Antigua and Barbuda welcomes over 13,000 Cruise visitors in one day

Antigua and Barbuda: The island’s cruise tourism sector continues to surge as Antigua Cruise Port reports that more than 13,000 cruise visitors (guests and crew) arrived in the country on March 31, 2026.

With the month of March coming to an end yesterday, the cruise tourism sector on the island remains on a strong upward momentum, strengthening as a premier Caribbean hub. The country welcomed 4 cruise vessels yesterday and a total of 13,900 cruise passengers and crew members.

Norwegian Epic arrived at St. John's harbour with 4,877 passengers and 1,560 crew members, bringing the most guests. In comparison, the least number of visitors was on board Emerald Sakara, which anchored at Falmouth harbour with a total of 169 visitors—94 passengers and 75 crew.

According to Antigua Cruise Port’s report, Celebrity Ascent and Marella Discovery 2 also berthed in St. John’s Harbour. Celebrity Ascent arrived with 3,278 guests and 1,431 crew, bringing the overall total to 4,709, while Marella Discovery 2 carried a total of 2,605 visitors—1863 passengers and 742 crew members.

The Cruise Port shared this information on its Facebook page with a caption: Closing Out March 13,000 Strong - All Day Long! The cruise tourism energy is undeniable, opportunities are expanding, and Antigua and Barbuda continue to thrive.

The Port added that it looks forward to all arrivals for the month of April and is also preparing for the summer season.

Impressed with the number of tourist arrivals, a few citizens have taken to the comment section, sharing that they are pleased to see the nation's tourism industry expanding and strengthening the economy.

Based on the weekly tourism schedule, which covered cruise arrivals from Saturday to Tuesday (March 28 – March 31), the island received 19,529 visitors. Antigua welcomed 3,406 visitors on the 29th and 6,863 on the 30th.