Nearly 25,000 More Cruise Passengers Touch Land in 2004 Making the Caribbean Port of Call, A Bona Fide Hit!

Aruba, where happiness lives, is a hit on the high seas in 2004 with booming cruise tourism numbers. The Caribbean oasis is proud to announce that its 2004 cruise ship season exceeded expectations with a whopping 318 cruise ships calling port in Aruba, carrying a near-record 567,320 passengers! The increase in cruise calls in 2004 over 2003 represented a remarkable growth of nearly 25,000 visitors (an increase of 5%) trading in their sea legs to touch land on Aruba’s white-sand shores. From smaller ships like the 122-passenger Clipper Adventure, to the awe-inspiring 2600-passenger mega ship, the Golden Princess, Aruba played host to an impressive and eclectic number of sea faring vessels in 2004.

Aruba’s flawless beaches, gourmet dining, near-perfect weather, exciting activities and more, attracted many of the world’s finest cruise lines and aided the island’s noteworthy 2004 cruise tourism numbers. Many of Carnival Corporations’ fleet of beautiful ships lowered their anchors in Aruba in 2004, including ships from the Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Costa and P & O cruise lines. Aruba welcomed Carnival Cruse Lines’ ship, the Carnival Destiny, 52 times in 2004, and the ship’s weekly visits brought in over 150,000 cruise guests, making it the top producing ship for the island. The Carnival family of ships brought in an astonishing 300,000 visitors to the Caribbean paradise, while Royal Caribbean International and the Star Group brought in a notable 200,000 and 100,00 sea-goers, respectively.

Typically, Aruba’s annual high cruise season runs from October to December and low cruising season runs from May through September. Aruba’s December 2004 cruise numbers were exceptionally strong, boasting a 31% increase in cruise calls as the tropical oasis welcomed 51 ships, compared to 39 in 2003. There were also some firsts in 2004 as 10 vessels, new to Aruba, docked on the island including the Princess Danae, the Astor, the Delphin Renaissance, the Clipper Adventure, Asuka, the Insignia, the Regatta, the Berlin the Deutschland and the Sunbird.

“2004 was another stellar year for cruise tourism in Aruba,” said Managing Director for the Aruba Tourism Authority, Myrna Jansen. “We are very proud that the island has been able to maintain an average of 500,000 cruise passengers annually and we anticipate that 2005 will be even more successful. All of the island’s tourism partners remain dedicated to making Aruba the Caribbean’s premier cruise destination.”