Above: Fort de France (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The French Caribbean island of Martinique is looking to continue its strong cruise tourism growth in recent years.

Martinique will receive a record 22 ships making their first-ever calls this year between Oct. 26, 2015 and Aug. 31, 2016.

The calls include ships from Carnival, Celebrity, Disney, MSC, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn and others.

Since 2010, the island has seen a 524 percent increase in cruise passenger arrivals.

This season, Martinique’s Tourism Authority is projecting a total of 220,000 cruise passengers in 176 port calls.

“Martinique continues to capture the imagination of the cruise industry,” said Karine Roy-Camille, commissioner of the Martinique Tourism Authority. “With the wealth of new ships planning stops here in the coming year, passengers will enjoy a greater variety of cruise vacation experiences than ever before. Truly, there’s never been a better time to cruise to Martinique.”