Pond Inlet sees dip in number of cruise ship visits
Hamlet expecting about 20 landings this season, down from 30 or more in previous years
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Hanseatic Spirit, out of Hamburg, Germany, visits Pond Inlet with 230 passengers and 170 crew on Aug. 6. (Photo courtesy of Bernard Maktar)
This story was updated on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, at 7:15 a.m. ET.
Pond Inlet is expecting about 20 cruise ship visits this summer, a sharp drop from the nearly 30 visits in 2024.
“And then the year before that there were well over 30,” said Dylan Mablick, an economic development officer with the hamlet.
Those totals include return stops made by a majority of the vessels.
The dip in the number of cruise ship visits hasn’t dampened the community’s enthusiasm for welcoming tourists, Mablick said. On Aug. 4, residents greeted about 350 passengers and 250 crew as the first cruise ship of the season, the Viking Octantis, arrived.
“Our first one was a big one, so it really kicked things off,” Mablick said.
“They also gave us a warm welcome, as well. They were super generous. We had the best time.”
Residents were invited aboard the 200-metre-long ship for a meal and conversation with the captain and his officers, Mablick said.
The Pond Inlet visit was part of a 12-night itinerary billed by Los Angeles-based Viking Cruises as Into the Northwest Passage.
“We’re so close to the Northwest Passage,” Mablick said of the hamlet’s appeal to cruise lines.
This year’s decrease in ship visits is likely an industry correction after Pond Inlet’s hamlet council voted last year not to host cruise ship visits in 2025, said Christopher Gerlach, tourism development manager with the Department of Community Services.
That decision was made in response to losing access to Nattinak Visitors Centre for local artisans and staff to use as a commercial venue to serve tourists, but has since been reversed.
“We did straighten that out,” said senior administrative officer David Stockley. “We decided to take the ships again.”
The hamlet brings in approximately $500,000 annually from the cruise visits each year, minus expenses which comes out to about $250,000, said Stockley.
On Aug. 6, a second cruise ship, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Hanseatic Spirit out of Hamburg, Germany, visited the community carrying 230 passengers and 170 crew.
“They were very friendly,” Mablick said, adding the tourists were able to meet artists in the community. Some of them purchased arts and crafts, and Tununiq MLA Karen Nutarak provided a cultural demonstration for the visiting passengers.
“They got to meet many artists and they got a traditional way of seeing our life,” Mablick said. “They went to the visitor centre, where I greeted them personally.”
Parks Canada staff were also part of the welcome, he added.
Despite the overall slowdown this season, there are several vessels on the horizon this week. A small, private sailing vessel named Perseverance was expected to arrive in the hamlet Monday. Then on Tuesday, two more cruise ships are expected.
“It will be pretty busy. We’re excited,” Mablick said.
Correction: This story was updated to correct Christopher Gerlach’s role with the Department of Community Services.
Cruise Ships🛳 scare and negatively impact sea mammals in the Arctic due to underwater noise pollution and potential collisions. the report says that a mid-sized Cruise ship can use as much as 150 tonnes of fuel each day, which emits as much particulate as one million cars. 👀
And they supposedly spill their sewage in International waters. They think the so called “Northwest Passage” is International waters.
Cruise Ships are as nuisance as mosquitoes in summer.
18 visits from cruise vessels over 3 months spending 1 day in Navy Board Inlet, versus 100+ ore carriers, tug boats which each can spend a few days at a time in the waters for each vessel….I wonder how much noise falling ore makes when it hits the bulk carriers creates? Yeah….
Food for thought… 5 affected communities receiving money plus infrastructure from Baffinland, European/American countries cruise ships who banned seal skins visiting few communities pay few bucks.
Invalid argument, I was talking noise by ships. Plus Pond Inlet gets thousands in donations every year from sporting equipment, good banks, 30 ships a year brings half a million in fees. Name 1 bit of infrastructure Baffinlad has brought. Name 1. In their own words, they operate mines, they don’t build infrastructure l.