MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cruise ship industry concerned about escalating crime in the Caribbean

A Carnival Cruise Line executive reportedly warned Bahamas officials about the crime situation in Nassau, and was considering issuing crime warnings

Reports of escalating crime in the Caribbean have renewed the debate about how it affects the millions of cruise ship passengers and other tourists who visit the region each year.

 Some countries in particular have experienced their share of disturbing developments and, according to an email obtained by the The Nassau Guardian, an executive with Carnival Cruise Line reportedly warned a Bahamas tourism official that Carnival was so worried about crime in Nassau, it was considering issuing crime warnings to the passengers it brought there.

In a recent interview published by The St Lucia Times, meanwhile, the president of the St Lucia Vendors Association publicly accused the minister of tourism of ignoring the island’s crime problem.

Crime in St Lucia had gotten so bad, he said, that cruise lines might consider dropping it from their itineraries, as Norwegian Cruise Line had done in the 2010-2012 season because of reported crimes against passengers.

Yahoo Travel reports that while Carnival declined comment on the Nassau Guardian story, Norwegian said in a statement: “Norwegian has been calling on St Lucia for the past several years and is scheduled to call the island this year and in 2016. As with all destinations we visit, we continuously monitor any events and may make future itinerary adjustments should the need warrant.”