NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (January 09, 2023) — Officials on Nevis welcomed the Azamara Onward cruise ship as it made its maiden call to the island on January 09, 2023. The ship which was anchored in the Charlestown harbour has a capacity 684 passengers and 408 crew members.
Hon. Eric Evelyn, Deputy Premier in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), led a welcoming delegation onboard the ship and registered satisfaction with the first of many future visits.
“I’m in for the Premier the Hon. Mark Brantley who is the Minister of Tourism. He could not be here today but he sends his best regards and welcome, and of course we are delighted to welcome the Azamara Onward on this inaugural call to this gem of an island, the island of Nevis…
“We are renowned for so many things – our historic sights, our beaches, our beach bars, our cuisine, our hospitable people, and it’s just an unspoilt gem, and I’m sure that your passengers will enjoy the time that they spend on shore, and we are trusting that some of you as well could well take the opportunity to visit the island of Nevis…
“We find it a privilege that you can chose the island of Nevis because we are aware that there are so many destinations out there, and we are also very confident that now that you would have made the inaugural call to the island of Nevis, that you would be back on an annual basis. I’m sure that your passengers would absolutely love the experience on shore and because of that you would continue to come to the island of Nevis. So on behalf of the Premier, on behalf of all of us in Nevis it is indeed our honour and privilege to have the Azamara Onward and we trust that you’ll have a fantastic day and we welcome you back next year,” he said.
In response. Ms. Elizabeth Vogel, Hotel Director on board the ship, while representing the captain who was unable to meet the delegation, expressed satisfaction with visiting Nevis.
We are honoured and privileged to visit this island. I have to say it has been way too long for me personally to be here…Of course we had some issues in the last two years, and we are all happy to be travelling again, and how could we have missed Nevis on our Caribbean tour? It’s well known for its history and cuisine.
“Last time I was here actually I did a cooking course but that’s as I said too many years ago, and yes, we are looking forward to many more visits and I’m sure that our guests are enjoying every minute here and thank you very much again for coming. My apologies that the captain couldn’t be here but I had the privilege to come instead and I feel very honoured to be here,” she said.
Before visiting Nevis, the Azamara Onward left Miami on January 06, visited St. Thomas on Sunday, January 08. The ship leaves Nevis on Monday, January 09 for St. Lucia then Barbados, then spend two days on sea on its return to Miami.
Among those in the welcoming delegation were Mr. Devon Liburd, Chief Executive Officer at the Nevis Tourism Authority (NIA), and Ms. Kelsia Liburd, Marketing Officer at the Nevis Air and Sea Ports Authority (NASPA).
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