Successful 2022/23 Cruise Ship Season Despite Sea Conditions Canceling Several Stops

The Tourism Division is hoping the 2022/23 Cruise Season will end on a high despite challenging sea conditions.

Ground swells once again prevented passengers from disembarking from the Wind Star Pride vessel on Tuesday.

Officials will be hoping for calmer seas when the final three vessels visit in March.

The Windstar Wind Surf will visit on Wednesday, the Saga Cruises - Spirit of Discovery will make a call Saturday 18th March, and Jeans for Freedom on March 25.

The SAGA vessel, Spirit of Discovery, will have approximately nine hundred passengers, the most passengers to arrive on island in a single visit.

Arriving one day after the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, plans are in train to provide a cultural experience for the guests, especially for those who are not planning to take a tour of the island.  

The general public is also invited to attend the event which will commence at 10:00am at Marine Village below the ‘Buss a Lime’ bar. 

There will be a range of performers staggered throughout the day to include a selection of music, dance and costumed bands. 

Souvenir and food vendors will also be on location to sell their products.  

The visit of the Jeans for Freedom Vessel from Guadeloupe on Saturday, 25thMarch will round out the Season. 

The Season started in October 2022 with the Viking Octantis vessel making its inaugural call on Montserrat.  Fifteen additional calls were made including three vessels which visited on January 31.  

A total of 3,650 passengers visited from the start of the Season to February 28. 

Sea conditions disrupted the visit of eight additional vessels. 

During the period, more than 2,000 visitors went on pre-arranged packaged tours to include the MVO, Museum, National Trust Botanical Garden Tour, Cassava Tour, Snorkel and kayaking Tour, Buried City Tour, Island Tours amongst others.   

A number of independent tours also took place throughout the period, thus benefiting a host of taxi and tour operators and tour guides.  

Souvenir vendors, restaurants and shops also benefited from these visits. 

In an attempt to continuously improve the marketing and product development initiatives, the Montserrat Tourism Division restarted its Cruise Exit Surveys at the end of January 2023. 

These are used to gauge visitors’ experience about the destination and in so doing will help to determine the mechanisms necessary to improve their overall experience.