Brimstone Hill Fortress, St. Kitts
According to a communiqué released by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, that country’s main port, Zante, registered a 10% increase in cruise passengers for the first half of 2009. The Department of Finance and Statistics of the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA) also reported a near 30% increase in cruise passengers in June this year compared to the same month in 2008.
Some 244,746 cruise passengers visited St. Kitts from January to June, 2009 compared to 229,781 for the same period in 2008. The figures represent continued growth for the tourism sector regarding cruise passengers over a span of three year. In 2007, St. Kitts registered 129,051 cruise passengers arrivals in the first half of the year.
According to the communiqué issued by the Government:
Carnival Cruise Line accounted for 82,655 passengers between January and June with the Carnival Victory bringing 71,449 and the Carnival Miracle, 11,206 passengers from 19 and 10 calls respectively.
Basseterre, St. Kitts
P & O and Princess Cruises brought 65,283 passengers to St. Kitts on 8 ships. Emerald Princess brought 19,151 from six visits; Grand Princess, 15,570 from six calls; Ocean Village, 13,415 passengers from 8 visits; Sea Princess, 8,138 passengers from four calls and Ventura, 3,036 passengers from one call.
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise line brought 50,972 passengers during the first six months of this year with 17,260 passengers on the Celebrity Solstice from six visits; 11,089 passengers on Vision of the Seas from six calls; 10,099 visitors on the Constellation; 7,595 passengers on the Celebrity Galaxy from 3 visits; 3,142 passengers from the one visit on the Explorer of the Seas and 1,787 visitors on the single visit by Mariner of the Seas.
Two Holland America Line ships, the Maasdam brought 9,859 passengers on 8 visits and the Noordam, 1,911 visitors from one call.
Historic Basseterre, St. Georges Anglican Church
The Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 brought 2,554 passengers on its lone visit to St. Kitts between January and June this year.
During the first six months the Azamara brought 2,628; the Royal Clipper, 1,216; Caronia, 2,747; Boudicca, 2,505; Island Star, 5,711 and the Emerald, 11,629 passengers.
The increase in June is attributed to the out of season visit for the second consecutive year of a ship from the Carnival Cruise Line. The Carnival Victory brought 12,962 passengers from four calls and one call from the Freewinds with 64 passengers in the month of June.
St. Kitts is of particular historical significance to the British and French in the Caribbean, and to many travelers. It was on St. Kitts that Captain Thomas Warner established the first British settlement in the Caribbean in 1624, the island being dubbed the Mother Colony. Warner’s ventures were financed by Ralph Merrifield, a merchant, and John Jefferson (the great great great Grandfather of Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States), who agreed to bring a second ship with settlers and provisions to the island. In doing so, John secured rights to a plantation in St. Kitts. John’s son, Samuel, established “the Red House” plantation, and ownership of what is now called Romney Manor.
Golfview Estates, Frigate Bay
In 1625, a French captain, Pierre Belain d’Esnambuc, arrived on S. Kitts, having left France hoping to establish an island colony after hearing about the success of the British on St. Kitts, but his fleet was destroyed in a fight with a with a Spanish Armada, leaving him with only his flagship. Warner welcomed the Frenchmen and allowed them to settle on the island, thus making St. Kitts the site of also the first French colony in the Caribbean. It was from St. Kitts that territorial expansion for both the English and the French continued across the Caribbean Sea. Today, St. Kitts and Nevis is an independent nation.
St. Mary's Church, Cayon, St. Kitts
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For fun reading and travel information, we invite you to check out John Heald’s blog. John is Carnival’s Senior Cruise Director.
