In another first for Barbuda, Antigua’s sister island, has welcomed luxury cruise line Windstar back to Barbuda; the first cruise line to return to the island following Hurricane Irma.
Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Officials celebrated the anchoring of Windstar’s Wind Surf, which comes less than one month after the re-opening of the luxurious Barbuda Belle boutique hotel.
Minister of Tourism & Investment, The Honourable Charles Fernandez said: This is an extremely important milestone for Barbuda tourism as the island returns to normalcy.
“Windstar’s return is the result of a lot of lobbying by the Ministry of Tourism, The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority and our cruise partners who have been attending major cruise conferences since 2017, encouraging the smaller cruise lines to return to Barbuda. This is a vote of confidence in Barbuda, and the services and tours that will be available for guests of the ship to enjoy.”
The largest ship in the Windstar fleet, the Wind Surf is a five-masted motor-sail yacht that accommodates 310 guests. The Windstar website describes the ship “as being known for its casually elegant environment”.
Wind Surf will make nine calls to Barbuda this season, calling bi-weekly.
The Barbuda Council’s Chair of Tourism, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs for the Barbuda Council Asha Frank was present at the Barbuda dock on Sunday November 25 to greet cruise executives from the vessel.
Frank said, “Small cruise lines such as the Windstar that offer a more personal and authentic experience are ideal for the picturesque shores of Barbuda. We welcome the Windstar and thank them for the huge support of our local businesses.”
Barbuda is being marketed as an eco-friendly, high-value, low volume destination, making it perfect for inclusion on the cruise itineraries of smaller luxury cruise lines.
Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, CEO Colin C. James, noted that, “As a result of the work done reassuring cruise lines that Barbuda is open for business, Barbuda will also see additional calls from other scheduled cruise ships as the season goes into high gear. This will act as a significant economic stimulus for Barbuda as passengers not only enjoy Barbuda’s beautiful beaches but explore the destination on tours to Barbuda’s fascinating sites such as the caves, the largest Frigate Bird Sanctuary in the Western hemisphere and the historic and unique Martello Towers.”
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Our very experience and competent government at work. While the council sits on their laurels and complain and try to sabotage as much as they can.
Did asha frank actually do any work in getting this cruiseline to Barbuda? Or did she only show up to smile and greet the cruise executives? Has that poor guy been reimbursed by the council as yet for having to spend his own money in promoting Barbuda in New York? Given their disdain for the gov’t, the Council should have been able to pull this off on their own.
This is wonderful to hear nonetheless. Hopefully they won’t think the visitors are there to steal their “god”
This is great news for our Barbuda brethren. PM Browne continues to do great work for us.
I’d just hope that this new Global Ports deal would include some kind of requirement for building a small port in Barbuda that can handle smaller cruise ships as well.
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