PORT ANGELES — Downtown merchants rolled out the welcome mat Wednesday for hundreds of potential customers: passengers of the ms Oosterdam.
The Holland America cruise ship docked in Port Angeles for 11 hours during its sailing from San Diego to Vancouver, B.C.
The fully booked, 950-foot-long luxury liner carried some 2,000 passengers and 800 crew members, many of whom disembarked from Terminal 1 and made their way to the core of Port Angeles’ downtown.
“We had a good day,” said Bay Variety owner Michelle Adolphsen.
“It was not as good as some cruise ships that come in but better than others.”
Oosterdam was the first cruise ship to dock in Port Angeles since 2010.
On May 11, the Oosterdam’s sister ship, the ms Zuiderdam, carrying up to 2,272 passengers on their way to Hawaii from Seattle, will be the second ship to stop in Port Angeles.
A third ship may visit in the fall.
Bay Variety and Necessities and Temptations added a new twist to the landing by setting up tents at the dock, where curious passengers shopped for gifts and Port Angeles-centric souvenirs.
“It was fun to be down there,” Adolphsen said.
“Business was pretty decent. It could be better if we had more vendors.”
Although sales were “hit and miss,” Necessities and Temptations owner Edna Petersen said the city and the good-humored volunteers left a good impression on the cruise ship passengers.
“I think a lot of them will be back in Port Angeles because they enjoyed what they saw,” Petersen said
A small sample of passengers and crew members who were making their first visit to Port Angeles supported Petersen’s appraisal.
When asked about their impressions of the city, Laura Nadeau and her aunt, Megan Hellyer, both of Vancouver, B.C., answered simultaneously: “Better than we thought.”
“It’s beautiful,” Nadeau said.
“It reminds me of West Vancouver, which is actually one of the fancier parts of Vancouver. Everybody here is incredibly helpful.”
“And friendly,” Hellyer added.
Hellyer and Nadeau were passing through The Gateway transit center, a hub of cruise ship entertainment, where jazz vocalist Sarah Shea was performing.
They were making their way back to the ship after shopping for wine.
“You’ve got a beautiful town,” Nadeau said.
Passengers were offered shuttle rides to downtown as well as to the Lower Elwha Klallam Heritage Center, the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, the Museum at the Carnegie, the Port Angeles Library, the Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center and the Lower Elwha tribal casino.
Many passengers preferred to walk.
“They’ve done such a nice job with volunteers helping people get around,” said Steve Ringer of San Jose, Calif., who was on the second-to-last day of a 20-day cruise from San Diego to the Hawaiian Islands, back to San Diego and up the West Coast to Vancouver.
“Quite frankly, I much prefer this town to Hawaiian towns, except for the weather,” Ringer added.
Ship security supervisor Dante Erese of the Philippines was making his first stop in Port Angeles after working in the cruise ship industry for more than 30 years.
“It’s a really, really nice place,” Erese said. “Quiet and clean.”
Erese said he liked the fact that everything was within walking distance.
“Small, but really nice,” he said.
“I like this place. I wish that the ship would always stop right here.”
Sabrina Aguiar of Cleveland, holding her 11-month-old son, Sebastin, described Port Angeles as “a lovely little town.”
“It’s almost reminiscent of Ushuaia, Argentina,” Aguiar said.
“Just the way it’s set up and the way it’s so pretty when everything is shared among the wildlife while it’s still there. . . . Just very picturesque.”
The only complaint was the weather.
“It’s cold,” said Tomas Jose Esquivel of Manila, Philippines, an Oosterdam stage crew member who was shopping with his colleague, Jun Vazo, during a Coast Guard inspection of the 11-deck vessel.
“Me, I just want to buy a souvenir,” Esquivel said.
Ringer picked up a business card from a glass studio artist and plans to call him when he gets home.
He described Port Angeles as “nice, clean and friendly.”
“You’ve got a nice diversity — lots of arts that I think a lot of people who cruise get into,” Ringer said.
“It’s been a real positive. I’d definitely consider it a plus to come back here.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
