St. Lucian Government welcomes P&O Cruise Ship, the Britannia
St Lucia has welcomed a decision by the Australia-based P&O Cruise Lines to use Castries as its home port destination.
The P&O cruise ship, the Britannia, is expected to arrive on November 12 to begin its St. Lucia cruises embarking on a total of 28 voyages from Castries and ending on March 4 next year. The maiden cruise from port Castries will call at Dominica, Antigua, St Maarten and Barbados.
P&O Cruises’ marketing director, Christopher Edgington, said introducing new itineraries that all depart or return St Lucia will offer a new dimension to Caribbean cruises.
“St Lucia is a popular destination with passengers and no other (large) cruise line has it as a homeport, so we are looking to make the most of this by offering an exciting range of shore excursions to maximise the time there.”
Prime Minister Dr. Kenny D. Anthony said a time when the regional tourism product is becoming increasingly competitive, it is indeed pleasing that P&O has selected St Lucia as its home port for its Caribbean cruises.
“We have to make this experience truly special for the crew of this ship and its passengers. This is really a great opportunity for us.
“I am anxious that the passengers experience the beauty of St Lucia’s landscape, the warmth of its people and its rich and diverse culture. The Minister of Tourism and his team in the Tourist Board and SLASPA deserve our thanks and commendation for this initiative,” Anthony said, adding that the home porting initiative will provide direct benefits to the stakeholders.
“Therefore we welcome the Britannica to our shores and will continue to work assiduously to maintain St Lucia’s unique positioning in the tourism market.”
The home porting initiative serves as part of a seven night fly/cruise programme.
