It's yet another blow to Vancouver's already suffering tourism industry.
Norwegian Cruise Line announced Monday it is pulling its anchors out of B.C. waters, opting to shift its Alaska-bound trips to Europe.
The company will move its Norwegian Sun ship to the Mediterranean beginning in the summer of 2010, blaming a "challenging" economic climate and a $50 per passenger fee levied by the state of Alaska.
The Miami-based company first told Tourism Vancouver it would cut its trips in half but now says Vancouver won't be on the itinerary at all.
In total, 19 stops will be cancelled next year. With each per ship call equaling roughly $2 million in revenue, the news is expected to be a $38-million annual loss to the city's economy.
"I think the cruise lines are responding to the economic conditions and they're realizing that Alaska is a higher-ticket item and people are looking for deep discounts," Stephen Pearce of Tourism Vancouver said.
"I think what they're choosing to do is take some ships out of the market completely -- in some cases deploying them to Seattle instead."
Two other rival companies, Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America, have cut some of their sailings to Vancouver and moved them to Seattle.
The first cruise ship of the season entered Vancouver April 24. Although the number of ships is down this year overall, the 253 calls are expected to bring some 875,000 passengers through the ports.
