Port Saint John to Welcome Liberty of the Seas
SAINT JOHN (NB) – The largest cruise ship ever to visit Port Saint John will arrive on today, September 1 at approximately 12:30 pm and remain twelve hours, departing after midnight.Liberty of the Seas, a Freedom class cruise ship in Royal Caribbean International’s fleet, is making the first of 3 calls to Saint John this year. She will call again on September 14 and October 13.Planning for the arrival of Liberty of the Seas has occurred over a 2-year period and has included working with the harbour pilots on coordinating arrival and departure during appropriate tidal windows, installation of a new 200-tonne bollard (used to hold the ship’s bow lines), and many other operational considerations related to safety, security and efficiency.“Today’s visit by Liberty of the Seas shows how working together as an operational team, the Saint John Port community is able to safely handle the largest cruise ships currently afloat,” said Captain Chris Hall, VP Operations & Harbour Master for Port Saint John.Curnard’s Queen Mary 2 is the previous largest ship to call Saint John. Below is a size comparison chart between the 2 ships:
| Liberty of the Seas | Queen Mary 2 | |
| Gross Tonnage (a measure of the ship's internal volume) | 154,407 gross tonnes | 148,528 gross tonnes |
| Maximum Passenger Capacity | 4375 | 2800 |
| Length Overall | 338.91 m | 345 m |
| Beam (with bridge wings) | 56.08 m | 45 m |
| Draft | 8.8 m | 10.3 m |
After more than a quarter century, the cruise industry at Port Saint John is well-established. Recent milestones have included the Port’s 2-millionth cruise guest and 1,000th cruise ship visit.
-30-
Media contact:Craig EstabrooksManager of Corporate StrategyPort Saint John(506) 343-5151Email: cestabrooks@109.199.110.97