St. Kitts Teams Up with Cruise Lines to Bring Holiday Cheer

Tourism Minister Skerrit and Santa

BASSETERRE (22nd December, 2011): The St. Kitts Tourism Authority in collaboration with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) distributed gifts this week to underprivileged children.

“This is simply the cruise sector giving back to the community,” said Goldha Franks, who is the Assistant Manager in the Product Standards & Cruise Department of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. Franks explained that the Holiday Gift Project is a FCCA initiative to provide gifts to children in foster homes or institutions where holiday gifts would not ordinarily be possible. The gifts are delivered on member lines’ vessels to the destinations where the children enjoy a holiday party in their honor.

In St. Kitts the Tourism Authority organized a party in the St. Johnson Community Center, where children of the Special Education Unit and the Children Home received gifts from crew members of the Celebrity Eclipse, who wore costumes of Santa Clause and his helpers.

“We are so thankful for the FCCA Member Lines, and in particular the crew of the Celebrity Eclipse, who filled in for Santa and used their ship as the sleigh,” Franks said.

“We at the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, along with the Minister of Tourism, Ricky Skerritt, were so honored and privileged to be a part of this project to bring a little holiday cheer into the lives of some of those who could use a little cheer, especially at this special time of the year.”

Last year more than 33 destinations participated in the program, with over 7,000 children receiving holiday gifts throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.