Tourism Thunder Bay, along with members of the Cruise Port Thunder Bay collective, have returned from the Seatrade Cruise Global, the world’s largest annual gathering of the cruise shipping industry, after showcasing Thunder Bay on the global stage.
Paul Pepe, manager of Tourism Thunder Bay, said the four-day conference at the Miami Beach Convention Centre, is the premier international gathering of cruise tourism professionals and is attended by a bi-national Great Lakes consortium of ports and destinations. By attending, Tourism Thunder Bay aims to drive new cruise business for the region, strengthen existing relationships and build capacity through best practices education.
“This year, we were joined by our local Cruise Port Thunder Bay partners Embark Port Services to amplify Thunder Bay’s presence and better connect with more cruise itinerary decision makers about the advantages of bringing cruise guests to Thunder Bay,” Pepe said. “It’s an efficient venue to meet with all our cruise line partners in person . . . and to also meet with prospective new cruise lines, travel trade and cruise media in attendance.”
More than 600 global destinations are featured at the exhibition, including vessel supply companies where the Great Lakes are represented with a pavilion and meeting space on the floor.
“This is sponsored by the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and represents a commitment to bi-national collaboration on promoting the Great Lakes as a cruise destination,” Pepe said.
He noted that they accomplished their pre-season itinerary meetings with the three cruise lines visiting Thunder Bay this year, met with three prospective new cruise operators for future consideration and had meetings with four cruise media to promote them on the Great Lakes.
Pepe says being joined by Embark is critical to building local cruise capacity and developing new networks that sell the destination effectively.
“Embark is one the few companies of its kind in the cruise sector within the Great Lakes that handles shore excursions, passenger check-in and luggage screening, crew support as well as full vessel support co-ordination,” he said.
Sean Davies, co-owner and operator of Embark, said Thunder Bay continues to be recognized as one of the best ports on the Great Lakes.
“Being able to expand this reputation to other cruise lines that have ships capable of navigating our waters is of great importance to the Cruise Port Thunder Bay Partners, and we made new contacts with potential cruise lines that are very interested in exploring what the Great Lakes ports have to offer,” Davies said.
He added that understanding the magnitude of growth in the cruise industry and the ongoing addition of new-build, expedition-style ships was a strong takeaway that fuels potential future growth within the Great Lakes.
“Smaller ships are a large portion of the current order book for new ships, and that bodes well for Thunder Bay and region as the cruise lines look to deploy these new ships on new itineraries,” Davies said. “While the cruise industry in general has ebbs and flows based on itinerary needs, we have a strong season in Thunder Bay and Silver Islet, and this is reflective of the industry.”
Pepe added that it’s normal in the discovery and expedition cruise industry to change itineraries to keep their guests coming back, and we’re seeing a normal cyclical adjustment with one itinerary paused and other new itineraries added.
“This continues to bring a significant economic impact to the community and global earned media value,” he said. “We have a reputation for delivering exceptional services to guests, crew and vessel owners. In addition, there are eight stops at Silver Islet, benefiting the district. We have 11 Thunder Bay calls in 2026 from Viking Cruises, Victory Cruise Lines and Pearl Seas Cruises.”
By Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Apr 22, 2026 at 10:35
Recent Comments