PHILIPSBURG–St. Maarten received 1,099,893 cruise passengers via 373 cruise vessel calls between January and July this year. The majority of these arrived in the first three months of 2019, with more than 650,000 cruise passengers disembarking from 264 cruise vessels during this period.
Port St. Maarten management said in a press release on Monday that they are very pleased with the results so far this year and are looking forward to St. Maarten catering to more than 1.5 million cruise passengers by year’s end, barring any interruption in cruise calls between September and December due to inclement weather.
St. Maarten has maintained its competitive edge through continual research and development, strategic planning and key partnerships with the cruise industry, stakeholders and leading players, said Port St. Maarten management. Its cruise passenger destination experience score of 9.3 out of 10 is testament to the hard work and dedication of partners in St. Maarten’s hospitality industry, they said.
Back in July, St. Maarten came in second in website
www.cruisecritic.com’s “2019 Cruiser’s Choice Awards” as a Top-Rated Eastern Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda destination. The other top five destinations were King’s Wharf, Bermuda in first place, Grand Turk, the Cayman Islands, in third, St. Kitts in fourth and St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, in fifth.
These awards name the world’s top cruise destinations, based entirely on consumer ratings submitted with reviews on the website.
Port St. Maarten was chosen in May as the “Best Cruise Port” in the Caribbean Journal (CJ) Travelers’ Choice Awards 2019. CJ is the world’s largest website covering Caribbean travel.
The 2019 edition of the CJ Travelers’ Choice Awards celebrates the best in Caribbean travel as chosen by CJ’s loyal readers. According to CJ, thousands of its subscribers voted in this year’s awards, selecting from a highly competitive field nominated by CJ’s editorial staff.
St. Maarten also received the “PAMAC Award Caribbean for Everyone” in January during the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Platinum Associate Membership Advisory Council (PAMAC) cruise summit.
Bron; Daily Herald
