Norwegian Cruise Line ship Breakaway is record-breaker for Port of Halifax

There's an oversized visitor berthing at the cruise ship terminal today in Halifax.

The Norwegian Cruise Line's ship Breakaway has a maximum capacity of 3,969 passengers, making it the 9th largest cruise ship by capacity in the world.

That's a record for the Port of Halifax.

"We're in a good position in the fact that we can accommodate these ships," port spokesman Lane Farguson said.

"We've good, good depth at the sea wall," he said.

The trend towards larger cruise ships offers advantages to the cruise lines.

The bigger the better

"Definitely it should be less expensive to operate on four to six thousand passengers," said Debbie Burke of Expedia CruiseShipsCenters in Halifax.

Burke says the ships also offer marketing advantages, because they can offer more options to passengers, such as child-free zones and dozens of restaurants.

"The bigger the ship, the more space, the more opportunities to do what you really want to do while on vacation," she said.

Burke says cruise companies are now competing with all-inclusive resorts, with packages that include unlimited alcohol and 24-hour dining.

An even bigger ship

Another large cruise ship will visit Halifax in early September.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas can hold roughly 4,200 passengers.

That makes it the world's fifth-largest cruise ship by capacity.

The ocean liner Queen Mary 2, which visited Halifax in 2015, is longer than both these ships but has a maximum capacity of only 2,600 passengers.

Farguson says larger ships mean more income for the port through a tariff of $10.50 per passenger, plus berthing fees.

He says the port is working to attract more high-capacity cruise ships in coming seasons.