Over 35,000 cruise ship passengers visited St. Kitts last week, with 6,880 passengers on Tuesday 24th (Christmas Eve), 7,535 passengers on Wednesday 25th (Christmas Day), 9,467 on Thursday 26th (Boxing Day) and 7,680 last Friday.27th.
According to statistics from the Marine Division of the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority, (SCASPA), the Celebrity Summit berth at Port Zante on Monday 23rd with 954 passengers.
Three ships visited on Christmas Eve. The Adventure of the Seas had onboard 3,583 passengers, the Celebrity Equinox, 3,097 passengers and the Seabourne Spirit, 200 passengers.
Of the 7,535 passengers onboard three ships on Christmas Day, 172 were on the Star Clipper, 4,158 on the Independence of the Seas and 3,205 passengers on the Emerald Princess.
Boxing Day, Thursday, 26th four cruise ships with a total of 9,467 passengers, graced the Port of Basseterre. The Celebrity Silhoutte with 3,210 passengers; the Horizon, 1,080; the Venture, 3,157 and the Aida Bella, 2,020. The Horizon docked at the Deep Water Pier, the Aida Bella anchored off shore while the Ventura and the Silhouette berth at Port Zante.
Some 7,680 passengers were on the three ships that visited St. Kitts on Friday 27th December. The Jewel of the Seas with 2,368 passengers and the Carnival Valor with 3,755 passengers docked at Port Zante, while the Thomson Dream with 1,557 passengers onboard docked at the Deep Water Port.
The lone ship docking on Saturday 28th December was the Queen Mary 2 with 2,582 passengers. It arrived from Antigua and later sailed for St. Maarten.
Scores headed for Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, sea and sun bathing on the beaches, snorkeling, sailing to Nevis, horseback riding, golfing, casino gambling, shopping and biking while others took time to surf the internet and make contact with friends and family.
For the 2013/2014 season some 15 new cruise ships will visit St. Kitts.
Projections for the 2013-2014 season call for an increase to 650,000 passengers and to more than 700,000 in 2014-2015.