Officials expect busy 2018 for cruise ships

The Amadea makes its way into Halifax Harbour in 2017.
The 2018 cruise season in Halifax will begin April 22 with the arrival of Fram, a Hurtigruten vessel.

From April 22 to Nov. 6, the Port of Halifax is expecting 200 vessels to call on Halifax carrying a total of about 300,000 passengers.

The Halifax Port Authority put out a news release on Wednesday about the expected strong performance from the cruise sector, including 10 scheduled inaugural calls starting with the arrival of Norwegian Bliss, a Norwegian Cruise Line vessel, on April 30.

According to the port authority there will be three visits by Disney Magic, Sept. 17, 22 and Oct. 2. There will be one visit by Queen Mary 2 on Oct. 5.

Oct. 9 is expected to be the busiest passenger day in Halifax, with more than 11,000 cruise guests on five vessels.

A complete list of vessels scheduled to arrive in Halifax is available on the Cruise Halifax website cruisehalifax.ca.