Puerto Rico
An American Island Paradise
There's no one reason that makes Puerto Rico one of the Caribbean's most appealing destination - there are dozens of them. The island is celebrated for its warm hospitality, rich cultural heritage, extraordinary cuisine, vibrant night life and incomparable natural wonders.
Tourists are regularly enchanted by El Yunque, the only tropical rainforest in all of the United States' National Forest System. The beaches that surround the island are equally distinct, including three of the world's five bioluminescent bays.
On the water, visitors enjoy virtually every water sport imaginable, including scuba diving and snorkeling, kayaking and paddleboarding, surfing and kiteboarding and everything else under the sun.
Our Island Home
A Thriving Tourist Economy
Puerto Rico is among the most popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean, with approximately 7.5 million annual visitors. About 1.4 million of those arrive on cruise ships, with the balance arriving by air. According to the latest forecast by Tourism Economics, tourist-related revenue reached an all-time high of $9.8 billion in 2023, an increase of 13% from the year prior.
The Puerto Rico Tourism Company estimates more than 500 cruise ship arrivals annually at San Juan, including ships from Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Disney, Princess, Costa, Norwegian, AIDA, MSC Cruises, Oceania Cruises and more. Per cruise industry analyst BREA, approximately 36% of these passengers purchase shore excursions.
While cruise passengers tend to each spend a day in port, air travelers spend an average of 6.1 nights on the island and spend approximately $208 per day, making our tourist excursions particularly attractive to them. Flights to Puerto Rico generally land at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, providing easy access to our excursions.
The climate contributes to a favorable business environment. With year-round high temperatures in the 80s and more than 275 sunny days per year, Puerto Rico is one of the most agreeable destinations to be found anywhere. Like any Caribbean destination, of course, hurricanes can be a concern, but Deep Blue Submarines has a comprehensive contingency plan in place to protect our staff, our vessels and our facilities. We expect to be operational for an estimated 276+ days per year, taking into account such factors as weather and maintenance.
What about the weather?
The USVI Government website shows that extreme weather conditions are quite rare and St. Thomas is known to have at least 330 sunny days per year. Even so, Deep Blue Submarines has a comprehensive emergency contingency plan to protect our staff, our vessels and our facilities. We expect to be operational for an estimated 339 days per year, with 12 days anticipated for cancellations due to factors such as weather and 14 days for maintenance.
