Antigua thrives with cruise activity on Tuesday, welcomes over 15000 passengers

Antigua and Barbuda: The St John’s Harbour in Antigua was thriving with cruise activity on Tuesday with the arrival of five cruises simultaneously. Explorer of the Seas, Costa Fortuna, Costa Pacifica, Aida Perla and Enchanted Princess brought over 15000 passengers in a single day.This marked a momentous occasion at the peak of the cruise season 2023-2024, making it one of the busiest days. Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne also shared a glimpse of the harbour on its official Facebook account along with the caption, “Another busy day in St John’s, Antigua as the Explorer of the Seas, Costa Fortuna, Costa Pacifica, Aida Perla and Enchanted Princess cruise ships docked at the Heritage Quay pier bringing over 15 thousand passengers. Over 141, 000 passengers visited St John’s via cruise vessels in the Month of February.”[caption id="attachment_69290" align="aligncenter" width="100%"] Explorer of the Seas docked in Antigua (PC - Facebook)[/caption]The tourists who arrived aboard the five cruises yesterday were seen engaging in organised tours while several others explored the local market, giving a huge boost to the country’s economy.The glimpse of St John Harbour also caused huge excitement among citizens, with several taking to Facebook to appreciate the Government and the Tourism Ministry.“Wow, great things are happening,” wrote a user named Janet Julien, while another user said, “Unstoppable force moving forward together.”The twin-island nation is witnessing a huge boom in the cruise sector with a huge increase in the number of passenger arrivals. Last month, PM Browne welcomed the luxurious cruise Carnival Venezia and said that over four thousand passengers sailed into the port aboard the vessel along with 1,401 crew members.Notably, St John’s was the first port of call on the 12-day roundtrip Southern Caribbean itinerary for the huge vessel. The Prime Minister also announced that the recently rebranded Vista-Class cruise liner is anticipated to call on St John’s again in November. Several luxury cruises, including the Virgin Valiant Lady, Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas and Celebrity Beyond, also visited the Antigua Cruise Port during this season, demonstrating the increasing presence of the island nation among the international cruise liners. The Antigua Cruise Port welcomed 141,000 passengers in February who came aboard 78 cruises.