Since the cruise ship resumed service, St. Maarten in the Eastern Caribbean has had its busiest month.

The popular Eastern Caribbean cruise destination, St. Maarten, has ushered in one of the busiest months since the relaunch of the cruise ship, which is a real sign that the cruise ship has truly returned. The port was also the busiest day recently, with six ships docked.

Since the pandemic hit in March 2020 and the suspension of cruise operations, it has had a ripple effect on Caribbean cruise ports, including Philipsburg and St. Maarten. The good news is that November 2021 is the busiest month since cruise ships began to resume service, as the port handled 75,572 cruise ship passengers.

PSG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alexander Gumbs said: “From the perspective of ship arrivals and ship occupancy rates, the development of cruise ships has been on the rise, approaching 65%.”

Saint Martin has always been an important part of the cruise restart. Celebrity Millennium became the first cruise ship in the Americas to restart its guest voyage from the Dr. AC Wathey Cruise & Cargo Facility on June 5.

The ship is operated by Celebrity Cruises and uses the island as its home port, making St. Martin the center of cruise activities. Since the Celebrity cruise ship, the cruise company has gradually put the ship back into service, and this trend will continue in December.

Gumbs added: “We are looking forward to a rebound in the local cruise industry in 21 months. For the cruise season from 2021 to 2022, as passengers become more satisfied with the stability of the cruise market, more and more people begin to ride. Cruise, we expect our numbers to increase. As a destination, there is much to be grateful for, but we must continue to abide by the public health and safety measures taken to protect us from COVID-19."

On November 24, the port welcomed six cruise ships for the first time, including the Sky Princess operated by Princess Cruises, AIDALUNA and AIDAdiva operated by AIDA Cruises in Germany, and Marella Discovery operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. There are also Ocean Explorer and Ocean Jewels operated by Royal Caribbean.

December is expected to be even busier, with four ships calling at St. Martin during the weekend of December 11th and 12th. This is the largest number of cruise ships using this port for turnover operations in a single day.

"Let us continue to maintain a high level of service standards and provide our guests with an unforgettable destination experience as we enter the holidays, as we welcome more than 2,000 homeport guests on weekends," Gumbs said.

These ships include Star Flyer, Wind Surf and Seabourn Odyssey, which returned to their home port on Saturday, December 11, followed by MSC Seaview, which returned on Sunday, December 12. All ships combined have more than 2,000 boarding guests.

Also read: Major milestones in the Caribbean cruise port, visited by four ships in a day

Between June and December 2021, St. Maarten is expected to receive approximately 200,000 cruise passengers. As more cruise ships make a comeback, this number should increase further in 2021.

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