MS Oceania Regatta has Arrived in Eureka!

Eureka, Calif. (KIEM)- The cruise ship MS Oceania Regatta emerged from the thick Humboldt fog early this morning. They let out passengers from all over the world that came to check out the famous Redwood coast. 

A number of excursions were offered to guests including a tour of Ferndale, a Redwood hike, a trip to the Redwood Skywalk, as well as a shuttle bus downtown to enjoy Old Town Eureka. 

The city of Eureka welcomes the tourism brought in by large cruise ships as it helps to boost the local economy.

Cruise ship committee member, Chet Alvin, talked to us about what cruise ship tourism brings to the city of Eureka. 

“So another thing that is very exciting about Humboldt County and the harbor is that when a cruise ship like this comes in, we get to hire tugboats, we get to hire a pilot. And as you can see, we have a longshoreman working and we get the eye of the dock,” said Alvin. “And that brings a lot of financial impact into the city and county of Humboldt.”

Economic Development Coordinator for the city of Eureka, Jonathan Jones, also got a chance to tell us about the future for Eureka as a cruise ship destination. 

“We have a hope to entertain more ships in the future. We are actually already getting some bookings for 2023 and we hope to bring those tourism dollars back to Humboldt County.”

Downtown in Clarke Plaza, the non profit Humboldt Made organized a market to display all the local artisan products that vendors have to offer. 

“Today, the Humboldt made organization put together a small group of vendors that are all part of Humboldt Made organization to welcome the cruise ship members that came into the Humboldt Bay,” said Victoria England, a local vendor and member of Humboldt Made. “We really want people who come to Eureka to see what we have here. I mean, obviously we have the Redwoods and we have the beautiful oceans and rivers and tourists come for that. But I think it’s also important that we step in front and show what, what makers are here and what artists and makers are about here.”

On September 24. Eureka will welcome another cruise ship, the Scenic Eclipse, into the city’s harbor.