St. Maarten, one of the most popular cruise destinations for cruise ships worldwide, has seen a speedy recovery post-pandemic, according to Cruise Hive's release. With more than 15,000 cruise ship passengers arriving on six ships in one day, the island has seen its busiest day this winter cruise season.
Although the global pause in operations played havoc on local businesses and the local economy, the arrival of this many passengers shows that St. Maarten has fully recovered. The island expects the impact on the economy to rival that of the record-breaking year of 2019.
St. Maarten saw a massive 15,000 cruise ship passengers arrive on one day on November 23. These cruise ship passengers arrived onboard Star Pride, AidaLuna, Grandeur of the Seas, AIDAdiva, Voyager of the Seas, and Carnival Magic.
The Tourism Minister said that besides the ships that typically visit the ship on their regular itineraries, the island expects to welcome six ships that have never visited before. At the same time, the majority of vessels that are coming are booked well above 100% occupancy and even up to 120%.
In November, St. Maarten expects to welcome a total of 51 ships, while in December, that number grows to 85 cruise ships, with six cruise ships scheduled for both December 20 and 27. January will see an equally busy schedule with 87 cruise ships sailing to St. Maarten.
January will also see the busiest day of the season, with seven cruise ships scheduled to arrive on January 18. Explorer of the Seas, Oceania Riviera, Carnival Magic, Costa Deliziosa, Rhapsody of the Seas, AIDAPerla, and Celebrity Equinox will all be in port on the same day.