Princess, Carnival Resume Calls at St. Kitts After Robbery

Princess, Carnival Resume Calls at St. Kitts After Robbery

Less than one week after a tour bus robbery prompted Carnival Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises to bypass two mid-week scheduled port calls in St. Kitts, executives from both lines have announced the reinstatement of their original schedules.

On Nov. 14, while on a tour bus during a shore excursion in St. Kitts, 16 guests from the Celebrity Mercury were robbed at gunpoint by two gunman. No one was injured. The guests were on a Celebrity shore excursion called “Essential St. Kitts,” in which a driver takes passengers on a sight-seeing drive of the city of Basseterre. Celebrity cancelled the excursion after the robbery, but since then said it will return.

“I am happy to advise that Princess Cruises will resume its schedule of calls effective with the next calls of the Grand Princess and Emerald Princess on Dec. 1,” said Steve Nielsen, vice president-Caribbean and Atlantic shore operations for Princess. “We appreciate everything St. Kitts has done to mitigate this most unfortunate and unusual situation.”

“Based on our confidence in the ability of St. Kitts to provide a safe and secure environment for our cruise guests as well as crew members visiting the island, I am pleased to advise that Carnival Cruise Lines is returning to St. Kitts effective Nov. 26 with the call of the Carnival Victory,” said Gordon Buck, vice president-Caribbean relations for Carnival.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Ricky Skerritt confirmed that all cruise lines currently calling at St. Kitts have reconfirmed their intention to maintain their schedules based on the implementation of additional security measures in the tourist areas.

According to the minister, the fact that this was an isolated event, combined with the swift arrest and the Nov. 18 charging of the five robbery suspects, also made the reinstatement of cruise schedules more likely.  

“Our local security forces deserve commendation on their rapid response in apprehending the perpetrators of this unprecedented crime. Increased police presence was already in place by the time the Celebrity Summit made its scheduled port call the very next day after the incident,” Skerritt said. “Throughout my close and ongoing contact with key decision-makers and other international tourism partners in the aftermath of this unprecedented event, I was gratified by the support expressed for our destination and the confidence of all stakeholders in our future.”

P&O’s 3,500-passenger Azura visited the island Nov. 21 and participated in the usual tours and activities.