Antigua welcomes 10,000 cruise passengers in a single day

More than 10,000 cruise passengers embarked on the ports of Antigua and Barbuda as three cruise ships docked at the beginning of this month.

As per the Ministry of Tourism, on 4 January, the Antigua Cruise Port marked a great start with a huge turn-out of cruise ships.  The data revealed that the Enchanted Princess brought 3,764 passengers, while 3,297 arrived aboard its sister vessel Caribbean Princess, at Heritage Quay. At the Nevis Street Pier, Costa Pacifica arrived with 2,994 visitors, bringing the day's total to 10,055.

https://twitter.com/WIC_News/status/1744975655530566084

Following this massive record, the Tourism Ministry of the country said that January would be the busiest month for this winter season, with over 130,000 passenger arrivals.These anticipations also suggest that the first month of 2024 will bring a major boost not only to the tourism sector but also to the local vendors who will get a chance to offer their goods and services to hundreds and thousands of visitors. Notably, the Enhance Princess is on a 10-day journey across the Caribbean, covering the Bahamas, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Martinique, St Thomas and Antigua. Antigua and Barbuda is witnessing a thriving cruise season 2023-2024 with several inaugural calls and a number of unscheduled calls, showing the country's growing presence on the world map. Earlier in December, another luxury cruise, Norwegian Viva, made an inaugural call at Antigua Cruise Port. Norwegian Viva from the line's new Prima- class recently visited the destination and received a warm welcome from tourism officials.The stunning 3,099-capacity ship will make another visit on December 24. Norwegian Viva will then visit Antigua 14 more times before the end of the winter season.During the first half of December, Antigua Cruise Port officially welcomed five inaugural calls, which were as follows:

• Silver Nova
• Norwegian Sun
• Oceania Vista
• Celebrity Beyond
• Costa Fortuna

The Ministry of Tourism of Antigua is looking forward to welcoming more passengers and cruises on their visit to the island nation. Additionally, the passengers disembark on the shores and explore the various experiences which the island offers. Earlier in November 2023, Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez noted that the 2023/2024 Winter Tourist Season is setting into high gear, and it's expected to be bumper. Fernandez said, "We must make sure that visitors and residents alike have access to free-flowing routes.” He outlined that this year is shaping up to be the biggest year in cruise tourism and will witness around 31 days where there will be six ships and more docking. Additionally, he said that there will be a marked increase in homeporting passengers, which is anticipated to be up to 25,000 this season compared to 2,500 last year.