5 minute read
Transport
Caribbean is flying high
Travellers heading to the Caribbean can take advantage of new flights from Virgin Atlantic and British Airways along with a host of regional transport choices, says Steve Hartridge
GETTING THERE
The Caribbean is well served with flights from the UK, with both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operating increased scheduled services to several destinations in 2021/22.
At the time of writing, BA’s “dynamic schedule” of Caribbean routes lists Antigua, The Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Grenada Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos.
The airline will also lift the suspension of flights to St Kitts on October 3 2021, with a service from Gatwick – this will move to a twice-weekly service on October 16.
British Airways advises that it changes its timetables twice a year and may also need to adjust flights at other times “in line with operational requirements”.
Virgin Atlantic also has big expansion plans for the Caribbean. It will launch a Heathrow-St Vincent and the Grenadines service – the first direct service to the destination from Europe – on October 13 2021 plus a twice-weekly service from Heathrow to The Bahamas on November 20 2021.
The airline will increase UK capacity to Barbados by 60% from October 31 2021, and will offer five flights a week there from Manchester and 11 weekly flights from Heathrow. Virgin will be returning to Saint Lucia on December 18 2021, with three weekly flights from Heathrow. It also plans to launch three flights a week from Manchester to Montego Bay, Jamaica, from November 6 2021. And the good news from Virgin keeps on coming, particularly for those in Scotland planning a Caribbean holiday: the airline is to introduce twice-weekly flights from Edinburgh to Barbados from December 5 2021.
The route will be Scotland’s only direct service to the Caribbean.
Virgin also flies to Antigua and Grenada and expects to restart its Tobago and Cuba service “in the upcoming months”.
GETTING AROUND
BY AIR: The Caribbean is well served by an extensive domestic network, which makes island hopping by air very viable.
InterCaribbean Airways connects Cuba with Jamaica; Turks & Caicos with The Bahamas,
Several cruise lines offer Caribbean itineraries
Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic and the BVIs; The BVIs with Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Saint Maarten, Antigua and Dominica and flies between Barbados and Dominica, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenada, with more options seasonally.
Caribbean Airlines links Trinidad with Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, St. Vincent, Saint Lucia, Antigua, St Maarten, Guyana, Cuba, Jamaica (and onwards to The Bahamas) and points in Central America, USA and Canada.
Liat, a regional carrier based in Antigua & Barbuda, flies to Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Vincent.
A multitude of private charter options are also available.
BY FeRRY And CAtAmARAn: Scheduled ferry and catamaran services travel between several island groups. Operators include L Express des Iles, between Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint Lucia; Balearia Caribbean, connecting Florida and the Bahamas; Ferries del Caribe, between Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico; Barbuda Express linking Antigua and Barbuda; Twin Islands Ferry Service between Antigua and Montserrat; Anguilla Ferry
System connecting Anguilla and St Martin; Osprey Lines linking Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique and the Trinidad and Tobago Inter-Island Transportation Co. connecting the twin islands. There are also various options between St. Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines and within the BVIs.
For a smaller-scale sailing experience, consider a yacht charter.
Due to its usually excellent weather, good sailing conditions and the proximity to each other of many island destinations, the Caribbean Sea is one of the most popular destinations for chartering in the world, with a host of bays and moorings that offer privacy and comfort along with a wide variety of exclusive beach clubs.
UK tour operators offering Caribbean sailing holidays include Sunsail, on bareboat (for experienced sailors) or skippered charters from the BVIs, St Martin, The Bahamas, Antigua, Belize, Grenada and Saint Lucia and sociable flotilla holidays in the BVIs.
Dream Yacht Charter and Horizon Yacht Charters also have skippered or fully-crewed catamaran charters (including chefs) while The Moorings offer crewed yacht charters from several islands. BY CRuIse shIp: Taking a cruise around the Caribbean is a great way to sample several destinations on one trip.
Many major cruise lines voyage around the Caribbean, among them Celebrity, Carnival, Crystal, Princess, Disney, Fred Olsen, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean International, Regent Seven Seas, Holland America, Silversea and Seabourn.
The Caribbean is reaping the benefits as the cruise industry recovers and more ships start sailing through the region, particularly out of the Florida ports of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. For the 2021/22 winter cruise season, more cruise companies will be basing ships in the islands, making it attractive to tag on hotel stays.
For the first time, cruise ships have homeported at Nassau in the Bahamas, giving guests the chance to start and finish voyages here, while others are based in Barbados, an established Caribbean homeport for several cruise lines.
Celebrity Cruises was one of the first companies to return to the Caribbean in June 2021 when it launched cruises from St Maarten, while MSC Cruises has since started sailing from Nassau.
The Italian-style cruise line has also commenced Bahamas mini-cruises from Miami to Nassau and its new Ocean Cay private island resort, with plans to follow these with longer itineraries to the Eastern and Western Caribbean.
Luxury players have the Caribbean in their sights as well with Seabourn basing a ship in Barbados and Crystal Cruises offering intra-Caribbean departures from Nassau and Bimini in the Bahamas. Crystal Cruises also plans to operate 16 Caribbean itineraries from late November 2021 to March 2022. Ports of call for Crystal Symphony will include St Kitts, Antigua, Dominica, the US Virgin Islands and Jamaica.
New boutique line Tradewind Voyages, which operates the world’s largest tall ship Golden Horizon, also plans to spend winter 2021/22 sailing from Barbados, while Marella Cruises is planning a winter season from Jamaica.
Royal Caribbean International has three Caribbean destinations in its sights with departures from the Bahamas that will call at its private island CocoCay, plus Barbados and Puerto Rico.
Further ahead and Holland America Line is planning to have seven ships sailing from Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean in winter 2022/23, including its two newest vessels.
The season also marks the 25th anniversary of its private island resort Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. •
