St. Kitts’ Port Zante Eyes Business from Oasis of the Seas

St. Kitts’ Port Zante can physically accommodate Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship.

Ricky Skerritt, St. Kitts’ minister of state for tourism, spent last Sunday and Monday nights aboard the 225,000-ton Oasis, docked at Florida’s new Port Everglades Cruise Terminal 18, which was designed and built especially as the ship’s homeport.

While on board, Skerritt toured the ship, attended orientation workshops and held discussions with his hosts, including Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain and Craig Milan, senior vice president for land operations.

Royal Caribbean and sister company Celebrity Cruises brought 76,772 passengers to St. Kitts last season and will almost double those numbers to 130,368 this season. Skerritt predicts that Royal Caribbean’s numbers will increase by a further 30 percent in the 2010-2011 season.