‘Carnival Spirit’ on maiden visit to St Kitts and Nevis

Tourism Minister, Marsha Henderson this week welcomed the cruise ship ‘Carnival Spirit’ on its maiden voyage St Kitts and Nevis. ‘Carnival Spirit’ is the first vessel from Carnival Cruise Line to dock at Port Zante in Basseterre, St. Kitts for the 2022-2023 season.

Minister Henderson and other key personnel were on hand to welcome Captain Salvatore Siviero, his crew and passengers to the twin-island Federation.

“Captain Salvatore, we want to welcome you on behalf of the Government and people of St. Kitts and Nevis. I am honoured this morning to welcome you, your crew and passengers to our beautiful destination St. Kitts on your inaugural call. In fact, you are the first call from the Carnival Corp for this season and we are looking forward to the additional calls,” the minister said.

She recalled the longstanding relationship between the country and the tourism industry’s Carnival Corp, during the Plaque Exchange Ceremony. “I think this call signifies the longstanding relationship we have as a destination with carnival Corp and we look forward to continued relations with Carnival,” Henderson stated.

She said November is an active month for the cruise sector in St. Kitts and Nevis. “I am excited for November alone. We have seven inaugural calls,” she noted, observing almost 3,000 persons came with the ship, which means good business for the country.

“This call today is the Carnival Spirit with a passenger capacity of just about over 2500 persons and we have at least three calls for Carnival Spirit this season, giving us a projected passenger capacity of just over 7600 and so we are excited,” she said.

The COVID 19 pandemic was devastating for the industry, Henderson reminded.

“Coming off of the [COVID-19] Pandemic persons hadn’t worked for the past two years and so the more inaugural calls we have the better it is for us as an economy. So, we are super excited and we are looking forward to even more inaugural calls for the cruise season,” the government minister said.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Ellison ‘Tommy’ Thompson said ‘Carnival Spirit’ visit “is a great start to the cruise season and we anticipate a very robust season moving forward.”

Captain Salvatore in his response to speakers’ sentiments said he desires increasing stops to destination St Kitts and Nevis.

‘Carnival Spirit’ was launched in July 2000 and has a capacity for 2,124 passengers and 930 crew members.