Another cruise liner has made Barbados a port of visit.
Barbados can look forward to calls from the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Freedom Of The Seas this summer.
Captain Toni Caine was at the helm when the ship made its inaugural visit to Barbados yesterday and he was full of praise for the facilities of the Bridgetown Port.
The Finnish captain, who has been with the Royal Caribbean International cruise line for 15 years, visited Barbados on previous occasions.
“We all like Barbados; it is a beautiful island and lots of beautiful people. That’s what Barbados is famous for,” Caine said, before participating in the traditional exchange of plaques between him and the ship’s agents, Foster & Ince Cruises, and representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and Bridgetown Port Inc.
The 4 600-capacity ship which carries a crew of 1 400, set out on the seven-day southern Caribbean cruise from Puerto Rico and Barbados was the last stop on its voyage.
Regular schedule
It will be calling at the Bridgetown Port every third Thursday during the summer months, joining the Carnival Fascination as the two cruise ships coming to Barbados on a regular schedule throughout the summer.
The Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is one of several Caribbean Ports that were severely damaged by last year’s hurricanes which also devastated some Caribbean islands that rely heavily on tourism. Ships which normally called at these ports were temporarily diverted to others like Bridgetown in the aftermath of the hurricane.
St Maarten’s Philipsburg Port is still struggling to get back into operation, while others damaged by Hurricanes Maria and Irma are already cashing in on summer cruise business. (GC)
