Tobago Bullish on Cruising

Cruise traffic to Tobago has risen like the tides since the Scarborough Jetty cruise pier opened last fall, according to tourism officials. Cruise arrivals in December jumped 98 percent over December 2006, topping out at 3,452 passengers. Tobago welcomed more than 14,000 cruise passengers last year.

“Those numbers will go up from here. The trend toward longer cruises, the emergence of Caribbean home ports and the search for new destinations puts Tobago in the right place at the right time,” said Henry Yaniz, cruise consultant for the Tobago House of Assembly, the island’s elected governing body.

Traffic will be further buoyed with the addition of a new cruise facility planned for Charlotteville on Tobago’s northwest coast fronting the Caribbean. Construction of the pier could be completed in 18 months. When finished, the facility will be positioned as Tobago’s main cruise port, although cruise lines will have the option of dropping anchor in Scarborough if they so choose.

The Scarborough cruise facility has a 960-foot pier, a shopping promenade and visitor transportation services. Holland America Line’s Prinsendam plans a test call early next year, Yaniz said.

Tobago attracted Azamara’s 700-passenger Quest on six calls this winter, and Princess Cruises’ 710-passenger Royal Princess has scheduled 22 calls in Tobago through the 2010 winter season. Celebrity’s Summit, Constellation and Mercury will account for a total of 70,000 passengers disembarking in Tobago though April 2009.