The Port of St. Maarten announced that five ships made inaugural calls to the port in December and January.
In the first month of 2023, two cruise ships that arrived at the Port of St. Maarten for the first time are AIDA Cruises’ AIDAbella on January 2 and Celebrity Cruises’ the Celebrity Apex on January 3.
Another three ships made their port calls in December 2022 including the Viking Neptune (arrived on December 19 – pictured above), Carnival Celebration (arrived on December 88) and Azamara Onward (arrived on December 6), according to the statement posted on social media.
Port St. Maarten Group Chief Executive Officer Alexander Gumbs said: “The 2022-2023 cruise season is progressing very well. We are very pleased with the additional new vessels that have made inaugural calls so far for the season. We are moving forward with confidence as we continue to grow our cruise business.”
Accommodating 2,050 passengers, the AIDAbella left Philipsburg, St. Maarten on January 5 heading to Hamilton, Bermuda as part of its 43-night voyage. The journey will end where it started, in Hamburg, Germany, on January 20.
The Celebrity Apex is currently on its seven-night San Juan, Tortola and St. Kitts voyage which departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 14.
“The five new vessels are a strong indication of the destination’s popularity among cruise lines being a port in demand in the Northeastern Caribbean,” the Port of St. Maarten said.
