VANCOUVER — The first cruise ship of the 2015 season departed Port Metro Vancouver earlier this month.

An itinerary will run back-to-back trips between Vancouver and Hawaii for the first time, bringing an earlier-than-usual start to the 2015 Canada Place cruise season.

Princess Cruises’ Grand Princess arrived in Vancouver Sunday for a roundtrip sailing to the Hawaiian Islands. The ship will repeat the itinerary again on April 6.

“We are very pleased to welcome the Grand Princess to Canada Place, commencing the 2015 cruise season and expanding on our already well-known Vancouver-Alaska cruise business,” said Robin Silvester, President and CEO, Port Metro Vancouver.

The Grand Princess departed Vancouver on the same day and arrived in Hilo, Hawaii, on Saturday, March 28 spending four days cruising around the Hawaiian Islands before returning to Vancouver, arriving back at Canada Place on Monday, April 6 for a repeat of the same itinerary.

While berthed at Canada Place, the Grand Princess will make use of the port’s shore power installation. Shore power is highly effective in reducing marine diesel air emissions by enabling ships to shut down their engines and connect to BC Hydro’s electrical grid to provide necessary power while docked. Since its inception in 2009, the Canada Place shore power installation has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 11,000 tons.

Port Metro Vancouver’s 2015 Alaska cruise season officially begins April 29 and another strong year is forecasted with more than 800,000 passengers expected to move through the Canada Place terminal.