St. Kitts' Port Zante is proudly touting that it can now physically accommodate Royal Caribbean International's Oasis of the Seas, the largest and newest cruise ship in the world, and it may happen sometime in the future as the island's cruise port has been officially assessed as "Oasis capable."
So says one of the ship's first pre-inaugural guests, Senator Ricky Skerritt, St. Kitts' Minister of State for Tourism. As a specially-invited guest of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, Skerritt spent last Sunday and Monday nights aboard the massive Oasis, docked at Florida's new Port Everglades Cruise Terminal 18, which was designed and built especially as the ship's home port.
While on board, Minister Skerritt toured the impressive ship, attended orientation workshops and held discussions with his hosts, including Royal Caribbean's Chairman and CEO, Richard Fain and Senior Vice President for Land Operations, Craig Milan. Skerritt described the 5,400 passenger ship as "awesome" and his experience on board as "enlightening."
Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises brought 76,772 passengers to St. Kitts last season and will almost double those numbers to 130,368 this season. Minister Skerritt predicts that Royal Caribbean's numbers will increase by a further 30 percent in the 2010/2011 season.
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