Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 12, 2018 (SKNIS): The vision behind the design and construction of the berthing facility at Port Zante in Basseterre, St. Kitts, continues to be realized with the December 11th inaugural visit of MS Symphony of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International.
Symphony of the Seas departed Miami for St. Kitts – its first port of call – on an itinerary that includes St. Thomas, USVI and Nassau, Bahamas, before returning to its port of embarkation, Miami.
Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Lindsay Grant, welcomed the passengers and crew to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, and expressed thanks and appreciation to the cruise line company.
“We are extremely grateful to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines for the opportunity they have given to us, the support that you have given to our destination to make sure that we rise to the top,” said Minister Grant. “I think it is not only a beneficial support for the destination, but it is a symbiotic relationship that we have as the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis with Royal Caribbean’s Cruise Lines and for that we are eternally and extremely grateful.”
MS Symphony of the Seas is able to accommodate 5,518 passengers at double occupancy up to a maximum capacity of 6,680 passengers, as well as 2,200 crew.
December 11, 2018, marked a historic occasion as it was the first time in history that the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis had two inaugural visits – the Norwegian Jade and the MS Symphony of the Seas.
Among the 28 cruise liners scheduled to come to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis for the 2018- 2019 Cruise Season, Royal Caribbean has the largest capacity ships, as well as the most port calls. Eight ships in its fleet are scheduled to visit a total of 85 times; second in place is Carnival Cruise Line, with 75 port calls in total by five ships, followed by Norwegian Cruise Line, which is scheduled to make 28 port calls from seven ships
