The luxury Windstar Cruises' ship Star Breeze arrived in Golfito Costa Rica Thursday morning (September 2) representing the first passenger-carrying cruiser to visit Costa Rica in 17 months.
The vessel docked in Golfito at 5:45 AM carrying a total of 132 passengers. Star Breeze will also visit Quepos and Puerto Caldera-Puntarenas.
It has been the first regular cruise ship arrival to Costa Rica since March 16, 2020.
In Golfito, travelers visited Golfito National Wildlife Refuge and went on dolphin-watching excursions to Punta Encanto.
On Friday (September 3) in Quepos, guests can explore Manuel Antonio National Park, take cooking classes, enjoy canopy tours, or opt for other activities. During the weekend in Caldera, they will experience a coffee farm as part of a trip to San Jose.
As of September 1, 2021, Costa Rica is welcoming cruise vessels in which 100% of the crew members have been COVID-vaccinated and at least 95% of guests of vaccination age have received the shots.
Star Breeze is carrying a fully vaccinated crew and passengers, and they also required a negative PCR test to board.
According to the Tourism Board, 9 cruise companies had incorporated Costa Rica into their 2021-2022 schedules: Sea Cloud, Carnival Pride, Celebrity Millennium, Crown Princess, Diamond Princess, Seabourn Quest, Regent Seven Seas Mariner, Lindblad, Windstar.
5 of those companies would arrive in Puerto Limon and the rest to Pacific seaports.
During season 2019-2020, ~240,000 passengers visited Costa Rica on a total of 197 ship calls. Each visitor spent ~US$135 per day while in the country.
Season 2020-2021 was canceled due to the Coronavirus crisis, though some cruises made calls in Costa Rica to disembark crew.