Saint Lucia is getting ready to welcome its first international cruise ship since the pandemic this July.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has signaled the return of the cruise industry to Saint Lucia naming the country as a port-of-call on a mid-July itinerary, that will see Celebrity Millennium make its first voyage of the season to the destination, as well as to sister islands and homeports of St. Marten and Barbados.
A special committee has been established to provide oversight to the resumption of cruise tourism which include the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Health, Port Health, Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority, Invest Saint Lucia, Customs, Immigration, Port Security, Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority and Cruise Agencies - Cox and Company Limited and Foster and Ince.
"We are enthusiastic that with the advent of science and technology amid this pandemic, we can prepare for a silver lining. The impact of the cruise sector has been noted the world over and its absence has left an impression on our island's people. We are therefore looking forward to working within strict protocol to see the successful resumption of the sector," said Tourism Minister, Honorable Dominic Fedee.
Preliminary discussions with Royal Caribbean include a commitment that both passengers and crew over the age of 18 years would all have been vaccinated, full compliance to pre-arrival COVID-19 testing, and that tour operations would be conducted within a Green Corridor. Additionally, all persons disembarking would be subject to the standard protocols of wearing a facemask, physical distancing, and sanitizing. The overall aim is to ensure that while the cruise sector can continue to benefit the local economy, as a collective, we can also ensure that our local populace is kept safe.
"We are enthusiastic that with the advent of science and technology amid this pandemic, we can prepare for a silver lining. The impact of the cruise sector has been noted the world over and its absence has left an impression on our island's people. We are therefore looking forward to working within strict protocol to see the successful resumption of the sector," said Tourism Minister, Honorable Dominic Fedee.
Discussions are ongoing with several cruise partners that aim to see more vessels schedule their call into Port Castries in the near future.
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