Antigua Cruise Port Shortlisted for Caribbean’s Best Cruise Terminal at 2026 World Cruise Awards

Antigua and Barbuda: Antigua Cruise Port has been nominated for Caribbean’s Best Cruise Terminal 2026 at the World Cruise Awards. This will promote the island’s recently upgraded cruise infrastructure in competition with leading terminals across the region.

The voting was open between July 13 to August 21, with the winning destination to be announced on October 14 at the sixth annual World Cruise Awards held in Princess Grand Jamaica in Jamaica.

World Cruise Awards named 10 destinations for the award. These include Antigua Cruise Port, Grand Turk Cruise Center in Turks and Caicos, Nassau Cruise Port in The Bahamas, Port of Bridgetown in Barbados, Port of George Town, Port of Ocho Rios in Jamaica, Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Willemstad in Curaçao, Port St Maarten and Ports of Out Islands in The Bahamas.

The nomination takes place as the Antigua Cruise Port enters a new phase of its development. It focuses on expanding its passenger capacity and ensures better visitor arrivals on the island.

The port opened its new cruise terminal at St. John’s on January 24, 2026. It forms part of the wider Upland Development Project, a major expansion achieved through a joint venture between the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and Global Ports Holding.

It was designed to make the passenger boarding more efficient and help in the turnaround and homeporting processes. The terminal consists of areas for customs, immigration, port administration, and passenger service.

Moreover, the new redevelopment of the area offers additional commercial and retail possibilities.

This project is also aimed at establishing a better connection between the cruise and local economy. Antigua Cruise Port offered the chance to local businesses to operate retail and experience facilities in the development, promoting local products, cultural activities, and services.

The 700 feet long facility was constructed for hosting the largest cruise ships in service. According to Antigua Cruise Port, the expansion project improved the capacity of the facility to serve over one million cruise passengers per year.

It now has  five berths and approximately 1,720 meters of total berthing lines. The facilities are capable of handling ships of up to 380 meters in length.

Antigua and Barbuda is also nominated in another category for the World Cruise Awards. The nomination includes Caribbean's Best Cruise Destination 2026, alongside other destinations such as Barbados, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, The Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos.