Scott bucks political trend and queries cruise port

| 06/05/2013

IMG-20130327-00535.jpg(CNS): Coalition for Cayman candidate Jude Scott has questioned whether the next Cayman government should be building a cruise port facility in the capital. Going against the current political trend, where most groups and independents are supporting the development of berthing facilities, Scott has questioned whether such a facility would threaten the growing success in overnight tourism and burgeoning stay-over numbers as well as the famous Seven Mile Beach. Speaking at the Chamber of Commerce district forum last week in South Sound, Scott, who is one of five C4C candidates in the capital, said he was not convinced how encouraging “mass tourism” fitted with the country’s overall tourism strategy.

“When we look at cruise berthing there are two things we must focus on,” he said. “We absolutely cannot do it if it risks damaging Seven Mile Beach,” Scott said, as he called for a thorough environmental impact assessment to understand the impact if government does go ahead with the proposed project. In addition, Scott said, consideration must be given to the wider tourism product in Cayman.

“We need to evaluate from a national perspective how this fits in with our overall tourism strategy. In isolation it sounds very sexy and a great silver bullet solution that will put lots of people back to work, but we ought to look at how it meshes with our stay-over visitation strategy,” Scott said. “The reality is we are a small population and we have to be careful we don’t over invest in mass tourism, which has a direct impact on the quality of the experience of our stay-over visitors, who are going to be frequenting the same places that our cruise passengers are going to visit.”

He said government needed to understand the historical statistics regarding cruise passenger numbers as he said past record breaking numbers were as a result of extreme circumstances that were not repeatable, such as swine flu in Mexico that had caused cruise ships to call here instead, as well as the growing competition in the region that would prevent the numbers from being as high as people think, even with a pier.

“We now have competing ports that are owned by cruise lines, so they don’t have an incentive to drive traffic here,” he said.

The cruise lines have, however, continued to express a strong desire to see berthing facilities in Cayman, illustrated by their offer to work with the tendering process that is now underway. This will follow the RFP circulated by government on Friday for a local company to put together a business case for the berthing, which will inform the actual tendering process for the project.

Scott was a lone voice on Tuesday when he questioned the wisdom of the port project. Stefan Baraud, who had led the early negotiations first with DECCO and then GLF when he was chairman of the Port Authority, pointed out that cruise tourism contributes $175 million to the local economy each year and employs over 4,000 people.

“We have made attempts over the last three administrations to resolve the matter,” he said, pointing to the failed attempts which he said had weakened Cayman’s position with the cruise lines. However, he believed it could still be done, given the appropriate attention.

He pointed out that every week Cayman loses out as morethan 8,400 passengers and crew sail by on the Oasis to Falmouth, Jamaica. He said that Carnival cruise line has also seriously cut their calls, which is more lost revenue, and Cayman had to stop talking about it and get it done.

“Whatever the process, is it must be completely transparent and above board and maximize opportunities for Caymanians businesses to get involved,” he said.

The opposition leader added his support for the port, not least because of the declining passenger numbers and the work that the project could provide. “Just getting that project underway now would do a great deal for the economy,” he said.

McLaughlin added that it had to be a public-private partnership, given the circumstances, but pointed out that it was exactly the sort of project that lent itself to a that type of arrangement because of the passenger taxes. McLaughlin said that a PPM government would ensure the project focused entirely on the piers and not an upland development that would compete with George Town businesses.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Caymanians, have you forgotten that after Hurricane Ivan, there were no stay over tourists for 6 months?  And have you forgotten that the economy was practically dead until the cruise ships returned 6 weeks after the hurricane?  The cruise industry is important.  Whether building piers is critical should be analysed by questioning the cruise lines and the tourists, not by persons who are of the opinion that it will allow ships to stay longer, because having piers does not determine the length of time in port, that is determined by the number of calls in the cycle, the distance between ports and the amount of time it takes to travel between each port in the cycle at the most fuel efficient speed.

