Although she will depart this evening at 6:00 p.m., she will return to the Port of Québec on October 22, occupying wharf 22 in the Pointe-à-Carcy sector. The ship is currently at wharf 103, located in the Anse-au-Foulon sector, where it will remain until its departure this evening.
The 3,800 cruise ship passengers of the Explorer of the Seas will end their journey in Québec today. The Royal Caribbean ship will have embarkation/disembarkation at the Ross Gaudreault Cruise Terminal, welcoming aboard 3,800 new cruise ship passengers, who will set off on their magical journey from Québec. The Explorer of the Seas alone will generate 7,600 passengers’ worth of traffic. This will be the ship’s only visit to Québec this year.

 The Aurora (wharf 30), the Grande Mariner (wharf 19) and Le Boréal (wharf 21) will round out the visits with respective maximum capacities of 1,975, 100 and 264 passengers. Le Boréal will also undergo embarkation/disembarkation.
“This day will require the involvement of several hundred workers pulling together to bring visitors a uniquely positive experience in our magnificent city,” said Mario Girard, President and CEO of the QPA.
Major economic impact on Québec

The cruise ship industry is a major activity for the Québec region, tourism-wise and economically speaking. According to a study from the Ministère du Tourisme du Québec, the international cruise ship industry creates $85.9 million worth of direct economic benefits for the province of Quebec. Note that for the Capitale-Nationale region, this represents $329 per destination passenger and $111 per stopover passenger.

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Source:

Anick Métivier
Assistant Director, Communications and Public Relations
Québec Port Authority
Tel.: 418-648-3640
Email: [email protected]