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“And the industry association and its members, we’re all looking for a signal from the port that there is a plan, a forward looking plan that describes how we’re going to operate in the future,” Wirtz said.

Katherine Bamford, the Port of Vancouver’s director of trade development, said in a prepared statement that the port is working on such plans.

In the meantime, Wirtz said busy days strain the facilities at Canada Place.

On Sunday, for instance, 10,400 passengers are expected to cycle through the terminal, which won’t even be the busiest multiple-ship call in May.

The terminal is expecting 13,000 passengers to be dropped off and picked up by three ships on May 12 and then 14,500 are expected May 13 with four separate ships docking at different times on that day.

“It’s not good for the passenger experience,” Wirtz said of those busy days, which can see long line ups and delays for ground transportation.

“I don’t think it’s good for Vancouver and its reputation, and it’s certainly not good for the cruise lines.”

It is a situation that has been building for the cruise sector since the Port of Vancouver permanently closed Ballantyne Pier in 2014 as a second cruise terminal.

Located just east of the Centerm container terminal off Heatley Avenue at the waterfront, Ballantyne is in a grittier, industrial neighbourhood a bit more distant from main tourism attractions, but Wirtz said it still worked for cruise lines.

“I can’t say (Ballantyne Pier) was ideal, but these things are all relative,” he said, adding that it helped create a balance on days when multiple big ships called on the port, allowing cruise lines to spread the traffic congestion across two terminals.