  2. Anonymous says:

    A cruise ship dock will only benefit a chosen few along with the government coffers. It does not benefit the island as a whole. Only Stay over tourism does that. If we want to attract a higher end level of visitor, the cruise ships are NOT doing that.

    You should check out what these docks to do other islands.

    Stop being greedy and trying for that elusive big prize of the cruise ship industry. This is a farce!

  3. Anonymous says:

    Building a cruise dock does not guarantee they'll come, but it sure helps.

    Building a cruise dock does not guarantee businesses downtown and beyond will be more succesful, but it sure would give them a chance….imagine if you could increase your operating hours from 4 hours a day to perhaps 16 hours a day?? its not rocket science to work out how this could help businesses, and therefore staff, and therefore trickle-down economics throughout the Island….imagine if tour operators could actually sell tours all day long to East End, NorthSide, Stingray, etc without having to reduce them to crazy dashes for very short periods ashore due to the ships leaving so early? 

    Building a cruise dock does not necessarlily mean a huge mini-village akin to many other docks (e.g. Falmouth) that have recently been built – it really could be done incrementally, perhaps starting with just 1 finger pier and seeing how that worked out……one of the main objections to merely building a berthing capable pier is that it ignores the traffic increase/etc that would bring by enabling cruise passengers to stay longer ashore….well, the answer has always been to simply make GT harbourfront a pedestrain-zone during cruise days…..

    Building a cruise dock must come first, BEFORE any regeneration efforts of downtown occur…there is no point regenerating downtown GT without a cruise dock, cayman does not have the population to sustain 2 downtowns, and Camana Bay exists already…so the regenerated GT downtown would be for cruise passengers….Camana Bay is the new residents downtown GT, Mr Scott knows that very well (as do most of the C4C "independents")…..but we must also not forget, whilst many posters are stating that NOT building a cruise dock is GOOD for Dart/Camana Bay….they forget, Dart is one of (if not the) biggest landlord/property owner downtown and also one of (if not the) largest retailers and wholesalers downtown…..Dart wants a Cruise Dock right outside his Flagship building just as much as everyone else who supports one…..only difference is Dart can afford to write off loss after loss as years go by without a dock, the other businesses and landlords cannot

    Cayman was once the leading cruise destination, now its a laughng stock….but it is a destination that the cruise operators genuinely want to keep on their calls thanks in no part to the safety (many destinations suffer from passengers being harassed, etc)…..a simple reach-out to the cruise ship companies, with breaks on per passenger call charges, and oyu can bet there would be a pier built very fast….maybe even two

    As to EIA reports….really? if we were so worried about the environment in Cayman, we'd not have a dump as the highest point of the Island and we'd all have solar panels….wow, we really are a bunch of cake-owning-eaters!

    • Anonymous says:

      You know what continues to amuse me is that the radio stations will sing out "there are 5,000 toursits in and around George Town". This number they give is the total number on the ships. The actual number that comes ashore is much lower in Caymans case as most dont want to bother with the small boat rides.

      The other side of that is to give them things to see while they are ashore. Good luck on comparing to the larger islands.

      The addition of a cuise port gives the government a true additional source of revenue insted of constantly increasing cost of living through increased taxes. This is one of the first things that must be done by the new Government and a sign that the previous UDP government failed big time.

      • Anonymous says:

        Do you know that sometimes there are 6 ships in harbour and the total number of passengers often exceeds 20,000? There is almost never only 5,000 passengers in total.

  4. Adult fiction says:

    What Mr. Scott is showing is RESTRAINT.  He simply wants to examine the pros and cons before making a massive investment. Which by the way the island at present can not afford. There is also the issue, an important one, of what the island wants to project. Cayman does not need to be another cookie cutter destination with it's Margaritavilles. It could be unique. It could be a relaxing destination. Instead of a place filled with sun burned tourists wandering around schlepping shopping bags. I personally don't like the cruise ship concept. Whereby massive ships totally out of proportion to the surroundings devastate small ports and islands. They turn them into Disneyland variations of what they once were. There's no going back. And.. if in the future, the ship or ships decide not to park (and that's all they're doing is parking) for reasons the island has no control over… they die.  Also, I believe in the future people will want more real experiences to prove to themselves they have been somewhere different.

