Castries, Saint Lucia: Saint Lucia is recognized as the world’s best honeymoon destination, and visitors come across the globe through the cruise season. Travellers took the opportunity of cruises to witness the country’s picture-perfect oasis of mountains, rainforest and white sand beaches, perfect for honeymoon couples and families alike.
The cruise season remained highly successful for Saint Lucia as the destination welcomed the world’s best cruise ship in December and January 2023.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism- Ernest Hilaire also expressed pleasure in seeing the number of guests who disembarked on Arvia’s call to Saint Lucia on Wednesday, January 18 2023, which was very encouraging.
Over 1800 guests book shore excursions through the cruise ship. Outside of this, over 1000 more people got off the ship to explore our beautiful island and go into the communities for authentic Lucian experiences.
This benefited the local economy tremendously as it hired several Saint Lucians as tour guides, agents at the port, taxi drivers and all the other jobs both directly and indirectly involved in the cruise and tourism sector.
We are prepared to make their visit more impactful, as well as the visit of all cruise ships and visitors to Saint Lucia alike.
Yesterday the guests of Arvia were treated to authentic Saint Lucian experiences around the city centre, at Pointe Seraphine and at the market. It is always joyous to see our creatives showcasing our local culture to the thousands of visitors to our country. The guests were treated to the sound of the local musicians, our kabawé krawl experience and even a Sip n’ Paint activity at Heroes Park.
The Ministry, SLTA and all other stakeholders will continue to work together to ensure that there are more synergies and linkages between our Tourism Industry and the Creative Industries to enhance our Tourism product.
Today Saint Lucia welcomed the Norwegian Encore to Port Castries for the first time. The ship which debuted in November 2019 has a capacity of 4,653 guests with 1,700 crew. It’s always a pleasure to have these inaugural calls to our shores as it shows the courage the cruise companies have in our beautiful island home.
On Wednesday, January 18, 2022:
- 7:30 a.m. – Arrival of Arvia into Port Castries
- 8:30 a.m. – Disembarkation of Guests / Crew. (Guests will be greeted by the sounds of steel pan music)
- 9:15 a.m. – Minister Greets Guests over PA System as they gather for Tours
- 9:20 a.m. – Cultural Festival commences
- 9:50 a.m. – Meet and greet of Vice President, Captain, and Tourism Officials
- 10 a.m. – Plaque Exchange Ceremony
- 10:30 a.m. – Sip and Paint with steelpan music commences at Heroes Park (along the main highway to the city)
- 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Cultural Solo music expo at the Castries Market Steps.
Saint Lucia welcomed the following cruises in the month of January 2023:
On January 10, 2023:
- Marella Discovery
- Club Med 2
- Azamara Onward
On January 11, 2023:
- Rhapsody of the Seas
- Star Pride
On January 12, 2023:
- Vision of the Seas
- Marella Explorer 2
On January 13, 2023:
- Norwegian Epic
- Norwegian Gateway
On January 14, 2023:
- Carnival Legend
- AID Aperia
- SeaDream 1
On January 17, 2023:
- Celebrity Edge
- Costa Pacifica
- Wind Surf
On January 18, 2023:
- Arvia
- Star Legend
- Sea Cloud
On January 19, 2023:
- Anthem of the Seas
- Seabourn Ovation
On January 20, 2023:
- Mein Schiff 2
- Norwegian Epic
- Royal Clippery
On January 21, 2023:
- Rotterdam
