ST. GEORGE’S — Grenada is celebrating its first cruise ship of the season with the inaugural arrival of the Pullmantur Zenith.

Pullmantur Zenith is the first of 10 inaugural cruise ship visits for the island’s 2017/18 season compared to five for the 2016/17 season. Overall Grenada expects 272 cruise ship calls this winter with a projected total of 432,060 passengers and 163,356 crew. Last year those numbers were 225 calls, 304,201 passengers and 111,998 crew.

Despite the recent cancellation of visits from Carnival Fascination, Grenada will welcome 18 extra cruise calls as a result of the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria with additional brands being Costa Cruises, P&O, Seabourn Cruise Lines, Windstar Cruises, and MSC Cruises.

Carnival Fascination has been chartered by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide housing for relief personnel working in the U.S. Virgin Islands to assist in the recovery process.

The upcoming season was already showing promising projected growth of 27% compared to last winter, excluding the cancelled calls.

This all comes as the tourism board launches its ‘Free to Wonder’ campaign, featured this week on Travelweek.ca. The catchphrase is fitting for the Grenada Tourism Authority’s lifestyle campaign launched under the umbrella of the ‘Pure Grenada, the Spice of the Caribbean’ brand.

The campaign, which complements the mainstay Pure Grenada brand, combines Grenada’s scenery with a focus on everyday people who are free to wonder at the many things they can see and do in the destination.

The GTA’s CEO Patricia Maher introduced the campaign, saying ‘Free To Wonder’ is an emotional connection to the tactical Pure Grenada brand. “It portrays people like you and me wondering at the beauty of this pure and unspoilt place; that is what we offer visitors and locals alike. Being a safe destination, you are free to wonder at our pristine beaches, free to wonder at our refreshing waterfalls, free to wonder at our treasures beneath the sea and free to wonder with our lovely people.”

For agents with clients looking for a winter destination, the GTA suggests sharing the video to their clients to entice them to the Spice of the Caribbean. For more information go to puregrenada.com.