St. Kitts’ Cruise Ports See Busiest Week Since 2020

P&O Britannia in St. Kitts with 2 Oasis Class ships and the Celebrity Edge, Photo credit Spacejunkie2

This week will be the busiest in terms of cruise travel for St. Kitts since the island reopened its borders to international visitors.

According to a press release, 21 cruise ships will have arrived by the end of the week across the island’s four ports: Port Zante, Basseterre Harbour, Deep Water Harbour and South Friar’s Bay.

The ships arriving include the Enchanted Princess, Seabourn Ovation, Viking Sea, Allure of the Seas, and the third visit of the Explorer of the Seas. Dec. 16 marked the first day with five ships in port, St. Kitts Tourism Authority wrote.

“This week comes as an optimistic sign that the cruising industry is making an unstoppable comeback in St. Kitts. We see the number of ship arrivals growing weekly,” said the Minister of Tourism, Transport and Ports, Lindsay F.P. Grant. “Our commitment to safety paired with our exceptional tours and on-island experiences are driving high demand for the destination on cruise itineraries, and we expect this to continue well into 2022.”

This record number of ship arrivals comes in conjunction with changes to the destination’s arrival requirements. As of Dec. 11, Port Zante is completely free-flow, enabling cruise passengers to seamlessly integrate into the federation and providing nationals and residents with access to the port. Travel Approved tours, attractions, restaurants and bars are now open to all fully vaccinated travellers, nationals and residents.

“This busy cruise week shows that demand for our destination continues to grow,” said Racquel Brown, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. “The reduced travel restrictions make it easier for cruise and international air travellers to engage their senses and seamlessly immerse themselves in our quintessential Caribbean escape.”

After pausing cruise travel when borders closed in March 2020, St. Kitts and Nevis welcomed back its first ships last July. Since then, the twin-island federation has hosted a steady increase in ship arrivals and has allowed passengers to explore the destination via “Travel Approved” tours and attraction sites.

Carnival Ships to Land Supplies in St. Kitts and Grand Turk

Carnival Ships to Land Supplies in St. Kitts and Grand Turk

Carnival Cruise Line is stepping up efforts to aid in the Caribbean following Hurricane Irma. 

The Miami-based cruise line, the world’s largest by passenger capacity, will deliver supplies to St. Kitts later this week during a call from the Carnival Fascination.

In addition, the cruise line will also land supplies in Grand Turk, and according to a statement, is working with a number of Caribbean islands to bring in supplies on a long-term basis.

This follows announcements from Royal Caribbean, which is deploying ships to aid in relief efforts, and Norwegian Cruise Line, which is sending the Sky to St. Thomas to help evacuees. 

Carnival to sail 11-day cruises from Galveston

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines said that it will offer the Texas market longer cruises for the first time, with four 10- and 11-day sailings between Galveston and San Juan.

A pair of 11-day cruises will also feature a first call for Carnival in Bonaire. Those sailings, scheduled for Oct. 24, 2015, and Jan. 16, 2016, will also stop in Grand Cayman, Aruba, Grenada, Martinique and St. Maarten before concluding in San Juan.

The 10-day departures from San Juan are scheduled for Nov. 4, 2015, and Jan. 27, 2016, and will stop at St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Antigua, Grand Turk, and the private Bahamian island of Half Moon Cay.

Galveston cruises on Carnival currently depart on four- and five-day Mexican and seven-day Caribbean itineraries.

Carnival said a desire for longer, more varied itineraries was one of the themes that emerged from its series of Carnival Conversations meetings with travel agents.