St. Lucia tourism officers staged a festive welcome ceremony for P&O Cruises’ latest ship, Arvia, when it known as at Port Castries on January 18. Singers and dancers in conventional costumes entertained cruisers as they disembarked for his or her island go to.
Tourism Officials Roll Out Welcome Mat for Arvia
P&O Cruises’ new 5,200-guest Arvia made its inaugural name to St. Lucia as she repositioned from Southampton to her winter homeport in Barbados. Arvia is the primary Excel-class ship to go to St. Lucia, and native officers celebrated her arrival with speeches, music and a Plaque Exchange Ceremony. The ship entered service in December.
On hand for the massive welcome had been representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Saint Lucia Air & Sea Ports Authority, Invest Saint Lucia, cruise brokers Cox & Company Limited, and the St. Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association.
Lorine Charles-St Jules, CEO of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, stated, “Arvia’s visit is reflective of the government’s intentional approach to continuously position the destination within the cruise realm. Saint Lucia is committed to delivering memorable travel experiences that make cruising one of the great ways to appreciate the destination.”
She added, “At every opportunity, we dialogue with cruise partners on plans for welcoming and increasing cruise arrivals and expanding the island’s enchanting product offerings.”
The plaque ceremony was held on the port and there have been speeches by different tourism officers, as effectively, together with Castries Mayor Geraldine Lendor, who welcomed the ship’s roughly 4,000 visitors to the island.
President of the Saint Lucia Hospitality & Tourism Association Paul Collymore stated he seems to be ahead to the enterprise that visitors will deliver for members of his affiliation.
Arvia Captain Paul Brown stated he’s thrilled to be again in Saint Lucia, main his group and cruise visitors for the vessel’s maiden name to Port Castries. Also readily available was P&O Cruises Vice President of Port and Shore Operations of Carnival UK, Sander Groothuis.
Local officers stated the itinerary for Arvia’s inaugural go to was designed to supply passengers the very best island experiences, together with exploring its pure magnificence and wealthy tradition, visiting the world-renowned Pitons, mountain climbing the island’s rainforest, and having fun with its culinary choices.
Like different Caribbean locations, St. Lucia is aiming for a resurgence in cruise arrivals. For the primary 10 months of 2022, the island acquired about 180,000 cruise guests. The island’s pre-pandemic cruise arrivals quantity for a similar timeframe in 2019 was 570,000, based on TourismAnalytics.
Arvia Will Homeport in Barbados
Arvia, the cruise line’s second Excel-class ship after Iona, departed Southampton on January 6 to reposition to the Caribbean for a sequence of winter cruises from Barbados.
The ship’s naming ceremony is ready for March 16 in Barbados. P&O stated the ceremony will characteristic a few of Britain’s hottest performers and presenters, and shall be broadcast stay on-line to a world viewers.
From Barbados, the ship will sail a sequence of 7- and 14-day cruises. Seven-day sailings will name at Tortola, Dominican Republic, St. Maarten, and Antigua-Barbuda, whereas 14-day cruises will go to these ports and in addition name at St. Kitts and Nevis, Martinique and St. Lucia.
The 184,700-gross-ton vessel has 20 eating choices and 4 cabin classes. Entertainment venues embrace the Limelight Club and Headliner’s Theater, plus an escape room.