Cruise Season Starts in Costa Rica's Caribbean Port, but Expectations Low

Government officials this week inaugurated the 2013-2014 cruise ship season amid expectations for 17 fewer cruise ship arrivals than last year.

The Island Princess is one of 59 cruise ships that will dock in Costa Rica's Caribbean port of Limón during the cruise season, which ends on May 30, 2014. Courtesy of Casa Presidencial

The cruise ship season in Costa Rica's Caribbean province of Limón officially started on Wednesday with the arrival of the Island Princess and her 1,875 passengers.

Vice President Alfio Piva and Tourism Minister Allan Flores welcomed visitors on the 294-meter ship, but locals are worried about the sector's decline in recent years.

Figures from the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) show that Limón, northeast of the capital, welcomed 127 cruise ships in the 2008-2009 season. That number dropped to 71 in the 2011-2012 season.

The current season, which ends on May 30, 2014, likely will see the number decrease even more, to 59, according to a schedule posted by the Atlantic Port Authority, or JAPDEVA, administrators of the Limón dock.

Total numbers from 2008 to 2012 indicate that the arrival of ships to the Caribbean province decreased by 46 percent in that period.

ICT General Manager Juan Carlos Borbón said cruise activity depends on many external factors that vary from season to season.

Source: Tico Times