Barbados is looking at bumper summer cruise seasons over the next two years, with nearly 50 000 arrivals expected next year and almost 100 000 in 2028.
During the Minister’s State Of The Tourism Industry Update 2026 yesterday at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St Michael, senior business development officer (cruise) at the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), Tia Broomes, said the island was on track to record summer cruise arrivals on par with the pre-COVID-19 era.
“So next summer, we expect business to rebound significantly, with over 47 000 arrivals projected. MSC [Cruises] will commence after many years of negotiation. They are building ships for the Caribbean, so MSC Opera will commence her yearround programme with sailings throughout the Southern Caribbean, and Barbados is featured as an embarkation port. So Opera will sail year-round, including sailings during May to September.
“Continuing that momentum into summer 2028, we are expecting over 90 000 arrivals, and this will kind of put us back close to where we were in the pre-COVID era. Again, MSC, Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean [and others] will join the band as well, and also Disney will return from their hiatus, and they’ll make, I believe, one call,” she said.
Broomes added that, in all, they anticipate 17 cruise lines will port in Barbados for the winter as well as nine ships in for the first time, including some of the largest and most unique vessels in the world.
As for homeporting, she said the sector continued to record growth.
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