Costa Rica will soon welcome cruise ships carrying vaccinated passengers and crew, the Tourism Board (ICT) announced.
As of September 1, Costa Rica will receive ships in which 100% of the crew have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and at least 95% of passengers of vaccination age have received their shots.
“The restart of this tourist activity will benefit the ports of Limón, Puntarenas, Caldera, Quepos and Golfito,” said Gustavo Segura, Tourism Minister.
“Each cruise passenger spends an average of $137 per day, which means a significant impact on the reactivation of the local economy of coastal communities.”
The ICT says nine cruise lines have incorporated Costa Rica into their 2021-22 cruise season itineraries: Windstar, Lindblad, Sea Cloud, Seabourn Quest, Celebrity Millennium, Carnival Pride, Crown Princess, Diamond Princess and Seven Seas Mariner.
Five of those cruise lines would arrive in Limón, and the rest to Pacific ports.
“In the first phase of this reopening, most of the cruise ships are those with lower passenger capacity and of high luxury, such as the Lindbland (National Geographic Expeditions),” Segura said.
The first scheduled cruise arrival to Costa Rica is from the Windstar line at Golfito on September 2. It will carry approximately 150 passengers.
During the 2019-2020 season, 239,566 cruise passengers arrived in Costa Rica on 197 ships, according to ICT data. The 2020-21 season was canceled due to the pandemic.
