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Carnival abruptly pulls Antigua from cruise itineraries
Carnival Cruise Line will no longer include the Caribbean island of Antigua in any of its itineraries from November this year.
While the cruise line has not given an official reason, it did say that it is moving its ships to destinations that are more welcoming as ‘government officials have taken steps which indicate they don’t want cruise lines and our guests to visit’.
The announcement came after Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne accused the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association of using its influence to exploit the Caribbean.
"The FCCA is literally exploiting the Caribbean. So you will charge, for example, thousands of dollars for your visitors to the Caribbean – and I know that the cruise business is capital intensive – but when you are giving these countries five or six dollars per head this cannot cover the capital costs for the infrastructure," Browne said.
The Antigua and Barbuda government recently selected Global Ports Holdings for the development of the island’s cruise port, rejecting a rival bid backed by the cruise industry.
President of the Antigua and Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association, Nathan Dundas, expects other carnival brands to also cancel calls.
"I am afraid that we may see more cancellations and it indeed is cause for concern as these cancellations will impact everyone’s business. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Princess, Holland America, Seabourn and other European Lines making cancellations going forward," he said.
The ships bring about 250,000 cruise passengers to the island.
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