Nearly 31,000 cruise passengers visit St. Kitts as 2026/2027 season opens

St. Kitts and Nevis: Approximately 31,000 cruise ship passengers visited St. Kitts during the month of October, marking a busy start to the 2026/2027 cruise season.

A total of 30,842 passengers travelled on cruise ships during the month, according to data provided by the St. Christopher Air & Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA).

The largest number of passengers arrived on two visits in the Star of the Seas, which brought in a total of 13,761 passengers. There were also two visits from the Rhapsody of the Seas, which brought in 5,131 passengers.

Other cruise ships that visited the island during October included Seabourn Venture, Celebrity Beyond, Carnival Venezia, Carnival Dream and Coral Princess.

The luxury all-suite motor yacht cruise ship, Star Pride, with 258 passengers on board arrived at Port Zante on October 31. The all-suite ship was previously known as the Seabourn Pride and is on an 11-day round trip from San Juan in Puerto Rico.

The ship made port calls in St. John, in the United States Virgin Islands and St. Barths.

On Saturday evening, the ship left for Antigua. The ship will also make port calls in Guadeloupe, St. Lucia, Grenada, Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands before returning to San Juan on November 8.

These latest numbers show that St. Kitts continues to be a leading destination for cruise ships in the Caribbean. In 2025/2026 more than 950,000 passengers visited the island via cruise ships throughout the season.

The Federation will be entering a new era of cruise tourism. On July 1, 2026 the Government held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new cruise terminal in Port Zante, for homeporting. P&O Cruises will make turnaround calls in Basseterre in November 2027.

The passengers will start and finish their cruise holiday in St. Kitts resulting in extra revenue from hotels, restaurants, transport and attractions.