10,820 Passengers on April 1st; Tourism Continues to Thrive

On Monday, the first day of April, five luxury cruise ships arrived on the island, bringing over ten thousand visitors to the beautiful St. John’s Harbour.

The arrival of four of the vessels, including the Seven Seas Grandeur of the Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Regal Princess and Emerald Princess of the Princess Cruises, and Celebrity Silhouette of the Celebrity Cruises, was marked at the St John’s Harbour, while the other vessel – Emerald Azzurra of Emerald Cruises – was docked at Falmouth Harbour.

The Nevis Street Pier, Heritage Quay and the 5th Berth also welcomed two cruise ships each. This influx of visitors created a bustling atmosphere and presented a great opportunity for businesses in the tourism trade, such as taxi-drivers, vendors and other service providers, who experienced brisk business.

In total, 10,820 passengers were in port aboard the five vessels.

Today, Tuesday, Marina of the Oceana Cruises and Norwegian Viva of the Norwegian Cruise Line are expected to dock at the island. In total, there are 27 cruise ship calls scheduled for the month of April, marking the end of the cruise season, and nine calls scheduled for May.

Rawle Reynolds, the Operations Manager at the Antigua Cruise Port, confirmed the expectations of a busier summer season compared to previous years.

The full summer schedule has not yet been finalized.