Saint Vincent Island (Kingstown, Grenadines)

Saint Vincent Island is the biggest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - sovereign country in Lesser Antilles (southern Windward Islands, West Indies, Caribbean Sea). The island is located approx 160 km (100 mi) west of Barbados. Saint Vincent is also between Grenada and Saint Lucia.

St Vincent's cruise port is Kingstown (port locode VCKTN), which is also the principal port of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

In June 2026, Global Ports Holding (GPH), the world’s largest cruise port operator, signed an MoU for Kingstown's cruise port concession. The 30-year concession deal was officially signed on October 26th at the Kingstown Cruise Ship Berth, with GPH starting port operations in Q1 2027.

For the 2018-2019 season, Bequia Island had scheduled/booked 88 cruise ship calls, St Vincent Island - 82, Mayreau Island - 43, Tobago Cays - 31, Union Island - 26, Canouan Island - 3.

Saint Vincent covers a total land area of approx 389 km2 (150 mi2) and has population of around 110,000. The country's capital and main seaport is Kingstown, on the island's south-southeast coast, founded in 1722 and with a current population of around 25,000. The rest of the island's population (called Vincentians / Vincies) lives along the coastline, including the other 5 main towns - Layou, Barrouallie, Chateaubelair, Calliaqua, Georgetown.

In the 18th century, the Caribbean Saint Vincent territory was disputed between Britain and France. In 1763 it was ceded to the UK, then again in 1783. Saint Vincent became independent from the UK on October 27, 1979.

The island is mountainous and well-forested. Its total land area is 344 km2 or about 88% of the country's total area. Saint Vincent Island's highest elevation point is 1234 m (4048 ft) above sea level - the active volcano La Soufriere, with recorded largest eruptions in 1812 (April 30th) and 1902 (May 6th, ~1680 killed). Its most recent eruptions were in 1979 (April 13) and 2021 (April 9).

In January-February 2021, the volcano's lava dome became actively growing and releasing SO2 emissions and steam. By late March, the dome measured 105 m (344 ft) in height, 243 m (797 ft) in width, and 921 m (3022 ft) in length. On April 8th was declared "red alert" and an evacuation order was issued. The volcano's eruption occurred on April 9 (at 8:41 AM /Kingstown time) when the ash plume reached ~8 km (~5 mi). By April 10, a thick layer of ash covered large parts of the island, and a huge cloud of dust started moving east - towards Barbados Island.

On April 9th, CCL-Carnival Cruise Line and RCG-Royal Caribbean Group sent ships to St Vincent to assist the island's evacuation. CCL sent Carnival Paradise and Carnival Legend. RCG sent Celebrity Reflection and Serenade of the Seas. Each liner took ~1500 people who were transported to the neighboring islands St Lucia, Grenada, Antigua, and Barbados.

Saint Vincent Island cruise terminal