Trinidad Welcomes the Ruby Princess

The Ruby Princess made her inaugural visit to Trinidad on Saturday, February 7, 2015. To commemorate the momentous occasion representatives from the Trinidad and Tobago Tourism Development Company (TDC) and the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (PATT) paid a courtesy call to the ship’s captain, Master Karl Austin, during which a formal crest exchange took place.

Commenting on the ship’s inaugural visit, Mr. Keith Chin, TDC’s Chief Executive Officer said that “we are very pleased to welcome the Ruby Princess to Trinidad and Tobago. The Cruise industry provides a major opportunity for the development of the tourism industry and the diversification of the economy and it is the aim of the TDC to encourage more cruise lines to include destination Trinidad and Tobago on their itineraries.”

The ship which was christened in 2008 is part of the Princess Cruises cruise line and brought over three thousand passengers to the destination during her inaugural visit. The passengers were welcomed on the quayside with a cultural showcase featuring steelband, limbo and Indian dance performances as well as some of Trinidad and Tobago’s traditional Carnival characters.

For one Trinidad born passenger, Mrs. Margaret Beaman, who currently lives in Australia, this visit was her first time returning to the island of her birth in several years and she was presented with a special gift from the destination by TDC’s CEO, Mr. Keith Chin. Mrs. Beaman and her husband were also sent on a tour to Mount St. Benedict, courtesy the TDC, where they were married over forty years ago.

Princess Cruises is part of the Carnival Corporation, one of the largest vacation companies in the world. The cruise line first set sail in 1965 with one ship sailing to Mexico and is now the third largest cruise line in the world with an eighteen ship fleet sailing to various destinations around the world including Alaska, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean.

Some of the line’s largest vessels include the Regal Princess, the Royal Princess, the Caribbean Princess and the Crown Princess. One of the line’s more intimate cruise vessels, the Ocean Princess, also visited Trinidad in December, 2014.