Article content“Both of our docks are safe and ready for Oasis-class ships,” said MacAulay.Article content“(The Symphony of the Seas) advised the port that the call would not be happening. So, then I very quickly sent that communication out to the community because there was a lot of highs and lows over those couple of days, from adding the ship to then cancelling that ship, so it was it’s really important for us at the port to share that with the community.”Article contentWHY NOT DOCK IN SYDNEY?Article contentMacAulay didn’t say what were the reasons the captain or pilots gave for Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas to cancel to dock.Article content“The pilots and the captains have to be comfortable and all with, there’s so many scenarios that can happen,” she said.Article content“You know, tidal, wind, any factors that can affect a situation. So, they have to look at those factors and make the decision.”Article contentSome of the questions or misconceptions people expressed in the letter to the editor, online and in some of the emails were about the second berth – Liberty Pier – not being able to handle the larger ship.Article contentArticle contentMacAulay said this is not true.Article content“The port’s infrastructure is purpose-built to accommodate vessels of this scale,” said MacAulay.Article content“When we were designing the second berth, known as Liberty Pier, the design vessel was Oasis of the Seas, which is the sister vessel to Symphony of the Seas. So, we felt very confident in our infrastructure, both for Liberty Pier and the main dock.”Article contentAnother was that the Port of Sydney cancelled the call because it was National Truth and Recognition Day.Article contentMacAulay said this was also not true.Article content“It had nothing to do with the holiday. So, what we had decided when the ship was not coming, was that we would close the building to the public out of honor and observation of Truth and Reconciliation Day,” MacAulay said.Article content“But if there is a ship scheduled, we would certainly have been open and all of our staff working. We had things lined up for the cruise line to recognize Truth and Reconciliation Day, working with different partners like Destination Cape Breton and Nova Scotia Indigenous Tourism Enterprise Network and some local entertainers. So, there was a lot happening behind the scenes, from a port perspective, to make that call a success, again, in a very short period of time.”Article contentArticle content Port of Sydney’s manager of cruise Nicole MacAulay. Photo by File /Cape Breton PostArticle contentSUPRISING AMOUNT OF INTERESTArticle contentAs the Port of Sydney handled the cancellation of the call by the Symphony of the Seas as they normally do, they expected the response to be the same.Article contentMacAulay was surprised by the amount of online discussion and speculation as well as community feedback through emails and calls they received about the cancellation.Article content“It was surprising to see how many people were invested in this call, given that it wasn’t a scheduled call,” she said.Article content“And the fact that we have so many ships to visit on a scheduled basis and well planned that I was surprised to see how invested people became in a last-minute addition and a last-minute cancellation of one ship. So, that was certainly something new for us.”Article contentThis year has been another good year for the Port of Sydney in terms of cruise ship port of calls.Article contentArticle contentThere are 111 ships on the regular season schedule which is down slightly from the record breaking 117 last year.Article content
Port of Sydney responds to speculation about cancelled cruise ship
