THE MV HORIZON cruise ship will make 22 calls and bring about 28 953 passengers to Barbados this year.
This was revealed by Senator Irene Sandiford-Garner, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, at the inaugural ceremony of the vessel at the Bridgetown Port on Tuesday.
Representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, Barbados Port Inc., Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA), Bridgetown Cruise Terminals Limited, Barbados Manufacturers Association, the US Embassy, Foster & Ince Cruise Services Ltd and Platinum Port Agency Inc. attended the ceremony.
In welcoming Captain George Ciortan and his crew of 600 to the island, Senator Garner said: “This year, about 100 000 [people] will embark from Barbados on cruises and next year we expect that number to increase to approximately 135 000”.
The senator also said that 50 passengers had embarked on the MV Horizon from Barbados and hoped that the cruise ship would attract more and that they would have a long and successful future ahead, using Barbados as a port of call and ultimately a homeport.
Cruise tourism has performed well this year. Between 2012 and 2013 (January to November), passenger arrivals moved from 524 322 to 560 414, a 6.88 per cent increase. BTA chairman Adrian Elcock, in presenting a plaque to Captain Ciortan, said his organisation looked forward to visits from the cruise ship after the season was finished in April.
Manager of Platinum Port Agency, Kevyn Yearwood, also exchanged a plaque with the captain.
Ciortan was pleased with the warm welcome.
“Barbados is very beautiful and I have a very fantastic impression of the island and now we will have the opportunity to come back time and time again,” he said.
The MV Horizon carries 1 600 passengers and home ports in the Dominican Republic. Its ports of call are St Lucia, Barbados, St Kitts, Martinique and Tortola.
The ship is one of two vessels from Pullmatur Cruises operating in the Caribbean. (PR)