Luxury cruise Meraviglia brings over 4200 visitors on its maiden call to Antigua

Antigua and Barbuda: The MSC Cruises’ Meraviglia vessel marked the late season’s inaugural call to Antigua. The cruise brought over 4200 passengers who disembarked to explore the island’s shores.As the cruise arrived on its maiden call to the island, the Tourism Authority hosted a customary plaque exchange ceremony. The ceremony took place between the officials and Captain Alessandro Galotto onboard Meraviglia. The local tourism officials included Rawle Reynolds from Antigua Cruise Port, Geannie Joseph from Bryson’s Shipping, Javier Jacobs from Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority and Mario Browne from the Ministry of Tourism.During the plaque exchange ceremony, Captain Galotto remembered his visit to Antigua around thirty years ago and said that he loved the island back then and that this visit as the luxury cruise’s captain was a huge honor for him. In addition to this, Antigua was the cruises’ final destination before returning to New York.  It is to be noted that the Meraviglia was commissioned around seven years ago and has the capacity to accommodate 5400 passengers and 1650 crew members, similar to a floating city with more than 7000 individuals. The vessel’s amenities included two show lounges, four restaurants, pools, and a water park. This late inaugural call of the season to Antigua marks a significant milestone for the small island nation as it showcases the island’s growing presence among international cruise liners. The island has consistently achieved new arrival records throughout the season, with the latest one recorded on March 26 as the island celebrated five-ship days with the second-highest all-time passenger arrivals figure of 15,605 cruise passengers. Meanwhile, on March 12, the island welcomed 15,808 passengers, setting a new passenger arrivals record. Because of such good looking figures, the island is anticipating that it will end the season with 500,000 cruise passengers, setting a whole new record for the entire Caribbean region.The influx of such a huge number of passengers not only boosts tourism but also contributed highly to the local economy through spending on dining, excursions and shopping.