By
Rebecca Gibson |
Five cruise ships arrived in St. Kitts on 12 January, bringing a total of around 16,000 passengers to the Caribbean island.
The ships included Royal Caribbean International’s Adventure of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas, Princess Cruises’ Regal Princess, AIDA Cruises’ AIDAluna and Thomson Cruises’ TUI Discovery.
“This is indeed an unprecedented event in our cruise sector,” said Lindsay Grant, Minister of Tourism for St. Kitts. “Never before has St. Kitts ever received ships with a total maximum capacity of 16,000 passengers in one day, and is a testament to the hard work my ministry has been doing to establish St. Kitts as a top cruise destination in the Caribbean.”
Taxi and tour operators, vendors, retail outlets, restaurants, bars and tourist attractions were encouraged to prepare for the arrival of the ships and their passengers.
“I urge stakeholders in the cruise sector to take full advantage of the calls, but also not take this impressive growth for granted,” said Grant. “Cruise sector growth for St. Kitts will only be sustained if we continue to work hard while maintaining productive cruise industry partnerships and giving each visitor the best possible on-island experience.”