Saint John entertains thousands in busiest week of cruise ship season

The cruise season in Saint John is a significant contributor to the economy of the region and this week is the busiest of the year for cruise ships visiting.

Wednesday was another three-ship day at Port Saint John, with almost 12,000 passengers and crew spending the day in the port city.

By the end of the week almost 27,000 cruise ship passengers will have spent some time in Saint John. Those numbers translate into dollar signs for the economy.

“Each of those folks spend, on average between crew and passengers, somewhere in that $60 to $70 range so that has a significant impact for our local merchants and those service providers throughout the region,” said Port Saint John President and CEO Jim Quinn.

Share this on X Click to share quote on X: "Each of those folks spend, on average between crew and passengers, somewhere in that $60 to $70 range so that has a significant impact for our local merchants and those service providers throughout the region," said Port Saint John President and CEO Jim Quinn.

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Local merchants recognize the importance this seasonal spike makes to their bottom lines.

“The business I do here is fairly good,” said souvenir merchant Dan Roberts. “You know it helps out and all that but it’s selling a little piece of your city.”

The always popular City Market was elbow to elbow Wednesday as visitors took in all the vendors were offering.

“Personally it’s quite important,” said market merchant Linda Cooke. “It accounts for a good percentage of my sales for the year.”

Some visitors say they are here for the city’s rich history but are also ready to spend.

“You know we wander around and if we see something we’ll spend money on it, but its not our plan to come and spend money,” said passenger Todd Karakes from New Hampshire.

Others are a little more definitive.

“We don’t have a specific kind, but we’ve got three children at home so we’re trying to find something that they would really enjoy to bring back from Canada,” said Mike Malone, visiting from Ohio.

The number of cruise ship passengers scheduled to visit the city next year should be slightly higher than 2016, but Port Saint John officials say 2018 could be one of the best cruise seasons Saint John has ever seen.