PortsToronto welcomed its first cruise ship of the 2023 season on Friday, April 28. The Viking Octantis officially launched another record-breaking cruise ship season which will see 54 ships and more than 22,000 passengers visit Canada’s largest city between May and October.
Toronto, located on the shores of Lake Ontario, has become a popular Great Lakes cruising destination.
“The Port of Toronto is a popular urban jumping off point for cruising adventures throughout the Great Lakes. From the cruise ship terminal, passengers are a quick five-kilometer drive to downtown, which has the shopping, theatre, sporting events and restaurants you would expect in a world-class city,” said RJ Steenstra, President and CEO, PortsToronto.
“With the growing trend of ‘exploration cruising’, the Great Lakes cruising sector has seen a steady increase in both the number of ships as well as the number of passengers choosing to visit our region, and we expect to see this growth continue.”
According to Cruise the Great Lakes, an initiative led by the Conference of Great Lakes Governors and Premiers, cruising in the Great Lakes generated an economic value of over $120 million (USD) to the region’s ports and communities in 2022.