Trinidad is gearing up for an increase in visitors during the upcoming 2023-24 cruise season.
The cruise season begins in November and typically runs through April the following year. According to a statement, initial projections indicate that approximately 88,000 passengers and 30,000 crew will visit Trinidad, representing an estimated 81 per cent increase in passengers when compared to the last season. During the previous season, Trinidad welcomed a total of 29 calls and 48,243 passengers.
Tourism Trinidad CEO Carla Cupid said: “Employment opportunities flourished as the cruise season unfolded. Local guides, tour operators, taxi drivers, craft vendors, and service personnel played a pivotal role in ensuring an unforgettable experience for cruise passengers.
“This surge in employment not only provided income for individuals but also fostered skills development and contributed to the growth of the local tourism sector.”
This year, the first ship to visit Trinidad will be the Seabourn Pursuit, scheduled to arrive on October 11, 2023.
According to numbers released by Cruise Britain, the cruise industry’s post-Covid transition year was a success with predictions for a projected record season in 2023, according to a press release.
“2022 was the first full year of cruise activity since the pandemic and really built upon the unprecedented success of the 2021 domestic season. What we are seeing now are the rewards for an industry that has consistently worked together to recover, regenerate and develop”, said Ian McQuade, chair of Cruise Britain. “Whilst Round Britain and Ireland cruise popularity continues to grow, we have now seen the successful return of itineraries where British port calls are part of a multi-country story of discovery.”
The previous record season for the UK was 2019 while in 2022, the UK welcomed a total of 2,176 cruise calls, which is a drop of 22 per cent compared to that record year. UK orts welcomed nearly 1.4 million guests, which is around 80 per cent of the 2019 numbers. In addition, visitors in 2022 brought around £100m to Britain’s coastal economies.
“Looking ahead to this year, we see a very robust projected growth of 8 per cent in terms of port calls across the UK. Some regions such as the South West, North West and Scotland are reporting likely figures in excess of this national growth rate,” added McQuade.
“This is a fantastic projection and the strength of the immediate growth trend is a testament to the increasing popularity of Britain as a cruise destination. We really can offer a port for every cruise ship currently sailing – from expedition ships to boutique and mid-range vessels up to the largest afloat.”
In the previous year, the UK welcomed 52 different cruise lines with ships visiting diverse ports including Belfast and Bristol, Portland and Portsmouth, Douglas (Isle of Man) and Dover, among others.
“The UK offers an incredibly diverse cruise holiday experience for guests and this is one of the most powerful reasons for the growth projections that we are seeing. Cruise Britain and all its members continue to work with cruise lines, industry partners and stakeholders, and government to support the development of cruise as a resilient and profitable sector of the travel industry,” concluded McQuade.
MSC Virtuosa arriving into Southampton Photo Credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr) The MSC Virtuosa was the first cruise ship to dock in Hamburg in 2023.
The MSC Virtuosa arrived in Hamburg on January 1, 2023, marking the beginning of this year’s cruise season.
From January 8 to January 29, the ship will set course for the Canary Islands for three weeks. The ship will make calls in Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Le Havre, Lisbon, Cadiz and Casablanca followed by visits to the Atlantic islands of Madeira, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. On the way back to Hamburg, the MSC Virtuosa will call in La Coruna and Southampton.
The MSC Virtuosa will make several calls in Hamburg before April 16 turning around in the German port.
In the summer of 2023, the cruise ship will then depart from Southampton, England for Norway or southern Europe.
The MSC Euribia will then take over the trips to Hamburg from the MSC Virtuosa. In the summer of 2023, it will depart from Kiel and head to the Norwegian fjords. Throughout the 2023/2024 season, the MSC Euribia will return to Hamburg on a weekly basis.
The Port of Hamburg is expecting around 280 calls from cruise ships in 2023. The highlights in the port are the port birthday from May 5 to 7, 2023, and the Cruise Days from September 8 to 10, 2023.
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