Tradewinds Voyages cancels Caribbean cruise for 2021 winter season

(Barbados Today) In an about turn, Tradewind Voyages has cancelled its planned inaugural Caribbean cruise planned for the 2021 winter season.

The announcement of the cancellation came on Friday, about two months after the cruise line announced that it would be sailing from November 11, 2021 to March 31, 2022 with round-trips from Barbados to several Caribbean islands aboard the world’s largest tall ship, the 272-pssenger Golden Horizon.

In a statement Friday evening, the UK-based Tradewind Voyages said it regrets to inform that the inaugural Caribbean season planned for winter 2021 will no longer take place.

“With concerns regarding the ability to deliver an exceptional guest experience, that have been heavily impacted by continuing external factors, the difficult decision has been made to cancel the 17 planned voyages between December and April,” it said.

“Guest concerns about accessibility to certain islands and resistance to travelling in bubbles, which is a key part of the brand experience, has brought the company to this conclusion,” it added.

Alan McGrory, Chief Executive Officer of Tradewind Voyages said the aim of the company was to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

“However the current culmination of ongoing travel restrictions in place for the winter season does not allow us to deliver the exceptional customer experience, which the brand stands for. Our commitment is always to deliver an outstanding experience for our guests. With so many variables at play for us this winter, we have made the tough decision to cancel these Caribbean voyages,” he said.

“Instead, we plan to focus all our efforts in delivering our European 2022 summer season and return to the Caribbean for our winter season in 2022. We thank everyone who has supported us on this journey so far and those that have experienced Golden Horizon, know that travellers aboard this spectacular ship deserve nothing but the best,” he said.

The Golden Horizon will be based in the Mediterranean from May-October 2022, and reposition to the Caribbean for the winter 2022 season