Antigua Cruise Port celebrated the end of its homeporting operation with P&O Cruises’ Arvia for the season with a special appearance of the cricket legend Sir Vivian Richards.

Antigua Cruise Port’s General Manager Dona Regis-Prosper said: “We wanted to do something special for Arvia. We know the vessel has many passengers from countries who love Sir Viv, so it was only appropriate to ask him to grace us with his presence.” 

“We thank everyone for the role they played in making the operations a success- the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority, the Ministry of Tourism, the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority, The Immigration and Customs Departments, The Police Force and our sponsors.”

Richards, who is a former West Indies player, met with fans along the pier and onboard the ship. He presented captain Paul Brown with a signed cricket bat as a special token. 

“You’ve come to one of the best if not the best destination in the region,” said Sir Vivian Richards.

Brown also received a plaque of appreciation presented to him by Minister of Tourism Charles Fernandez on behalf of the port.

Brown praised the homeporting operation in Antigua. He said: “The first one was great…and it’s just gotten better and better and we’ve seen improvements to the facilities that we’ve got here.”

The Arvia arrived at Angua Cruise Port carrying 4,859 passengers with 864 disembarking and 878 getting onboard. The ship will return in November to homeport again. In addition, P&O has announced that another one of their ships will come to Antigua for the next season.

In addition to P&O Cruises, Emerald Cruises, Royal Clipper and SeaDream will also be homeporting in Antigua during the next cruise season.