Antigua and Barbuda welcomes over 10,000 cruise visitors in one day as six ships dock 

Antigua and Barbuda, on Thursday, recorded another strong day for cruise tourism industry as more than 10,000 passengers and 3,800 crew members arrived in the island nation, with six cruises docking across different ports in the country.

According to figures shared by the Antigua Cruise Port, which is usually the busiest across the country, the ships brought a combined of around 10,300 visitors and 3,800 crew members who arrived at Falmouth, St John’s and Barbuda and provided a major boost to tour operators and local businesses.

The thousands of passengers filled the destination with energy and opportunity as visitors set out to enjoy the heritage sites, beaches, duty-free shopping, tours and local experiences.

The six vessels which arrived included MSC Virtuosa, Valiant Lady, Brilliance of the Seas, Star Flyer, SeaDream and Le Ponant. The largest vessel in the port was the MSC Virtuosa which brought a total of 5,149 passengers and 1,684 crew members followed by Valiant Lady which brought 2,577 visitors while Brilliance of the Seas brought 2,229 visitors. Apart from this, three smaller vessels also arrived including Star Flyer, SeaDream 2 and Le Ponant, bringing 166, 94 and 64 visitors respectively.

While sharing the data through its official Facebook account, the Antigua Cruise Port said that days like this reflect the growing confidence of both visitors and international cruise lines in Antigua and Barbuda as a premier cruise destination for vessels of all sizes and it is supported by sold collaborations, consistent calls as well as continued investment in port infrastructure and guest experiences.

With exciting developments underway along with a solid season ahead, this is cruise tourism building momentum, and delivering real benefits for our people and communities, it further added.

Notably, the cruise season 2025-2026 runs from October to May and this time, the season is projected to be a record-breaking year as the island nation is expecting to welcome more than one million passengers which would be an increase of 33% over the previous season.