Second cruise ship makes inaugural call for the 2019-2020 cruise season | THE DAILY HERALD

A group photo of caretaker TEATT Minister Stuart Johnson, Port St. Maarten Supervisory Board of Directors and management, St. Maarten Tourist Bureau representatives, cruise ship “MSC Meraviglia” crew, and ship agent representative Delisle Walwyn after the inaugural cruise call welcome ceremony.

 

POINTE BLANCHE–Cruise ship MSC Meraviglia made its first ever call to St. Maarten on Friday, November 1. This makes the second cruise ship to make its inaugural call for the 2019-2020 cruise season.

  Caretaker Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Minister Stuart Johnson and Port St. Maarten’s Supervisory Board of Directors and management were on hand to welcome the cruise ship. Also present were St. Maarten Tourist Bureau representatives and ship agent representative Delisle Walwyn.

  MSC Meraviglia Captain S. Bastinelli told dignitaries that they had a good three-day sail to St. Maarten from the United States (US) and that passengers were “having a wonderful time and happy to be exploring.”

  “Once again Port St. Maarten and the destination have been able to welcome the sixth largest cruise ship in the world and offer its guests and crew amazing experiences during their visit to the destination.

  “MSC Cruises is one of our cruise partners, and the government and the port will continue to work diligently to continue to grow our cruise numbers for the 2019-2020 season and beyond, as more cruise vessels come online.

  “It remains imperative we do our utmost to continue to ensure we enhance our port facilities and our destination experience. We also must continue to provide genuine hospitality to all our guests arriving on our beloved island,” said Johnson on Sunday.

  MSC Meraviglia entered service in June 2017. The cruise ship commenced its first Caribbean route on October 28 and is the first vessel in MSC Cruises’ Meraviglia class. The vessel departed New York and arrived St. Maarten after three days at sea. She will be homeporting out of Miami, Florida.

  The vessel was built at Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France.

  MSC Meraviglia has a gross tonnage of 171,598 tonnes. She is 1,036 feet long, 141 feet wide and has 15 passenger decks. The ship carries 4,500 passengers and about 1,600 crew at maximum capacity.

  MSC Meraviglia will return to Northern Europe in the summer of 2020 following her inaugural season out of Miami. She is expected to return to a US and Caribbean route in October 2020.

  “The inaugural call of MSC Meraviglia was another significant occasion and an important milestone for cruise tourism. We express our gratitude and appreciation to our cruise partners as we continue to work together to bring our cruise tourism to new heights,” Port St. Maarten said on Sunday.

  MSC Cruises is a Swiss-based company and is considered the world’s largest privately-owned cruise line. MSC Cruises employs more than 23,700 people.

  The company, which has grown eight-fold since 2004, carried two million passengers in 2017. An additional 10 cruise ships are due to join its fleet by 2027 under an investment plan worth 11.6 billion euros.

  Friday’s inaugural cruise call comes on the heels of cruise ship Viking Sun’s inaugural cruise call on October 20.

Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/92201-second-cruise-ship-makes-inaugural-call-for-the-2019-2020-cruise-season

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