Fall cruise ship season in full swing in newly-renovated downtown Sydney, N.S.

The heart of the fall cruise ship season is about to get underway in Sydney.

Two cruise ships brought nearly 4,500 passengers and about 1,500 crew members into Sydney, N.S., on Tuesday, with the busy fall cruise ship season just beginning.

“They’re here, they’re spending their money, they’re popping into the shops, they’re having conversations,” said Philippa Bryden, executive director of the Sydney Downtown Development Association.

“It’s really fantastic.”

Relatively new to the visitors are the renovations to Charlotte Street, which were completed in August 2024 after a few painstaking years of construction.

“It’s surprising. It’s very quaint. I like it,” said cruise ship passenger Lorraine Kozak, who was visiting from Florida on Tuesday.

Downtown business owner Craig Boudreau said more improvements are coming.

“One of the things you’re going to see over the next short number of months is, you’re going to see five buildings on the street, five more buildings will be completely completed on the outside and our street will look great,” Boudreau said.

Nicole MacAulay, manager of cruise for the Port of Sydney, said there is at least one ship in port each day this week, except for Saturday.

“We have two four-ship days (in the 2025 season),” she said. “One of them is next week, Sept. 24.”

MacAulay added that the weather has cooperated too; so far this year, they have had just two ship cancellations.

She said it has resulted in better visitor feedback.

“We pay attention to whether it is a rainy day, a sunny day, whether we have musicians,” MacAulay said. “How many buses have gone out on those days. And then once we get the numbers from the cruise lines, we look at all that feedback.”

While some people loaded onto buses for excursions to places like the Cabot Trail on Tuesday, others filled the seats at outdoor patios in Sydney’s downtown.

“They do make a significant contribution to the merchants on Charlotte Street,” Boudreau said.

Meanwhile, next month – often the busiest month for cruise ship traffic in Cape Breton – kicks off with the second four-ship day on this year’s docket, on Oct. 1.

The final ship of the 2025 season is set to sail into port on Nov. 3.

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