Barbados Port Inc.(BPI) officially welcomed the Viking Sea at the Bridgetown Port during an inaugural ceremony onboard the vessel last week, according to a statement.

This vessel’s visit is another boost for the local cruise industry, which is on pace for another record year, according to BPI.

Leading the team which greeted Captain Bent Gangdal and Hotel General Manager, Florian Kibgilka, were Deputy Chairman of BPI, Captain George Fergusson; Manager, Terminal Operations, Ian Stewart and Chairman of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., Alvin Jemmott.

Captain Gangdal said that he was pleased to be visiting Barbados. He explained that Viking Sea will be based in San Juan over the winter season, and will head back to Europe for the summer season. 

“Viking Sea is delighted to be here in Barbados and many of our guests are looking forward to exploring the island. This is really one of the highlights on the Caribbean islands cruise, and as part of our winter itinerary we are guaranteed to bring many more guests to these shores,” Gangdal said.

Meanwhile, Stewart expressed that the Bridgetown Port was honoured to be part of Viking Sea’s itinerary and of the future plans of the cruise line.

“Viking has one of the largest projects I have heard about for the building of cruise vessels and their decision to include Barbados in their itinerary, certainly speaks to the strength of our brand and our reputation as a premier destination. We are proud of the trust they have put in Barbados, and going forward we are desirous of forming part of their homeporting exercise, where we would see Viking Sea cruises starting  from here. Indeed, we are keen on being part of any expansion of their service, especially into the Eastern Caribbean,” Stewart said.