  5. Anonymous9 says:

    Read the headline and first paragraph and so far, he has my vote!!!

     

    I'll read the rest after work…

  6. Anonymous says:

    It is quite interesting to note that Jamaica and other islands are also experiencing so far in 2013 a decline in cruise passenger numbers. Don't they all have lots of berhing facilities? According to the Port website 2014 cruise calls to Cayman are expected to increse by some 20% appraching 1.7 million passengers – close to the all time record high. These two circumstances appear very confilcting and confusing! Based on all the gibberish spewing out of people who should know better, they continue to say that Cayman has seen its better days and only $200 milloin crusie berths will save us. Have anyone really figure out how to pay for these. Its easy to say build berths but try and look at repayments and don'T forget operating costs. The few who truly understands the cruise industry know some of the answers.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Keep it how it's been for all this years. Older peoples knows best.

    The main Cruise ship port in Town how it always been from our ancestors and the other just were it is now for when the weather in town is bad just where it is. Just needs to make them better.

    It would also help our Tourists who needs to walk and likes to walk to have  BETTER SIDE WALKS from which we all will benefit. Peoples can't walk in town in most spaces and what to say about the other area where tourists walks or bikes: West Bay.

    Peoples are walking every day in those two areas  at the risk of being nocked down by cars because NOT ENOUGH ATTENTION IS BEING PAID TO how comfortable it would be for all tourists and locals to take a walk in those areas. Is crazyyy to see how the roads have been allowed to be fenced off till the very edge of the road. No space to walk. it should not be allowed.

     Ahhh and while the old and new politicians continues to argue. Pleaseee can we all just keep praying for all of them who gets in to share the money already in budget among themselves. Instead of getting more money.

     

  8. Anonymous says:

    I just watched the ad on Cayman 27 and I was very disappointment with the contant re the CHHS.

    I left school over 40 years ago and my brother some 48 years ago and we attend the High school on Walkers Road.  The children of these islands had need the CHHS. 

    Jude Scott please tell me which school you attended and which school your children now attend.  (Looking forward to your answer)

    We can't afford a private school and our government built the school for our Caymanian children and you and the C4C have a problem with educating our children.

     Education should be offered to the Rich, Middle class and the poor..

    You and your C4C in George Town has just lost my votes as there is no price on eduction. 

    • Anonymous says:

      I believe you may have misinterpreted the ad.

      The C4C endorsed independent candidates have education as a major concern and priority.  I'm certain they agree that education should be offered to all children of this country regardless of the income level of their family.

      Listen carefully and vote wisely.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Jude Scott is best forgot. Another rotating committee name who readily occupies a seat but actually does nothing worthwhile. His view on the benefit of proper port facilites perfectly illustrates his inability to grasp the simplest of economic truths. He needs to come down from cloud cuckooland and talk to the local people that need this port because unlike him they don't have any money.      

    • The Thinker says:

      Jude Scott sees more than our other CIG money wasters!  I will support him in every way I can.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Wakey wakey people!  We don't have the cash for any big infrastructure projects!  We also don't have any reasonable business plan that would suggest that a new port would improve arrival numbers, or that sufficient revenue could be generated to offset the service payments from the debt that would be required to construct it (if we couldeven borrow that much).  We need some grown ups in charge of our destiny, not children that fail to reason and haggle about wanting a new plaything.

  11. The lone haranguer rides again! says:

    Hmmm, good Piont Jude. Do our $600 a day stay over guests want to be rubbing shoulders with the $600 a week cruisers, do we want to be like Cancun or Monaco, the cruise ships are going to keep coming especially if we are Monaco, do we really want a Oasis class cruiser dumping 8000 people onto the streets of Georgetown, we need balance and we do not want to chase away the 1st class customers.

