Waterfront plan for Dartmouth, N.S. could include cruise ship terminal

Halifax sees the most cruise ships in one day for the season, sparks questions about need for more options to welcome tourists.

With the cruise ship industry hitting its peak, all the berths are spoken for along the Halifax waterfront over the next couple days. In fact, it’s so busy, one of the four cruise ships in the city today has tendered in the harbour.

“The town is beautiful, so clean and well kept,” says Dan Everitt. “It’s wonderful, it’s a gem,” adds his wife, Lynn. The couple came to Halifax aboard the 3,600 passenger, Enchanted Princess.

As the CEO of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission looks across the harbour, he envisions a time when ships will be tying up on this side too.

“HRM is currently working on a waterfront plan for Dartmouth and that should come to fruition sometime in 2026,” says Tim Rissesco. “We’ll have the plan and from there, we’ll know where cruise ships could possibly fit in on the Dartmouth waterfront.”

As busy as it is today, tomorrow will be even more so with six ships carrying close to 10,000 passengers scheduled to call on Halifax.

That will be the most ships in one day all season according to the port of Halifax.

“If we had 20 to 30 days of cruise ship passengers, a portion of them wandering around downtown Dartmouth, it would help our small businesses, our restaurants and our cafés,” Rissesco says.

He also believes a Dartmouth terminal would open up tourism opportunities in other areas of the province and add to what is already a $200 million dollar industry.

“It’s a growing industry and there’s a lot to offer on this side of the harbour and an Eastern Nova Scotia for cruise ship passengers to experience.”

That’s a move that could encourage even more cruise passengers to come back for an extended visit.

“I was checking out the hotels. We could stay here several days, I would like to do other tours,” Lynn Everitt says.

Officials with the Port of Halifax say they are supporting the city’s plan to look at developing the Dartmouth waterfront.

In the meantime, they’re preparing for unscheduled arrivals later this week as two ships have added Nova Scotia to their itinerary in order to avoid a hurricane and a tropical storm out at sea.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page