By the Caribbean Journal staff
St Maarten just had its busiest cruise day of the year, according to Port St Maarten.
Just in time for Boxing Day, the destination welcomed seven cruise ships.
Six vessels were moored at the two cruise piers at the Dr AC Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facility, while one was at anchor in Great Bay.
That meant 26,900 passengers and 9,900 crew, for a total of 36,800 visitors.
The slate of ships included Adventure of the Seas, Marella Explorer, MSC Seaside, MV Britannia, Celebrity Silhouette, Harmony of the Seas and the brand-new Celebrity Edge cruise ship.
It was the second visit to St Maarten for Edge, which made its inaugural trip to the island last week.
“The destination is expected to maintain a certain standard across the board to continue to grow the cruise tourism product in 2019. It is essential that destination visitor appeal is maintained by our destination partners, stakeholders and the population at large, in order to continue the success of cruise tourism,” Port St Maarten management said in a statement.
— CJ