Caribbean cruise tourism breaks records: More than 1 million passengers carried in 2023

Cruise tourism "returned" in March 2022. The Western Caribbean cruise destination has set a goal of reaching 70% of the number of visitors in 2019 before the pandemic. In 2023, this figure is equal to approximately 1.2 million passengers. Given this data, it is safe to say that the Cayman Islands have successfully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cruise Hive tells us how 2023 was for the Cayman Islands and whether they will be popular in 2024.

Passenger statistics for 2019-2023

For the first time since 2019, more than 1 million cruise ship passengers visited the islands by November 2023. This is the goal set by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism. These figures were even before the pandemic when 1.4 million guests arrived here annually.

In 2022, the number of guests was almost 750 thousand. This was particularly impressive given that the islands banned cruise ships from arriving until March 2022 due to health and safety measures that remained in place after the pandemic.

The growth seen in the Cayman Islands is also reflected in the entire Caribbean. Perhaps this will provide the impetus to maintain this momentum in 2024.

Will the Caribbean be as popular in 2024?

According to Cruise Huive, there will be no shortage of cruise ships this year. Disney Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and Royal Caribbean offer itineraries starting in January 2024 and throughout the year.

In January 2024, several ships will stop here, including Carnival Glory, Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Pride and Carnival Paradise. The cruise line offers cruises in the Western Caribbean lasting from five to seven nights. Depending on the ship, some also sail to Panama and Mexico.