By Robert A. Emmanuel
More than 3,000 new tourists arrived at the port of Heritage Quay yesterday, and officials at the Ministry of Tourism and Port Authority were among those to celebrate the inaugural call of cruise vessel, Voyager of the Seas.
At a ceremony aboard the 4,000-passenger capacity ship, Captain Carl Graucob praised the work done by the government of Antigua and Barbuda to improve facilities at the port.
“It is a very smart move because… not all the islands have the capacity [to accommodate forthcoming Oasis-class ships] so the ones that do have it will get customers,” he said, adding that Royal Caribbean will not be the only cruise line investing in the new Oasis class.
The captain, who has worked on cruise vessels for over 14 years, said that his guests were eager to visit the island.
“My understanding is that it is a very interesting island and people do like it; this morning, they were standing ready to go at 8 in the morning,” he explained.
Work undertaken at the port in the past year includes dredging to make way for the world’s largest vessels and the building of a fifth berth.
Colin James, CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, welcomed the ship’s crew to the island and said that the country was invested in the cruise tourism industry.
“We are expanding on that, we will be home porting from January next year where ships will be starting their calls from here and people from Antigua will be able to book on cruise voyages,” James stated.
The 15-deck cruise vessel Voyager of the Seas holds over 1,700 rooms and contains amenities for its guests including an ice rink, an over 1,200-seater indoor theatre, an outdoor movie theatre, a rock-climbing wall, a whirlpool facility, and an area for mini-golf.