Cruise traffic picks up with over 300 liners to visit Barbados

Three-hundred and thirty-six cruise ship calls are scheduled for the Bridgetown Port between October 2021 and April 2022.

This announcement was made today by Divisional Manager, Operations, Barbados Port Inc Ian Stewart, as he welcomed the Enchanted Princess cruise ship at the Bridgetown Port on the first of five calls for the winter season.

“These calls represent a total capacity of approximately 620 000 berths. Vessel occupancy levels are currently around 60 per cent. Notwithstanding current limitations with the safe return to cruise, we are excited to welcome the return of our cruise guests.

“We are happy too that initial sailings have been successful, a trend we hope that will continue and inspire confidence in increasing bookings to help meet the demand for cruise passengers who are eager to enjoy cruise vacations and all that we have to offer once again,” said the senior port official.

Enchanted Princess, which is a new addition to the Princess Cruise fleet, arrived in Barbados with 1 355 crew members and 1 783 guests onboard. Stewart said the vessel, which is the fifth royal class ship in the Princess Cruises line, facilitates exquisite dining, innovative entertainment, defining service and craftsmanship.

“Just how that compares to all that we have to offer on the island is hard to say. Barbados is just brimming with adventure and we invite you, your crew and guests to soak up the diverse and magnificent splendours of our beaches, our eco heritage and historic tours and our fine cuisine, our rum of course, leisure activities, music and culture that is uniquely Barbadian. We can hardly wait to meet your sister ship the Sky Princess which sails into our port for the first time next Thursday December 23,” Stewart said.

Stewart also thanked Princess Cruises for not only continuing to be an industry leader, but also remaining a longstanding partner sailing frequently to the Caribbean.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport Senator Lisa Cummins said Carnival Cruise Lines and all of its brands including Princess, have been important partners for Barbados. She announced that the newest vessel under the Princess brand which is still being built, will be coming to Barbados during winter 2022.

Senator Cummins said Barbados is pleased that Princess Cruises has indicated that they wish to work with the country to develop new infrastructure to ensure that the island has access to renewable and cleaner forms of energy.

“Barbados is committed to that principle. We are committed to ensuring that that principle translates into reality and on that basis we are happy to welcome not only the Enchanted Princess, and of course the next Princess ship that will come to our shores next Thursday, but all future ships under the Princess brand, as we move more and more into sustainable tourism and sustainable cruise ship operations here in Barbados,” she said.

The minister publicly commended port agents Chief Executive Officer at Foster & Ince Cruise Services Martin Ince, and Kreigg Yearwood and Kevyn Yearwood of Platinum Agency Inc for their dedication to working with cruise ships, the port and relevant tourism stakeholders in the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly when passengers needed to be transported from ships seeking refuge in Barbados’ water.

Captain Marlo Ciruzzi of Princess Cruises thanked Barbados for warmly welcoming the Enchanted Princess and indicated that he was happy to return to the island’s shores.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb