| SOURCE: St. Kitts Tourism Authority | P&O cruise line’s newest vessel, “Arvia,” ventured to St. Kitts on its inaugural cruise call on Monday.

On Monday P&O cruise vessel “Arvia” made its inaugural cruise call to St. Kitts. The Authority continues to honor inaugural cruise calls, representing the consistent growth of the destination’s cruise sector. Arvia boasts of its excel class ship title operating with a capacity of 5,200 guests and 1,800 crew members.

The cruise vessel measures 345m, 184,700 tons, and has 15 guest decks while offering a swim-up bar, fine-dining restaurants, multiple aqua-zones, and even an onboard blending rum class.

“I am pleased to welcome Arvia to St. Kitts on its maiden cruise call,” shared Honourable Marsha T. Henderson, Minister of Tourism. “An inaugural P&O cruise vessel venturing to our destination is a direct result of recently held meetings with P&O in the latter period of 2022. These meetings heavily focused on strengthening our partnerships with the cruise lines to ensure that our industry can continue to thrive and develop. Expanding our cruise-line partnerships is paramount to providing job opportunities for our people, and we continue to take the necessary steps to achieve such.”

The destination has built an impressive repertoire, having been recently recognized by FORBES magazine as a Top 5 Destination to keep on your radar in 2023. As such, cruise passengers could experience these sentiments for themselves by immersing in the destination’s adventurous excursion tours, such as ziplining, watersports, and rainforest hikes. Their visit was also coupled with culturally rich experiences through historical tours at Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, Wingfield Estate, and Old Road Rum Distillery, to name a few.

“Today, we welcome the second inaugural cruise call since the inception of the new year. We are incredibly proud to celebrate our maiden cruise calls to St. Kitts as it represents the stringent expansion of the sector and our cruise-line partnerships. The Authority stays committed to offering quality guest experiences and continues to ensure that these standards are accordingly maintained,” shared Mr. Ellison “Tommy” Thompson, Chief Executive Officer at the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.

Cruise activity continues to blossom for the destination and is expected to punch above its weight in the coming months.

SOURCE: St. Christopher Air & Sea Ports Authority

Ocean Explorer is the fourth inaugural cruise to visit the destination for the 2022-2023 cruise season.

Fantastic video with Kahnein Blanchette promoting Four Season’s Golf Course, Nevis and it’s unspoilt beauty.

Credits:
Actor: Kahnein Blanchette
Curator: Desi Brown
Creative Direction: Desi Brown
Video Production: The Brown Pen
Cinematography: Shavon Douglas
Drone Footage: Akan Maynard
Music: Stephen Richards (Piano), Blessed Ogbum (Saxaphone).

The Workshop catered towards stakeholders within the industry, providing information sharing opportunities, and encouraging stakeholders to adapt to current cutting edge marketing initiatives.

The destination also welcomed the maiden voyage of Makana Ferry Service. The new cruise season is expected to provide new economic opportunities for the destination.

Watch Video Now:

St. Kitts was chosen ahead of Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Martinique, The Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands at the 2022 hosting of the World Travel Awards held at Sandals Resort, Jamaica on August 31.

This is the first time that St. Kitts has won the Caribbean’s Leading Dive Destination Award, becoming the second Caribbean destination to do so.

“From near-shore reef diving to subaquatic caves, and shipwrecks, we’re incredibly proud to be recognized for our beautiful and diverse underwater landscapes,” the St. Kitts Tourism Authority said in a social post.

Scuba divers of all ages and abilities delight in St. Kitts’ glorious underwater world, with many sites virtually unexplored. Bordered by the Caribbean and the Atlantic, the island offers a range of options, from near-shore reefs to subaquatic caves.

Underwater visibility ranges from 30 to 100 feet deep, meaning you’ll have crystal-clear views of walls, ledges, under hangs, coral towers, and sunken ships, all swarming with sea life. St. Kitts’ sister island, Nevis, also offers supreme diving, along with the channel between the two.

Scuba diving in St. Kitts includes:

Reef diving. Our reefs provide a good hiding place for Spotted Drum, High Hat Arrow Crab and large lobsters. Divers love the Hot Vent at 90 feet, fizzing with 100^oF water. Depths range from 35 feet to 95 feet.

Wreck dives. More than 400 ships have sunk off the shores of St. Kitts, with only a dozen or so having been identified to date.The most popular wreck dive, especially for novices, is River Taw, a 144-foot-long freighter sunk at 50 feet in 1985. A large variety of reef fish, including Squirrel Fish, Barracuda, Glassed Eye Snapper, and Angel Fish, flit about its encrusted coral.

Cave diving. Divers at Devil’s Cave, north of Charlestown on Nevis’ west coast, navigate through coral grottos and around overhangs crowded with Glassy Sweepers, Blue Tang, Nurse Sharks, Sting Rays, and on occasion Black Tip Reef Shark. Depths are up to 40 feet.

Resort courses are offered at many of the properties to introduce clients to the world below without having to be a Certified Scuba Diver. The adventure starts with a session in the pool and a briefing on the basics of scuba diving. Once potential divers master the basic rules, including how to clear the mask, clear your ears, breathe underwater, signal OK, signal out of air and control buoyancy, a dive boat will take you out to sea for a one-tank dive. Experienced PADI instructors supervise the entire dive. Resort course participants must be at least 10 years of age. Most courses limit the dive to a depth of 30 feet.

Meanwhile, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority was nominated alongside 11 other Caribbean Tourism Authorities for the 2022 Caribbean’s Leading Tourism Board Award and the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and the Royal Beach Casino were also nominated for the 2022 Caribbean’s Leading Casino Resort Award.

The finest travel brands from across the Americas and the Caribbean have been unveiled at a star-studded Gala Ceremony in Jamaica. The elite of the travel industry assembled for the World Travel Awards (WTA) Caribbean & The America’s Gala Ceremony 2022 to find out who amongst them had been crowned best of the best.

The red carpet evening, hosted at Sandals Montego Bay, marked the opening leg of the WTA Grand Tour 2022 – an international search for the finest travel and tourism organizations in the world.

Winners on the night included the paradise island of St. Lucia, which fended off stiff competition to emerge as ‘Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination’, whilst Turks & Caicos was voted ‘Caribbean’s Leading Beach Destination’. The Bahamas took the title of ‘Caribbean’s Leading Luxury Island Destination’. Jamaica emerged triumphantly a multiple winner, picking up the ultimate title for ‘Caribbean’s Leading Destination’, along with ‘Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Destination’ and ‘Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board’.