Over half a million cruise passengers visited Antigua during the winter season 2022/2023, an excellent performance for the industry which continues to rebound.
Most cruise passengers arrived between January and March 2023. Over three hundred and thirty-two thousand visited the island during that period with over one hundred thousand arrivals each month.
Homeporting played a considerable role in increasing passenger numbers for the first quarter of the year, underscoring the importance of the operation to the local cruise tourism sector.
P & O Cruises’ Arvia made four partial turnaround calls during this time while luxury yacht Star Clipper conducted two full homeporting operations. ACP Operations Manager for Pier Services, Rawle Reynolds said, “We had at times over 800 people flying into the country to start their cruise in Antigua. The team at Antigua Cruise Port played a significant role in facilitating this operation.”
“Antigua checks many boxes as a homeport and this season is certainly a testament to this fact. Not only is the destination strategically located but has excellent airlift from both the United States and Europe. Our investment in the fifth berth provides us with added capacity to efficiently facilitate multiple cruise ships and related services both for vessels homeporting or on a transit call” added ACP General Manager, Dona Regis Prosper. She said, “We are pleased with our performance this winter season as we continue to successfully rebound after the effects of COVID-19. We look forward to a record summer season and the upcoming winter season 2023/2024.
Norwegian Sky will make multiple visits to the cruise port between May and August. Meanwhile, Disney Magic will visit in May and Disney Fantasy will call in July. The nineteen summer calls more than double last year’s figures, indicating major growth in the country’s cruise industry.