Carnival Cruise Line ditches all Antigua port calls
Carnival Cruise Line has abruptly pulled out of all ports call to Antigua with other Carnival brands likely to follow, according to the country’s cruise industry chief.
All scheduled port calls of four Carnival ships from November 2019 have been scrapped with the line not giving an official reason.
However, it did say it is shifting its ships to destinations that are more welcoming,’ as ‘government officials have taken steps which indicate they don’t want cruise lines and our guests to visit.’
It comes after Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne accused the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association of using its influence to exploit the Caribbean.
"The FCCA is literally exploiting the Caribbean. So you will charge, for example, thousands of dollars for your visitors to the Caribbean – and I know that the cruise business is capital intensive – but when you are giving these countries five or six dollars per head this cannot cover the capital costs for the infrastructure," Browne recently said.
The comments were made as the Antigua and Barbuda government selected Global Ports Holdings for the development of the island’s cruise port ahead of a rival bid backed by the cruise industry.
President of the Antigua and Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association, expects Nathan Dundas other carnival brands to also cancel calls.
"I am afraid that we may see more cancellations and it indeed is cause for concern as these cancellations will impact everyone’s business. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Princess, Holland America, Seabourn and other European Lines making cancellations going forward," he said.
The ships were expected to bring about 250,000 cruise passengers.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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