The Saint Lucia Cruise Port team celebrated the kickoff of the highly anticipated 2024/2025 cruise season alongside key tourism partners at a vibrant cultural event held at Port Castries on Thursday, October 10, 2024. In a traditional ceremony hosted by the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, the season was officially launched with the arrival of the Celebrity Summit and Rhapsody of the Seas, bringing 4,485 passengers and 1,756 crew members to the island. Saint Lucia Cruise Port partnered with the Tourism Authority to provide lively steel pan entertainment for guests as they disembarked to create a festive welcome.
Hon. Dr. Ernest Hilaire, Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture, and Information shared optimistic projections for this season’s cruise arrivals. In 2023, the port welcomed 614,980 passengers aboard 264 calls. In 2024, Saint Lucia Cruise Port expects to receive approximately 823,132 passengers aboard 459 calls. This number would surpass the current passenger record of 789,176 cruise visitors (aboard 443 calls), set in 2019.
Lancelot Arnold, General Manager of Saint Lucia Cruise Port, expressed his enthusiasm during his remarks at the ceremony held at the Pointe Seraphine berth. “We are thrilled to welcome Captain Evangelos Saitis of the Celebrity Summit and Captain Per Olov Mathias Sebom of the Rhapsody of the Seas back to Saint Lucia. The start of this cruise season presents us with a wonderful opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to enhancing the guest experience, supporting our cruise line partners, and collaborating with local industry stakeholders to ensure our mutual success. We are looking forward to a busy and exciting cruise season with a positive outlook for our company and community.”
Representatives from Invest Saint Lucia, Export Saint Lucia, the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority, and Foster & Ince/Platinum Port Agency also participated in the event.
Captain Saitis expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome, sharing his fondness for Port Castries and his anticipation of a successful season.
Saint Lucia Cruise Port (SLCP), a subsidiary of Global Ports Holding Plc (“GPH”) intends to support the expansion and enhancement the Saint Lucian cruise tourism industry through an agreement with the Government of Saint Lucia for cruise-related development and operations. Through a 30-year partnership, Saint Lucia Cruise Port will collaborate with local industry leaders and stakeholders to design and build new port infrastructure, enhance the existing port facilities, and create more opportunities for Saint Lucians through cruise sector and destination development.