On Monday, tourism officials welcomed to Dominica the first new cruise ship for the 2016/2017 cruise season.
The Mein Schiff 4 made its inaugural call to the island and docked at the Roseau cruise ship berth.
Hon. Minister for Tourism, Robert Tonge, Chief Executive Officer of Dominica Air and Sea Ports Authority, Benoit Bardouille and Product Promotions Manager at Discover Dominica Authority, Kathleen JnoJules officially welcomed the captain and crew during a ceremony held aboard the ship.
The Hon. Minister pledged Government’s commitment to ensure the time spent here by passengers is a pleasurable and memorable experience.
“We are happy that TUI Mein Schiff 4 has made this inaugural call to Dominica. We definitely look forward to you coming to Dominica in the future. We are happy that your other ship, Mein Schiff 5 will be here this season. As a country, we are going to do as much as possible to ensure that you have a pleasurable experience,” Hon Tonge said.
“The Government is committed to ensuring that your visit here is a pleasurable and memorable one and we hope that your passengers can take as many pictures as possible and share with the world that Dominica is truly the nature island of the Caribbean.”
The ship has a passenger capacity of 2, 800 including 100 hundred crew members.
This year, Dominica will welcome 9 new ships to call, 1 more than last year. In 2015, Dominica welcomed 186 cruise ships, 13 more than expected this year; however, there will be an increase in the number of passengers to visit the island this season.
A total of 313,600 passengers from 173 cruise calls are projected to visit Dominica, a marked increase from last year.
Monday’s inaugural call for the MV Mein Schiff 4 was its first and only call to Dominica for the 2016/2017 cruise season.