Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Carnival Corporation & plc signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Saint Lucia to manage the current cruise pier and terminal facilities in Saint Lucia, and work together to construct and operate a new cruise port on southern part of island.

Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean and the government of Saint Lucia will establish a long-term concession agreement to formalize the terms and responsibilities for the joint venture to manage and operate the current cruise pier and terminal facilities at the Port of Castries.

Additionally, the joint venture will design, finance, construct and operate a new cruise port in Vieux Fort on the southern part of the island that will be able to accommodate the latest and most innovative ships in the cruise industry.

"The cruise market is the fastest growing sector of tourism and in the next decade cruising in the Caribbean region is anticipated to increase by 40%," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean. "We are excited to partner with the Government of Saint Lucia to ensure that the destination directly benefits from that growth, while giving more guests the opportunity to visit this unique gem in the Caribbean."

Under the new agreement, the joint venture would optimize the experience for guests visiting Saint Lucia while developing additional cruise infrastructure to support the industry's latest ships and promote the growth of cruise tourism on the island.

The Caribbean island of St. Lucia is "fully committed" to redeveloping Port Castries and is looking to Royal Caribbean to help.

Deputy Prime Minister Phillip Pierre announced the island is looking to transform Port Castries into a “modern shopping plaza for cruise passengers, visitors and locals.”

According to a government statement, officials from St Lucia recently held talks with Royal Caribbean, which could be considering a partner on the project.  St. Lucia revealed it had a meeting with Royal Caribbean back in March to explore the possibilities further.

More recent discussions between the government and Royal Caribbean have been held to provide a timeline to Royal Caribbean to finalize discussions with the reported partner and to “proceed with discussions with other potential partners if that deadline is not forthcoming.”