Barbados has seen its first cruise ship call of the year.
Celebrity Millennium became the first vessel to arrive under new protocols for cruises dedicated to fully vaccinated travellers.
Celebrity Millennium sailed from St. Maarten on a seven-night itinerary, with Barbados its first port of call. The ship was carrying in excess of 500 passengers, less than 50% capacity.
Barbados minister of tourism and international transport, Lisa Cummins, said:
“These cruise arrangements have come after months of careful planning at the level of our local health officials; the America’s Cruise Task Force, where we considered both the CDC sail orders and the EU Healthy Sail Guidelines; and even the Social Partnership of Barbados which created a sub-committee dedicated to cruise.
“We are therefore confident that the implementation of these new protocols will give fully vaccinated travellers cruising to Barbados the opportunity to safely enjoy the destination once more.”
She said Barbados Tourism Marketing and Barbados Port were working together to rebuild the destination’s tour complement under the new protocols in time for the upcoming winter season.