    So win win do not spend any money on new piers. Upgrade the existing facility with shade trees andlandscaping, a la Camana Bay, and allow the private sector to continue to build beautiful 10 story condo complexes on SMB and like Roy Orbitson said, they will come.

    Brilliant out of the box thinking, you got my vote Jude.

    • Anonymous says:

      One of the problems with CIG is that they can't identify trends in the tourism industry and always work at least 10 years in the past. As a result we are currently still talking about a cruise dock when we should really have moved on a bit and started looking at reviving stayover tourism to tap into the huge UK/European all inclusive market.

      A fact that seems to have escaped many of the people posting comments here is that the cruise industry has dramatically changed in the last few years and, as it continues to evolve, Grand Cayman may even cease to be a viable destination in the future.

      This is the 'all your eggs in one basket' syndrome rather like a gambler bankrupting themselves trying to recoup their losses. The dock is not a sure thing and that’s simply because none of the cruise lines seem to want get involved. The day you get any major cruise line to sign up to a long-term commitment to use the facility, with a solid penalty clause if they default, is the day you go ahead and build it, not before.

      What I do not understand is why the Dept of Tourism refuses to discuss the option of joining forces with any of big UK/European all inclusive market operators like TUI. These companies are already well-established in Jamaica and Cuba so it’s not a major move for them. One reason I suspect is that DoT would want to run (should that be ruin?) the show and that’s not how this market works. The other is the ‘what’s in it for me’ attitude, where the prospect of personal gain over-rides the interests of the islands as a whole.

  12. Anonymous says:

    This shows us that this candidate is a lone ranger and not a team player who will not manage by consensus. He has already split from the C4C once, now he is breaking away with his misguided and ill informed opinions and ideas. Next he will tell us that we do not need to do anything at our 28 year old airport. Mr. Scott go for a cruise to Grand Cayman and wait in line in the hot sun for 1.5 hours to board a tender to return to your ship. Go to our airport at 12-4 pm every day and witness how we have out grown our infrastructure. Next you will be telling us that our cargo port is fine. Mr. Scott you our out of touch my friend and living in another world.

    • Anonymous says:

      Can someone please explain to me how having a dock automatically equates to people staying in GT and spending more money? There is NOTHING to do in town besides shopping and a lot of people going on cruises don't want to do that. They want to hit the beach, see the Island!

      Why not spend money on overnight tourism where we have someone coming for a week, rather than just for a few hours?

  13. Anonymous says:

    Jude Scott is right to question a new cruise port. Cayman is in much greater need of a runway extension and expanded airport.Air arrival visitors spend many times (per person) that of cruise passengers (many of whom do not even leave the ship) and that is where the priority should be.

  14. Anonymous says:

    Jude Scott is right to ask the quetions he does, but perhaps he underestimates the magnitude of the investments made over the decades by committed businessmen to create the Duty-Free industry in Cayman, as well as the numbers of people whose jobs depend on it. This is an industry that has a forty-year history and a world-class reputation.

     

    The problem is not the size of the ships and the numbers of passengers, but the way they  are managed  while ashore. I know  the abandoned plans for the new finger piers, to be built by both GLF and CHL, included intelligent re-designs of various aspects of the George Town tourist experience, and were not simply a charter to magnify existing problems by shovelling more tourists into an already oversupplied and under-managed environment. 

     

    Cayman has embarassed itself over and over again by its internationally noted inability to achieve the simple construction of finger piers, while islands and countries nearby, to which we feel instinctively ":superior,"  grasped the nettle years ago, and are now looking sideways at Cayman with certain pity and a quiet satisfaction. The truth is that we have been betrayed and humiliated over the years  by a few, grubby little politicians.

