By Alexander Britell
ST GEORGE’S – The Eastern Caribbean island of Grenada is poised to see a big jump in cruise ship calls this coming season.
Grenada is expecting to see an additional 28 cruise ship calls in the 2017-2018 cruise season, according to Patricia Maher, CEO of the Grenada Tourism Authority.
Maher, who was speaking at a press briefing during the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s State of the Industry Conference at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort, said the call was in part due to a shift by cruise lines in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which have made several major cruise destinations temporarily inaccessible.
GTA CEO Patricia Maher speaks at SOTIC.
Cruise lines that will be sending more ships include Carnival, Costa, MSC, Windstar, P&O, Seabourn and Windstar.
Indeed, the first new Carnival arrival came last Tuesday on a cruise that had originally been scheduled for St Thomas.
“We made sure that those passengers got a warm, spicy welcome,” Maher said.
The increase comes as Grenada has been working to reposition itself within the cruise industry.
“We’ve been gearing up for growth in the cruise business,” Maher said.
