By Floyd French
Observer Reporter
(Basseterre, St. Kitts) – Taxi drivers, vendors, and other business entities benefited when the Galaxy cruise ship made an unscheduled call at Port Zante on Apr. 16. The vessel carrying 2,400 passengers arrived at 7a.m. and departed at 4 p.m.
The unscheduled visit by the Galaxy was the fourth such unscheduled cruise ship arrival for this year’s cruise season.
In January and February, tempers of cruise stakeholders flared when cruise ships were unable to berth due to strong winds and sea currents.
At a press conference organised by St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority in February, Ministry of Tourism representative Ms. Danielle Taylor tried to allay public concerns and said that the rest of the season would have unscheduled calls to compensate for the missed calls.
The Observer was unable to get the total number of lost passengers from the missed cruise ship calls or the total number of passenger onboard two ships that made off schedule calls. However, the figures for the other two off-schedule calls totals 3,071 passengers, 2, 400 for the recent Galaxy call and 671 for the Regatta call in March.
Despite the missed calls, the cruise ship passenger count in February surpassed the previous 2006-2007 season. The previous season recorded 225,273 while the close of February 2008 registered 239,437 passengers.
The 2007-2008 Cruise Ship Season officially ends in April. At that time officials from the Ministry of Tourism and stakeholders will know how close the actual passenger arrival compares with the projected 426,302 passengers for the season.
