Minister of Tourism & Transport, Culture & Sport Owen Darrell led a Bermuda delegation at this year’s Seatrade Cruise Global conference in Miami, securing meetings with major cruise lines and advancing the island’s cruise tourism strategy
Bermuda’s delegation has concluded its participation at Seatrade Cruise Global 2026, held from April 13–15 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida.
The delegation was led by Minister of Tourism & Transport, Culture & Sport The Hon. Owen K. Darrell, JP, MP, and included Deputy Permanent Secretary Carlita O’Brien and Stacey Evans of the Ministry of Tourism & Transport, Culture & Sport.
Over three days, the group held meetings with senior executives from Royal Caribbean Group, Carnival Corporation plc, Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Explora Journeys Cruise Line — described in the release as a new entrant to the Bermuda market.
Minister Darrell said: “We look forward to this event every year, and Seatrade Cruise Global 2026 once again proved to be an important and valuable opportunity for Bermuda. Over the three days, we held productive meetings, strengthened key industry relationships, and gained useful insight into the future direction of global cruise tourism.”
On the conference’s opening day, the Minister was introduced to John W. Chidsey, recently appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Discussions were also held with the Port of Baltimore and the Maryland Port Administration to explore opportunities to grow cruise business from the U.S. East Coast homeport.
The delegation also met with the NYC Economic Development Corporation, which represents both the Manhattan and Brooklyn cruise homeports, as well as officials from the Taiwan International Ports Corporation and the Taiwan Tourism Administration.
Minister Darrell also engaged with regional colleagues from the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), including representatives from Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Bermuda’s 2026 cruise season began with 194 scheduled cruise calls, which increased by one additional call. Despite four weather-related diversions, 191 calls currently remain on the schedule. Looking ahead, 210 cruise calls are scheduled for 2027, and deployment schedules for 2028 have now been received from contract partners.
Minister Darrell added: “I am very pleased with these strong numbers and the positive economic outlook for Bermuda, both today and in the coming years.”
Media release and images supplied by the Government of Bermuda, Department of Communications.
