St. George’s, Grenada – 16^thOctober, 2018 – Team Grenada is following up on a number of leads resulting from recent meetings with US West Coast Cruise Lines. The team which consisted of Chairman of the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) Mrs. Brenda Hood, GTA Nautical Development Manager Mrs. Nikoyan Roberts, Grenada Ports Authority (GPA) Ports Manager Mr. Ian Evans and GPA Accountant Ms. Gail Newton met with Executives and Shore Excursion teams of Holland America Group (HAG) and Princess Cruises on September 26 and HAG & Seabourn Cruises on September 27. All three cruise brands belong to the Carnival Corporation & PLC portfolio, which is currently the world’s largest travel leisure company.

At the meetings, the team delivered destination presentations that reinforced the Pure Grenada, the Spice of the Caribbean brand, updated on shore excursion experiences and highlighted Grenada’s cruise port facilities.

Following the meetings, the parties agreed on a number of important actions including familiarization visits to Grenada by the cruise lines’ shore excursions teams, content capture (culinary and culture) in Grenada to share on-board the cruise ships, education of crews about the destination and on-board hospitality training. The teams also discussed ways that cruise passengers can share regular feedback with Pure Grenada to improve their experiences.

GTA Nautical Development Manager Nikoyan Roberts updated the meetings on the work being conducted locally to improve the cruise guest experience. She said, “Recently, close to 150 frontline customer service representatives were trained by FCCA training partners Aquila while our senior tour operators are reviewing how they can add value to their offerings.”

The Chairman of the GTA was very positive that the meetings will result in more cruise business for Grenada. Mrs. Hood said, “Pure Grenada, the Spice of the Caribbean has diverse and unique experiences to offer cruise guests. These meetings have renewed strong interest in Grenada by the US West Coast cruise brands and we look forward to deepening our partnerships.”

During Grenada’s Winter Cruise Season 2018/2019, the destination is expected to welcome eight (8) inaugural cruise calls.