On Tuesday, December 6, 2022, Antigua & Barbuda celebrated the official opening of the 2022/2023 cruise season on the fifth berth at St. John’s Harbour.
Five ships have been in port on this big day, in line with a press launch, a which additionally served because the formal opening ceremony of the fifth berth, which was accomplished in December 2020.
The Seabourn Ovation and Marella Explorer have been berthed on the Nevis Pier, whereas the Norwegian Dawn and AIDAperla have been moored on the Heritage Pier.
The Celebrity Millennium was docked alongside the fifth berth. Together, these vessels introduced an estimated 6,700 passengers to the port.
The twin island nation’s high dignitaries have been amongst the invited company together with Governor General, Sir Rodney Williams; Prime Minister, Hon. Gaston Browne; Hon. Charles Fernandez, Minister of Tourism and Investment; Hon. Maria Browne, Minister of Housing and Urban Renewal; and Hon. Mary-Claire Hurst, Minister of State within the Ministry of Tourism.
Several audio system together with Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Hon. Charles Fernandez, Mrs. Dona Regis-Prosper, General Manager of Antigua Cruise Port, Mr. Colin James, CEO of Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority and Mr. Percy Rhoden, Manager of Meridian Construction Co. Ltd., and Blue Ocean Marine Company, mirrored on the progress of the port and the resilience of the trade post-COVID-19. They additionally expressed pleasure and optimism in regards to the nation’s cruise tourism outlook and the expansion of the partnership between native stakeholders and the cruise trade.
“Thirty-three months, ago, on March 14, 2020, we received the dreadful news of the closure of the cruise industry, after only 4 months of operations in Antigua,” Regis-Prosper shared. “The weeks that adopted have been amongst essentially the most difficult that I had skilled in my lengthy profession on this trade – cancellation after cancellation of cruise calls, passengers caught at sea and crew determined to get dwelling to their households. Locally my crew questioned about their jobs and tenants about their companies and livelihoods. The prospects of a restart seemed daunting. However, I knew that this trade was down and never out. After all, it had survived 911, monetary crises, impression of hurricanes, storms, and plenty of different setbacks.
“And 28 months ago,” she continued, “on July 15, 2021, we reopened the cruise industry with a call from the Windsurf welcoming a modest 85 passengers. The rest of the year would continue to be challenged with variants, changing protocols and of course cancelled calls. However, it was those months where I personally experienced excellence in leadership and teamwork, and must take the opportunity to thank Hon. Charles Fernandez, and team Tourism. This cruise season, we are expecting not only transit calls but for the first-time scheduled homeporting calls for one of the world’s largest cruise vessels, Arvia, beginning in January 2023. By the end of the peak season, October 2022 – April 2023, Antigua Cruise Port will have welcomed over 600,000 passengers and during the 2023 summer months over 30,000 passengers!”
Hon. Charles Fernandez famous that the mixed building of the fifth berth and dredging of the harbor basin have been accomplished in December 2020. He added that St. John’s Port had elevated in capability to not solely accommodate 5 vessels in port concurrently, but additionally the most important cruise vessels on the earth. The pre-pandemic numbers totaled roughly 800,000 passengers yearly however upon the settlement held with Global Ports Holding, the vacation spot would be capable of function many as 1 million passengers per yr because of the completion of the fifth berth.
Minister Fernandez additionally commented that the Arvia would ship a projected 1,000 passengers to port per flip from January to March 2023. After this era, homeporting operations would resume in November 2023.
Emerald Cruises and SeaDream are additionally scheduled to begin homeporting in November 2023. He defined that the terminal constructing can be accomplished by November 2023 and would adequately facilitate transit and homeporting operations. Its distinctive design would function over 10,000 sq. toes of area which might comfortably accommodate areas for Customs, Immigration, Port Health, safety screening, baggage dealing with, restrooms, and handy purchasing