THUNDER BAY – A new provincial investment will go a long way towards ensuring Thunder Bay is ready to receive its first visits from a cruise ship in nearly a decade in just over a month.
The $1.2 million in NOHFC funding the province announced earlier this week for improvements to docking infrastructure at the Pool 6 site will help cover roughly $2.5 million in improvements the City of Thunder Bay is undertaking this year, said tourism manager Paul Pepe.
That includes rubble removal, dock improvements, replacement of bollards, a new fendering system, electrical upgrades, road realignment, and landscaping.
The work is being conducted with some urgency in anticipation of nine scheduled visits from two cruise ships this summer.
The return of cruise ships was announced more than two years ago before facing delays during the pandemic.
This year, those plans will finally be realized in what Pepe hopes marks the beginning of a resurgence in cruising on Lake Superior that the city’s economic development agency has said could bring millions in economic benefits to the city.
The Viking Octantis, the first cruise ship to visit Thunder Bay in nine years, is due to arrive with 378 passengers starting in late May.
At 665 feet long, it’s the largest vessel ever to cruise the Great Lakes, Pepe said.
The ship will use Thunder Bay as a turnaround point seven times, with disembarking passengers touring the city before returning home by air, and new passengers boarding the following day.
Several of the voyages are already complete sell-outs, while sales for the others are going well, Pepe reported earlier this month.
The majority of the improvements at Pool 6 are expected to be complete by the time the Octantis makes its inaugural stop on May 26.
“There’s some upgrades needed to meet their needs,” Pepe said. “With a $300 million build cost for that vessel, we want to make sure it’s taken care of, we want to make sure the guests are taken care of.”
“All of that work will help create a safe and secure area for the vessels and the passengers over the next couple of years while we work to determine what the longer-term plans are for the site.”
A smaller cruise ship, the 210-passenger Ocean Navigator, is scheduled to make two day stops in Thunder Bay as well this summer.
Along with the infrastructure improvements, the Pool 6 area will be spruced up with flags, tents, planters when ships arrive, Pepe noted.
The city isn’t exactly trying to hide the property’s industrial past, he said, with cruises planning content interpreting the city’s industrial history, including its central role as a grain terminal, for guests.
Still, the site is “a work in progress” that’s being repurposed from its previous use as a grain elevator, he acknowledged, a process that will take time and hopefully dovetail with other city plans for the area, like a waterfront art gallery and extension of the waterfront trail.
It’s hoped the improvements and visits this year will set the stage for an expansion in cruise ship activity in Thunder Bay.
Pepe said he’s already had some interest in booking stops for 2024 and 2025, and will travel to Miami for an industry convention in Miami this month to promote the city as a destination.
“The outlook for Great Lakes cruising overall is growing, and Thunder Bay is well poised to be both a day stop and a turnaround stop,” he said.
