SEATTLE (March 26, 2019) –  Passengers traveling between Seattle and Victoria, B.C. on the Victoria Clipper V (“five”) will now enjoy a third class of service called Vista Class, starting on May 1.

The Victoria Clipper V is Clipper’s latest fleet addition, a 52-meter (170 feet) high-speed catamaran that carries 545 passengers and can travel at speeds up to 36 knots. The vessel originally launched into service in March 2018 with an Economy and Comfort Class, which serves as the vessel’s version of business class. The new Vista Class will serve as Victoria Clipper V’s middle class of service between Economy and Comfort Class.

Located on the upper deck of the vessel, Vista Class offers spacious, leather seats with top deck panoramic views as well as ample table seating for small groups. Vista Class also offers guests quick access to the vessel’s outside deck to enjoy a breath of fresh air and to soak in the scenic journey between Seattle and Victoria, BC. The vessel also has a gift and duty-free shop with locally sourced goods, as well as a full galley and onboard menu featuring regional food and beverage options along with Clipper’s trademark in-seat attendant service from onboard staff.

Since coming into service, the bigger, smoother vessel has enabled Clipper to reduce total annual sailings by one third without sacrificing capacity, helping lessen vessel traffic in the Salish Sea. Furthermore, Victoria Clipper V’s overall stability and larger platform resulted in only two weather cancellations in 2018 compared to an average of twenty weather cancellations in years prior.

“Victoria Clipper V continues to deliver on our desired customer experience across the board,” says David Gudgel, CEO of Clipper. “Vista Class is another step forward as we start in on a series of continuous annual upgrades and improvements to make our vessel the premiere high-speed catamaran ferry service in North America.”

David Gudgel, Clipper’s CEO, is available for phone interviews. To arrange an interview, please see contact information below.

Victoria Clipper V Vista Class images available upon request.

About Clipper

Clipper, operator of Clipper Vacations, is well known as travel experts for the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. Since 1986, Seattle-based Clipper has provided transportation, tours and accommodation packages for over eight million customers. Clipper offers opportunities to experience picturesque and popular destinations such as: Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver, San Juan Island, Whistler, Portland and Vancouver Island. For more information about Clipper, visit www.clippervacations.com.

About FRS (Clipper parent company)

The owner of Clipper, Fast Reliable Seaways (FRS) looks back on more than 150 years of successful history. From a regional passenger ship shipping company, FRS has developed over the past decades into an internationally active group of companies with 64 ships and over 1,500 employees. FRS carries around 7.9 million passengers and 2.1 million vehicles per year on its national and international shipping lines. Today, north German-based FRS Group has in its portfolio 24 subsidiaries located in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and North America. In addition to numerous international ferry and catamaran lines, FRS is also involved in wind-offshore transport with crew transfer boats and maritime consultancy.

Clipper Fast Facts

  • Local travel and transportation business since 1986
  • More than 150 employees based in Seattle, Washington and Victoria, B.C.
  • Operators of two high-speed Victoria Clipper vessels between Seattle, Victoria, and Friday Harbor
  • More than 80 hotel and tour regional partner relationships in place to provide full service, custom vacation packages
  • Packages include a range of diverse offerings such as wine country tours and whale watching
  • Since beginning service in 1986, Victoria Clipper catamarans have brought more than 8 million travelers between downtown Seattle and downtown Victoria

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