A total of twelve cruise ships — including three on their maiden voyages to American Samoa — have been confirmed to call into the Port of Pago Pago in 2017, according to American Samoa Visitors Bureau Executive Director David Vaeafe.

“While the number of ships this year is less than the 15 cruise ships last year, this is to be expected as ships move around every year” from the ports from which the trips start, Vaeafe told Samoa News yesterday.

The 12 cruise ships will bring into the territory nearly 28,000 passengers and crew for one-day visits, said Vaeafe, adding that this means new money flowing into the local economy.

The first ship for this year is Sea Princess, arriving on Jan. 19 from Nuku’alofa, Tonga and then on to Pape’ete, French Polynesia. The last ship of the year, the Regatta, will arrive Nov. 25 from Bora Bora, French Polynesia and then off to Apia, Samoa.

The second ship for this year, is the Pacific Venus, which is a Japanese cruise liner, and the ship’s sail starts from Yokohama, Japan for its Pacific cruise and will be arriving in Pago Pago on Jan. 25 from Funafuti,Tuvalu and then on to Pape’ete, French Polynesia. Vaeafe said this ship comes around every four or five years.

Of the total ships of 2017, three of them will be on their maiden voyages to Pago Pago: the Sirena, arriving Feb. 21 from Moorea, French Polynesian and heading to Apia; Emerald Princess arriving Apr. 22 from Auckland, New Zealand and then sailing to Bora Bora, French Polynesia; and Norwegian Jewel on Oct. 29, arriving from Bora Bora and then to Apia.

According to the Visitors Bureau, February has the highest number of cruise ship arrivals with four, while the other months have either two ships or one. However, there are no ships for December.

The Visitors Bureau has said that American Samoa competes every year for cruise ships with other Pacific islands and they continue to push for ships to call into Pago Pago.

According to the Visitors Bureau website, one cruise ship has already been scheduled to visit Pago Pago in 2018 and that is the Crystal Serenity, arriving on Feb. 5, 2018.

The Visitors Bureau calls on the public to keep the island community clean, be friendly to our temporary visitors from the cruise ships and always show our Samoan hospitality of smiles and love to them.

For more information on the cruise ships or on tourism issues, please contact the Visitors Bureau 699-9805.

Samoa News continues to receive off island requests for information on American Samoa, and this is available on Visitors Bureau website: www.americansamoa.travel