Vancouver Just Welcomed Its First Cruise Ship of 2026 — and the Season Numbers Are Staggering
Vancouver's Port expects 360 cruise ship calls and 1.4 million passengers in 2026 — a 19% jump over 2025 — as Disney Wonder kicks off a record-breaking season.
The Port of Vancouver kicked off its 2026 cruise season this morning when the Disney Wonder glided into Canada Place at 7 a.m., marking the start of what port officials are calling the most ambitious cruise season in the city’s history. According to Cruise Industry News, Vancouver is bracing for nearly 360 cruise ship calls and more than 1.4 million passengers — numbers that would shatter every record the port has ever set.
That is not a modest uptick. It is a 19 percent increase over 2025, when the port welcomed roughly 300 ship calls and just under 1.2 million passengers. And it would exceed even the 2024 record by 5 percent.
$1 Billion and Counting
The economic scale of what Vancouver is about to experience this summer is difficult to overstate. Cliff Stewart, VP of Operations and Supply Chain for the Port of Vancouver, put it plainly: “We expect to see record cruise ship visits bring record numbers of visitors to Vancouver this year — injecting more than $1 billion into the economy.”
One billion dollars. From cruise ships alone. For a single port season.
This is exactly the kind of number that makes city planners, hotel operators, and restaurateurs pay very close attention to cruise infrastructure. And it is the kind of number that makes the case, quite loudly, that cruise tourism is no longer a niche segment of the travel industry. It is a primary economic engine for gateway cities.
The Disney Wonder’s arrival today was technically a repositioning sailing on its way from Hawaii to San Diego — a whistle-stop, not a full homeport departure. But it signals the beginning of a sustained wave of activity that will roll through Canada Place nearly every day from late April onward through mid-October.
New Names, New Lines, New Energy
What makes 2026 particularly notable for Vancouver is not just the volume — it is the variety. Five ships will make their very first calls at Canada Place this season, including Azamara Cruises’ Azamara Pursuit, Windstar Cruises’ Star Seeker, Virgin Voyages’ brand-new Brilliant Lady, and the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Luminara.
Two of those names deserve special attention. Virgin Voyages and the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection are entirely new arrivals to the Vancouver market. Virgin Voyages, with its adult-only, all-inclusive model and distinctly non-traditional cruise aesthetic, represents a fundamentally different kind of traveler coming through Canada Place. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, catering to ultra-luxury guests on a 149-guest vessel, sits at the opposite end of the pricing spectrum.
The fact that both brands are adding Vancouver to their routes in the same season is a strong signal: the Alaska cruise corridor, and Vancouver as its southern gateway, is increasingly attractive to cruise lines across every market segment.
Disney is doubling its presence as well. Disney Wonder will return in May for weekly Alaska sailings, and Disney Magic will homeport in Vancouver for the first time alongside its sister ship. For families planning an Alaska cruise, having two Disney ships operating out of the same port simultaneously is a meaningful expansion of options.
Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam is scheduled to arrive April 11, and the season will close when Norwegian Encore departs on October 13 — giving the port roughly a six-month window of near-continuous cruise traffic.
The FIFA World Cup Wildcard
Here is where things get genuinely complicated: seven FIFA World Cup 2026 matches are scheduled in Vancouver during the height of cruise season this summer.
The port’s own vice president acknowledged it directly, noting that Vancouver will experience “something of a perfect storm this summer when it comes to accommodation, with the height of a very busy cruise season overlapping with FIFA World Cup 2026 matches.”
That is a candid admission from a port official, and it deserves unpacking. Cruise passengers typically need at least one night of hotel accommodation before embarkation — and often more if they fly in early or build a pre-cruise land tour. During normal summers, Vancouver’s hotel market is already under pressure. Layer in hundreds of thousands of World Cup fans alongside 1.4 million cruise passengers and you have a recipe for serious accommodation crunches, price spikes, and logistical friction.
For passengers planning Alaska cruises departing from Vancouver this summer, the practical takeaway is simple: book your pre-cruise hotel now, not later. The window to secure reasonable rates at reasonable proximity to Canada Place is narrowing fast. By the time summer arrives, travelers who waited may find themselves paying significantly more — or staying considerably farther from the terminal than they planned.
Why This Matters for the Alaska Cruise Market
Vancouver is not just a gateway city. It is the primary southern homeport for Alaska cruising. The vast majority of passengers sailing the Inside Passage, Glacier Bay, or coastal Alaska routes begin or end their journeys at Canada Place. The port’s record season numbers are, in a very real sense, a proxy for the health and growth of Alaska cruise demand.
And that demand appears to be accelerating. The 19 percent year-over-year passenger growth is not a fluke — it reflects sustained and growing appetite for expedition-adjacent travel, nature-focused itineraries, and the kind of scenery that Alaska delivers in abundance. As consumers increasingly prioritize experiences over things, Alaska’s dramatic landscapes and wildlife encounters position it as one of the most compelling cruise destinations in the world.
The arrival of luxury brands like the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection also tells us something about where Alaska cruising is headed. As the market matures and competition for Alaska sailings intensifies, the experience is being pushed upmarket. Smaller ships, more exclusive experiences, higher price points — these are the trends that the presence of Luminara in Vancouver this season signals.
What to Watch
The Disney Wonder’s arrival today is a starting gun, not a finish line. Over the next several months, we will be watching closely to see whether Vancouver’s accommodation infrastructure can handle the dual pressure of World Cup traffic and peak cruise season — and how the introduction of Virgin Voyages and Ritz-Carlton to the market reshapes the competitive dynamics of Alaska itineraries.
If the season delivers on its projections, 2026 will be a landmark year that raises the baseline expectations for what Pacific Northwest cruise tourism can look like. If the accommodation crunch becomes severe, it could serve as a cautionary tale about the limits of cruise growth without corresponding investment in destination infrastructure.
Either way, the curtain just went up. And with 359 more ship calls still to come, this is going to be a very interesting season to follow.
Source: Port of Vancouver Readies for First Ship of Busy 2026 Season — Cruise Industry News