Antigua Cruise Port welcomed its first vessel for the 2023/2024 winter season.
Seabourn Pursuit, an ultra-luxury ship made her way to Heritage Quay for her inaugural call Saturday morning. Tourism officials boarded the new 264-passenger capacity vessel for the traditional plaque exchange ceremony with the captain.
Antigua Cruise Port Leasing & Marketing Officer Jessica Russell said, “We wish you a warm welcome to Antigua and we hope that both you and your guests enjoy your time here. We also invite you to visit us again soon.”
Seabourn Pursuit’s Captain Ertan Vasvi thanked the tourism representatives for their hospitality.
Antigua Cruise Port is expecting a robust season, the best since the COVID-19 pandemic. In November, the company will recommence homeporting operations with P & O Cruises’ Arvia and will also begin homeporting with the luxury superyacht Emerald Sakara. Turnaround calls with Royal Clipper, Star Clipper, and SeaDream II are also scheduled for later in the season.Located in St. John’s harbor, Antigua Cruise Port is the gateway to the city, serving over 800,000 passengers annually.
The port will be redeveloped under the Antigua Cruise Port Development Project through a 30-year lease agreement between the Government of Antigua & Barbuda and Global Ports Holding. Once the project has been completed, Antigua Cruise Port will have a new pier that can accommodate the biggest ships in the industry, which will make it possible for the port to serve as many as one million passengers per year.
The new port will also have brand-new retail and food and beverage facilities, plus an additional 50,000 sq. ft. of commercial space to be leased to Antiguans and Barbudans.
Antigua Cruise Port launched operations in October 2019. Learn more about Antigua Cruise Port at www.antiguacruiseport.com.
