As the Bridgetown Port prepares to berth a record seven cruise vessels within the harbour on Friday, CEO of the Barbados Port Inc., Mr. Everton Walters, is giving the assurance that all system are go to facilitate the arrival of the more than 9 000 passengers and 3 000 crew expected.

"We have an efficient, hardworking team which contributes to Barbados being recognized as one of the best Ports of Call in the Caribbean and we expect that we will have all the passengers off the ship in a timely fashion to explore the sights, shops and scenes of the island." he said.

Walters described Friday's scheduled arrivals as a positive sign for the year ahead. And he revealed that Barbados can look forward to two other bumper cruise days on January 30 and March 11 when six vessels are scheduled to dock at the Bridgetown Port on each of these days. Their arrival puts the Port on target for the 800 000 cruise visitors it is hoping to attract in 2009, based on current bookings. Last year, some 706 800 passengers passed through the Port on 425 vessels calls.

Barbados's cruise industry performance has been boosted by a long-term contract with Carnival Corporation & PLC which represents 12 lines and guarantees the arrival of 400,000 passengers to the island annually. Royal Caribbean Limited has also proven to be a steady source of cruise visitors with regular calls from its Adventure of the Seas vessel during the summer in addition to its winter calls from several vessels.

Barbados is also reaping dividends from its aggressive home porting strategy. Home porting encourages passengers to spend time on the island either before or after the cruise, increasing potential contributions to tourism revenues. There are currently 17 vessels conducting full and partial exchanges of passengers in Barbados under home porting arrangements. A major plus came with the attraction of P&O Cruises, Ventura last year. The British superliner, boasting a passenger capacity of 3 000 sails into the island weekly during the season.

The Bridgetown Port offers 24-hour marine services and though challenging, has been successful is achieving a balance of cruise and cargo vessel interests. Some 60% of cargo vessels are serviced between the hours of 4 pm and 7 am year-round, during both peak and off-peak seasons. Walters revealed a review of working processes is however to be undertaken with a view to enhancing operational efficiencies. This is being done as part of a Master Plan which is to be commissioned this year to assess the feasibility of additional berths for cruise and cargo vessels.