Dominica welcomed the inaugural cruise call of the MV Sky Princess on Sunday, January 2, 2022. Since the resumption of cruise activities in October 2021, the country has witnessed over eight inaugural calls. Seventeen inaugural calls are expected for the 2021/2022 cruise season.
Chief Executive Officer of the Dominica Air and Sea Ports Authority (DASPA) Mr. Benoit Bardouille is pleased to welcome Sky Princess to Dominica.
“We have been working, and as you know we all have been in this thing together, trying to ensure that we can keep cruise business afloat in terms of making sure we can make modifications and adjustments to the various protocols for receiving passengers. Dominica stands as a partner with the cruise industry to ensure that we can continue to have cruise business in Dominica,” Mr. Bardouille stated.
Mr. Bardouille says this inaugural call shows the confidence the cruise companies have in this destination.
“We want to make sure that Dominica is second to none in terms of the offerings we provide and we have a lot of them. We want to make sure that our differentiation in terms of what we have to offer is different from the other islands on your itinerary,” Mr. Bardouille added.
Since October 2021 Dominica has welcomed over forty one thousand cruise passengers to the island with over four hundred and seventy cruise calls anticipated this season.
“Almost half of the passengers have gone on tours to our signature sites such as Trafalgar Falls, Emerald Pool, Morne Bruce, Botanic Gardens, Mero Beach, Indian River, and the Cabrits National Park. The safety of our cruise and other visitors are our top priority and we have done our utmost to ensure that cruise passengers remains safe whilst visiting Dominica during the pandemic. A cruise bubble is in place at our cruise ships berths in Roseau and Portsmouth to ensure that all health and safety protocols are adhered to and passengers are taken on tours which have been certified as Safe in Nature,” stated Ms. Daphne Vidal, who spoke on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism.
Ms. Vidal explained that the covid 19 protocols were adjusted to better facilitate the safety of cruise passengers.
“This ensures that passengers are kept within a cruise bubble. We have further adapted our protocols to better cater to the needs of cruise passengers who wish to book tours on the day of arrival to Dominica. The Ministry of Tourism has engaged the Combined Taxi Association to provide five Safe in Nature certified tours to cruise passengers wishing to go on such tours. From initial reports, these tours have been well received and passengers are satisfied with the service provided,” Ms. Vidal went on to say.
Princess Cruise Lines is no stranger to Dominica. The two established relations in the early 90’s.
Captain of Sky Princess, Mr. Michele Tuvo expressed his satisfaction with the service and experience received in Dominica on behalf of his passengers.