Saint Lucia welcomes inaugural visit of Ruby Express with over 400 passengers

Saint Lucia welcomed the inaugural visit of the Ruby Express, which docked at Port Castries on October 15, 2024, marking the official start of the cruise season 2024-2025.

According to the information, Ruby Express which is the newest member of the FRS-Express Des Iles fleet boasts a capacity of 428 passengers along with additional space for the transfer of 50 cars and up to four buses.

This game changing addition will be connecting Saint Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Dominica with plans to expand across the Caribbean region.

With this new vessel now joining the Perle Express (360 seats), Corail Express (437 seats) and Gold Express (446 seats), a total of 1671 seats will be now be available to ease smoother travel between the islands. This will provide visitors more options to experience the Caribbean.

As the Ruby Express cruise vessel arrived to Saint Lucia, the tourism authority, Ministry of Tourism, Cox & Company Limited (Agent for Express Des Iles), Saint Lucia Air & Sea Ports Authority, and all stakeholders welcomed the crew and the passengers and noted that they are together enhancing the tourism product of the island nation in terms of adventure, romance, sports, and events.

Notably, Saint Lucia is basking in the joy of the new cruise tourism season, which took effect on October 10th. This season promises growth not just in arrivals but also in stakeholder engagement and the benefits to the economy. As the Caribbean’s Leading Adventure Tourism Destination, the tourism officials are inviting everyone to sail in, step out and be inspired. 

One of the tourism officials announced the opening of the cruise season and noted, “It is with great pleasure that we gather here today to officially open the 24 2025 cruise tourism season in Saint Lucia. The last season was a testament to the growing allure of our beautiful island, as we witnessed the historic birth of the excellence class with the arrival of Avio.”

She noted that the season also saw a remarkable increase in visitor arrivals contributing to the economy and said that this success reflects the tireless work of the tourismstakeholders and the unmatched appeal of the destination.