     

    Good businessmen ask the question, "why not?" And aspiring poiliticians should support them by creating  a fair economic environment, one free of all corruption and  supported by clear  legislation. In addition, a new professionalism must be expected from our overly aggressive  bus and taxi drivers. Corruption and special interests are the Death-watch Beetle of a country's economy. This should be the first concern of any new government.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      I agree with you mostly but we need the piers in red bay or somewhere else. the flow of people like in disney world is not being achieved here .Transportation needs to bring the people in town first and drop them in fort street. Second the flow by map of guarantee stores should cause the people to go to the south to where they will pickup transportation behind bayshore mall back to red bay or where ever the environmentalists will allow a cruise ship port. 

      There are some people who think this island could be a monaco class island. Well it won't be any time soon. First of all where are you going to have the formula car races? These people want you to drive below 25 mph because of jealousy and envy. Next where would you put the beautiful super yachts that goes to casinoes to drop millions of dollars on lost chips? Believe it or not people in Cayman are jealous of rich people and if they ever see how some of them act haha.You think people like Oprah or other stars come to the caribbean to rub shoulders with you? Puleaze get a life and a lot more money and try and be on the "A" list. 

    • Anonymous says:

      To your question of "why not?":  

      1.  Because there is an incomplete business case.  
      2.  Because we can't afford it, and can't borrow (any more) funds, and nor should we (see #1)

    • Anonymous says:

      He is right to question it. A dock will not save us. Getting the sitting government just might though.

  15. Anonymous says:

    thank you Mr Scott… finally, someone who actually understands the numbers….

  16. Anonymous says:

    Jude is CORRECT! It's about time a candidate stood up and spoke their mind.  The others should stop jumping on the bandwagon of 'building the piers now' without a thought about the impact it might make on Seven Mile Beach.  Where is the Environmental Impact Assessment?  Do it first, then we can talk about building the piers after that. We need to ensure the beaches remain as pristine as they are now, or we will have no stay over tourism at all. Why is CITA not pushing for the EIA? Also, if we intend to remain a high-end tourist destination, is it wise to flood the island with cruise ship passengers?  This does not lend itself to a nice experience for residents or visitors.  Far more thought needs to be put into this before we do it.  Thank you Jude for stating the facts!!!

  17. Anonymous says:

    Jude, my friend, don't let anyone tell you that crap about stayover being worth more than cruise for the economy.  Cayman has a tourism product that has two pillars.  You need both and believe me, the economy depends on both. 

    Stayover visitors spends the bulk of their money on airfare and hotel accommodations, leaving a relatively small amount for transportation, attractions and shopping.

    Cruise visitors spend directly with the Caymanian taxi and Stingray City operators, as well as with the Caymanian shops downtown, the Turtle Farm and the beach vendors everyday.  The few stayover visitors could never inject that sort of spend on local people.

    So while you may know accounting like the back of your hand, please remember you are venturing into unfamiliar territory here and you would be wise to speak with people from both sectors before you draw an opinion that is myopic and disasterous to your political aspirations.  Just remember, Tourism has two pillars and each is important.

    Now about piers.  Piers are nice to have, but what are the ramifications?  What are the likely effects on the environment? Will the revenue they generate meet the cost of running them, maintaining them, insuring them and ultimately replacing them, or will they be another Turtle Farm.  Will two piers (four berths) result in a decrease in the number of ship calls currently being received when only 4ships rather than 6 can be accommodated?  How will all of this factor into revenues versus costs?  It is well known that the more debt one has, the less leverage one has and the more one is vulnerable to those who are in a stronger financial position?  Using the analogy of master and slave, the more debt on has, the more of a slave he becomes to the person (master) holding the debt.  Has anyone ever canvassed the cruise passengers visiting here to determine if they prefer tenders or piers?

    So Jude, my friend, I hold you in high esteem, but please don't let persons with a bias to one side of the coin influence you to take one side to the detriment of the other when we really need both sides of the coin to make money.

