Philipsburg:--- Deputy Prime Minister William Marlin went onboard the Carnival Dream on Sunday morning once again, this time to bid farewell to Captain Massimo Marino and his crew who had been stranded on St. Maarten since Thursday.
Marlin was accompanied by several employees of the Harbour Group of Companies and Mr. Benjamin Ortega presented the Captain with a basket on behalf of the Harbour Team.
Deputy Prime Minister Marlin told the Captain that the adversity of the Carnival Dream created opportunities for Team St. Maarten. St. Maarten was able to demonstrate its ability to step up to the plate and ensure that everything ran smoothly. The positive publicity St. Maarten got from the support provided to the stranded passengers has been unimaginable.
Captain Marino expressed thanks to all who helped in making sure that their stay on St. Maarten was a positive experience. He was particularly happy with the water that was provided and the removal of the grey sewage water from the ship by several septic trucks. The grey water was further treated and processed at our own sewage treatment plant. Captain Massimo Marino also appreciated very much the police escort provided to the passengers on their way to the airport.
At 12:23 Sunday afternoon the Carnival Dream pulled out of St. Maarten with 1382 crew on board. The last passengers left to the airport on Sunday morning and a few passengers who could not take a flight back home were transferred to another cruise ship.
Marlin was full of praise for the manner in which St. Maarten responded to the call. Though the Managing Directors of the Harbour and the Airport were both off island, those left in charge did a fabulous job.
Marlin said he had to personally thank and congratulate Mr. Richard v/d Mark, Mr. Roberto Levenstone, and Mr. Benjamin Ortega of the Harbour Group of Companies and Miss. Olivia Lake of his Ministry for a job well done.
The list of other persons and companies is very long, but everybody who has contributed in some way or the other must be thanked and should be proud of their contribution in making the past few days a resounding success.
The public in general was full of praise also for the manner in which our police force provided escort all through the day on Friday and Saturday and also on Sunday morning. The transportation of the passengers to the airport went smoothly and was very much appreciated by Captain Marino and the passengers.
On Thursday evening Sir Mighty Dow and his steel pan players and dancers provided entertainment for the stranded passengers at the harbour.
The royal welcome they received at the airport and the manner in which airport management and staff assisted the passengers left a lasting impression on them and will surely contribute to a wave of positive news being disseminated about St. Maarten.
The Deputy Prime Minister extended a big thank you on Sunday afternoon on behalf of the government and people of St. Maarten to the following persons and businesses and government departments and companies for being part of Team St. Maarten.
The Harbour Group of Companies, Maritime and Shipping Affairs, the St. Maarten Police, Ministry of VROMI, in particular Olivia Lake MSc, the Sewage Plant Operators, the Septic Truck owners, NV Gebe for providing water and electricity, the management and staff of the Princess Juliana Airport and all vendors and shops and persons working at the airport, the Agent Maduro and Sons, Tour Bus Companies, Clean St. Maarten, and Checkmate Security.
Head of Border Control said Extra Manpower was needed for smooth process.
The Head of the Border Control management Geronimo Juliet in a press release said that the management of the Immigration and Border Mobile Control would like to bring the following to your attention:
During the Carnival Dream saga where 4164 tourist and 1328 crew members on board of this cruise ship were stranded on Sint Maarten, the immigration was obliged to put extra man power to make sure that all the passengers were checked out in a smooth way at the Princess Juliana International airport. The immigration personnel whom are accustom of dealing with this magnitude of passengers, did their best to make sure that everything ran in good order. The passengers were divided in three groups. 1945 passengers left on Friday 15th of March, 1470 passengers left on Saturday 16th of March and the last group left on Sunday 17th of March, 2013. All of them left with the Delta airline. The ship (Carnival Dream) departed Sint Maarten's port at 12:23pm on Sunday with 1328 Crew members on board. The ship left to Port Canaveral Florida and will arrive on 19th of March 2013.
The Immigration department would like to thank all who were involved in making the passengers feel at ease on our lovely island during this saga. Especially the Police Personnel, Personnel Arrindell Aviation, Security Airport/ Harbor and the entire staff Harbor and Airport, also the Sint Maarten motorists for their understanding and cooperation when all those big buses were traveling on the road on their way to the airport.
Again I would like to stress, together we are strong divided we are weak. Not only in this kind of event we have to demonstrate that we care but also during the whole year. Sint Maarten is our homeland and we have to learn to protect it. Let this be a lesson for all of us that we have to respect each other and work together through good communication.
