Carnival Cruise Line Will Skip All Antigua Calls

Carnival Cruise Line will not sail to Antigua on upcoming sailings because of “recent developments” on the island that have led the line “to question our sustainability there,” according to a Carnival Corp. statement provided to Travel Market Report.

Carnival previously had Antigua as a scheduled port of call on sailings on its Breeze, Legend, Magic, and Pride.

While it’s not clear what issue drove Carnival to make the decision, a spokesperson told Travel Market Report that the company is “clearly concerned about the direction the government of Antigua has taken in regards to its port, and we have discussions underway with the government to see if we can resolve the issues.”

“Our focus, all along, has been to grow the business for the benefit of Antigua, its business community and our cruise brands and guests. To accomplish this, we need to have competitive pricing and retain our historical berthing capabilities. We look forward to working with the government on these important topics,” the spokesperson said.

The Antigua and Barbuda minister of tourism and investment, Max Fernandez, told Trinidad and Tobago’s Loop news that while the island regrets any loss of business, the total number of passengers impacted would be about 12,200, which “is a relatively small number of the total cruise passengers that visit our country annually.”

Antigua currently has a deal with Global Ports Holding (GPH), the world’s largest cruise port operator, to redevelop its cruise ports. Both Havana and Nassau’s Prince George Wharf have similar deals with GPH.