British cruise liner docks in Port-of-Spain

THE FIRST of several British cruise liners docked in the Port-of-Spain harbour yesterday, bringing over 2,000 tourists to these shores and the promise of more to come over the next two years. Recently, Foreign Affairs Minister Knowlson Gift said discussions between the governments of Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom have resulted in three British cruise lines agreeing to make TT a regular port-of-call during the 2003-2005 cruise ship season. 

P&O Cruise Lines was one of those cruise lines and one of its main vessels, the MS Oceana berthed in Port-of-Spain harbour yesterday. Capable of carrying a maximum number of 2,272 passengers, the Oceana has been described by cruise ship experts as having “all the facilities and choice of superliner whilst retaining the intimacy and warmth of a smaller vessel” and taking “British cruising into the next era.” The ship was constructed by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri Cantieri Navali at a cost of $300 million. It is 856 feet in length and has a maximum speed of 21 knots. According to the P&O cruise line calendar the Oceana will make calls in the Caribbean for the periods December 2003, January 2 to March 12 2004 and January 7 to April 1 2005.

P&O Cruise Lines emerged from the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (POSNC) on October 23, 2000 and is now regarded as “the largest cruise company in the world by revenue.” Earlier this year, certain British cruise lines declined to stop in TT because of a security travel advisory issued by the British Government. That advisory was subsequently withdrawn and both the American State Department and the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have since described this country as “a safe global destination.”