Federation Anticipates Inaugural Cruise Call of ‘Icon of the Seas’ on Maiden Voyage
by Merv-Ann Thompson
As the federation anticipates the inaugural call of the largest cruise ship Icon of The Seas on its maiden voyage, at the end of the month, the Ministry of Tourism is excited.
So said Hon. Marsha Henderson during a brief interview on Thursday at the groundbreaking ceremony of Hotel Indigo.
“We are actually excited. She sets sail on the 27th and her first stop is here in St. Kitts on the 30th. So, we are ecstatic. As a matter of fact, we are currently making our plans to welcome them. We have about 30 minutes for the arrival ceremony [and] we’re hoping to involve some members of the public, possibly students, as much as possible.”
With the arrival, there are health concerns as US authorities recently named a new sub-strain of CoVID.
Minister Henderson commented, assuring that there are arrival policies in place.
“We do know that COVID is on the rise, and so we need to also take that into account. We’ve had a number of passengers– not to alarm persons, but we have a number of passengers who’ve had to be removed from the ships and given care at our local hospital. So it’s a reality that we have to face head-on. We can’t close down the industry like we did in 2020. So, the ceremony takes into account all those things in terms of exposing passengers and even locals.”