CRUISE LINES CONFIRM ST. KITTS PORT CALLS
**Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Lines Resume Original Schedules**
Basseterre, St. Kitts – (November 22, 2010) – Less than one week after a
tour bus robbery prompted Carnival Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises to
bypass two mid-week scheduled port calls in St. Kitts, executives from both
lines have announced the reinstatement of their original schedules:
“I am happy to advise that Princess Cruises will resume its schedule of
calls effective with the next calls of the Grand Princess and Emerald
Princess on December 1st. We appreciate everything St. Kitts has done to
mitigate this most unfortunate and unusual situation.” Steve Nielsen, V.P.
Caribbean and Atlantic Shore Operations, Princess Cruises
“Based on our confidence in the ability of St. Kitts to provide a safe and
secure environment for our cruise guests as well as crew members visiting
the island, I am pleased to advise that Carnival Cruise Lines is returning
to St. Kitts effective Friday, November 26th with the call of the Carnival
Victory.” Gordon Buck, V. P. Caribbean Relations, Carnival Cruise Lines
Photo courtesy of: Keeth
France
Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Ricky Skerritt has confirmed that all cruise
lines currently calling at St. Kitts have reconfirmed their intention to
maintain their schedules based on the swift implementation of additional
security measures in the tourist areas. According to the Minister, the fact
that this was an isolated event, combined with the swift arrest and the
November 18th charging of the five robbery suspects, also made the
reinstatement of cruise schedules more likely.
“Our local security forces deserve commendation on their rapid response in
apprehending the perpetrators of this unprecedented crime. Increased police
presence was already in place by the time the Celebrity Summit made its
scheduled port call the very next day after the incident.” said Senator
Richard “Ricky” Skerritt, Minister of Tourism and International Transport.
“Throughout my close and ongoing contact with key decision-makers and other
international tourism partners in the aftermath of this unprecedented event,
I was gratified by the support expressed for our destination and the
confidence of all stakeholders in our future,” he concluded.
There was clear evidence that cruise shipping is back to normal in St Kitts
when visitors from P&O’s 3500 passenger ship, Azura, connected with the
island’s rich culture and heritage when they enjoyed the usual varied
onshore tour activities yesterday.
Located in the northern Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, St. Kitts offers a
diverse tourism product developed from the destination’s natural beauty,
cultural heritage and rich history. The island’s stunning variety of
tourism attractions include hiking through the tropical rainforest, riding
the scenic railway that connects the island’s sugar plantations, visiting
the Caribelle Batik factory, touring Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park,
the only man-made UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Eastern Caribbean, and
the more traditional vacation pastimes such as watersports, golf, shopping,
tennis, gourmet dining, gaming at one of St. Kitts’ two casinos or simply
relaxing on one of the island’s sandy beaches. Guests can select from
accommodations ranging from intimate plantation inns to larger hotels or
resorts.
For more information about St. Kitts, please contact the St. Kitts Tourism
Authority toll free from the US at 1-800-582-6208 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-800-582-6208 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or from Canada
1-888-395-4887 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-888-395-4887 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, e-mail info@stkittstourism.kn
<mailto:info@stkitts-tourism.kn> , visit www.stkittstourism.kn
<http://www.stkittstourism.kn/> , or become a fan on Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-St-Kitts/46926297721> and/or Twitter
<http://twitter.com/stkittstourism> .