BASSETERRE (22 July, 2021) – St. Kitts & Nevis celebrates the resumption of cruise tourism with the arrival of the Seabourn Odyssey, a ship in the ultra-luxury Seabourn cruise line, which will make a port call every week during the period July to October 2021. Seabourn is recognized as one of the world’s leading luxury cruise lines, and caters to the more discerning traveler with their all-suite accommodations and industry-leading service.
A symbolic ship to ship salute, live steelpan performances and the renown drummers greeted the Odyssey, her passengers and crew as it docked at South Friars Bay.
“Today is indeed a wonderful day for people of St. Kitts and Nevis as we warmly welcome the luxurious Seabourn Odyssey to our shores,” Prime Minister of the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis, Dr. The Hon. Timothy Harris said. “Tourism is one of the main drivers of the the economy, and therefore our plan is to reopen the destination for tourism and travel responsibly. We have implemented a phased approach to rebuilding the cruise sector aimed at supporting our local economy and providing our visitors with a safe and positive on-island experience.”
“We are pleased to welcome the Seabourn Odyssey to St. Kitts and Nevis for the highly-anticipated restart of our cruise tourism sector,” Minister of Tourism The Hon. Lindsay F.P. Grant said. “St. Kitts is a destination that remains in high demand amongst travelers and I want to thank our cruise line partners and our stakeholders here on island for working so diligently with us to ensure that all the necessary requirements were met to allow for the successful return of cruises to the Federation. This is indeed a propitious occasion as we begin rebuilding towards our preeminent cruise port position in the region.”
St. Kitts is looking forward to the number of ships increasing steadily over the summer, with the following arrivals:Thursday 29th July, 2021:
- Celebrity Summit
Wednesday 11th August, 2021
- Allure of the Seas
Thursday 12th August, 2021:
- Celebrity Summit
Tuesday 24th August, 2021:
- Celebrity Equinox:
Wednesday 25th August, 2021:
- Celebrity Summit:
- Allure of the Seas
Thursday 26th August, 2021:
- Symphony of the Seas
Currently, the minimum protocols for any cruise ship visiting in St. Kitts & Nevis include:
- All crew and all passengers over the age of 18 must be vaccinated.
- All passengers, crew and children under the age of 18 must present a negative RT-PCR test within 72 hours of homeport embarkation.
- Only bubble vaccinated tours and attractions will be offered to cruise passengers.
- Passengers and crew are not permitted to interact with the general population. All Tours will leave the dispatch area within the secure perimeter and return.
- All personnel interacting with cruise vessel operations including ship agents, port staff, taxi and tour operators must be vaccinated.
The St. Kitts Tourism Authority in conjunction with the Ministry of Health have worked with stakeholders to develop fully vaccinated ‘Travel Approved’ bubble tours, to showcase the island’s one-of-a-kind attractions such as UNESCO World Heritage recognized Brimstone Hill Fortress, the St. Kitts Scenic Railway, Caribelle Batik and Fairview Great House.
St. Kitts became a Marquee Port after reaching the one million passenger mark in two cruise seasons in a row, 2017-’18 and 2018-’19. The destination was named the Cruise Destination of the Year by Caribbean Journal in their 2020 Caribbean Travel Awards. The Federation was anticipating a third consecutive year of a million arrivals before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
