Last Updated on January 3, 2020, 5:40 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Despite a blaring headline from the St Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS) of “an economic buzz,” in the cruise industry, another cruise vessel was a ‘no-show’ at St Kitts’ Port Zante on Sunday.
Scheduled to visit was the 66,000-ton, 3,194-passenger capacity “Koningsdam” of the Holland America Line, but it never dock, bringing to eight the number of cancellations and the loss of over 50,000 cruise passengers at a time when less cruise ships and cruise passengers are projected for 2019/2020 by the St Kitts Tourism Authority.
Only the “Queen Mary” with 3,000 passengers and the 977-passenger “Bramer” berth on Sunday at Port Zante’s first pier which was re-constructed twice and redesigned by the former Labour Party administration after it was destroyed by two hurricanes.
The cancellation of the visit by the “Koningsdam” brings to eight the number of cruise ships that have cancelled calls to Port Zant in the past few weeks.
The visit by the 5,400-passenger Norwegian Bliss on December 19 and the 5,183-passenger Norwegian Epic on December 21 were cancelled.
On December 15, the only scheduled visit of the 4,580-passenger Regal Princess on the 2019/2020 itinerary was cancelled.
In November, the five remaining calls of the 6,400-passenger Allure of the Seas were cancelled as a result of a mechanical problem.
The 8 cancellations and the loss of 50,357 visitors come following a projected decrease in the number of cruise ships and cruise passengers for the 2019/2020 cruise season compared to the 2018/2019 season.
The itinerary for 2019/2020 is projecting 420 cruise ship calls with an estimated 1,086,844 passengers compared to 447 cruise ship calls with an estimated 1,212,462 passengers for 2018/2019, a decrease of 10 percent and 6 percent respectively.
Costa Cruises, Cruise & Maritime Voyages, Plantours and TUI which had Port Zante on the 2018/2019 schedule have dropped St Kitts completely from the 2019/2020 itinerary.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