     

  18. Anonymous says:

    In this instance Jude Scott is correct. Why spend $300 million on the supply side of tourism that the statistics prove spendsmuch less money, accumulatively, in the economy than the other side which is stay over tourism.
    What is worst, increasing cruise tourism is likely to diminish stay over tourism to the point that it contributes mores than stay overs, however the money that stays in the local economy will be much less.

  19. Red Flag says:

    And when these 6 to 10 thousand tourists get off the ships quicker than they do now,  where the hell will they all go????  Standing in a choke point in Georgetown?????  Put a funnel on a garden hose and dump 10 gallons of water in it and see what happens, then try 100 gallons of water…..you had better figure out how to disseminate all these people before you spend millions of dollars to get them here.

    • Anonymous says:

      What the hell does water have to do with people is beyond me. Any way Red flag. What you and many more like you don't understand is we have 107 busses  that are at the port. They can hold aprox. 2675 at just 25 seats. Some busses can hold up to 29 people. That doesn't even count the taxis. Most of the taxis can hold another 14 people. There are aprox. 80 cabs allowed on the dock. If we give them just 8 seats thats 640. Thats if they make just one trip for the day. Thats not a profit in our business we NEED two trips per day for six months. Because the other six months there are not enough ships to make a living because of people like you talking about water and other nonsense.

      Even if all the people came off at one time It would still take a miracle to get them to go to the beach or stingray city or turtle farm . Most of them are looking for deals . They are not the creme de la creme of the newer and bigger ships. They are the problem that is causing georgetown to die. Because we are trying to do counting instead of thinking like a tourist. 

      What do I want when I go on vacation ? Well my wife wants to shop. Well what does she need ? not much . She wants something that she can say to her husband look honey I bought it in Cayman because its a _______. She wants to justify the expense so what does cayman have that does that? Diamonds, gold ,tanzanite coin jewelry. We have a better price because its duty free. 

      Okay what about the men? We want to go someplace where we can drink without having to get a mortgage. We want to taste different liquors or smoke a cigar. We would probably buy clothes that are relaxing to be in and worthy of bragging rights when we go home and show off to our friends. But we really want to do stuff like submarine rides, waverunners or parasail rides snorkel dive. Stuff like that, stuff that will give us a thrill.

       I hope other candidates are reading this also. The 20-29 other people who are agreeing with Jude are not in tourism. At least not cruise ship tourism

      • Red Flag says:

        Water in a funnel was an analogy.  An analogy is a comparison between 2 things typically based on their structuree for the purpose of explanation or clarification.  The comparison being the volume of cruiseship traffic coming into a small staging area and the volume of water going into a small flow area.  Both volumes must have somewhere to flow to and any restrictions wil disrupt this flow.  I think there are probably more that just 20-29 people that share this concern.

        • Anonymous says:

          If the analogy is a water pipe as the ship then the end of the pipe is the gangway. The people representing the water are not being blocked by the dock . You should have seen the world trade center and how 100,000 people came out of a building continously every morning between 7-9 am. Then 100,000 people every evening to go back on trains to different parts of NY and NJ

  20. William Wallace says:

    Jude raised a very interested query, we need to see an environmental impact as to whether the berthing facility would damage the seven mile beach. So how did Stefan Baraud, CG and the Premier could possibly move forward with the port deal?

    People if you recall when the wall went up at the Marriott court yard and a northwester came and took the beach away.

    Stefan how do we know if the berthing facility is built it would not wash the whole of seven mile beach? I humbly wait for your response.

    • Anonymous says:

      I remember when the rhapsody cruise ship pumped dredged materiel and 1 million dollar fine was paid to gov't.  When both marriots had issues also. But people are saying to build more hotels . Do they get a EIA? How do we know what's going top happen to the beach. 

      If tomorrow we decide to build one 6 star hotel in Little Cayman don't you think we could bring "a" list people here.They could have total privacy no paparazzi they would go crazy as long as they have everything they need. Didn't Prince Charles use to come to Little Cayman all the time??

  21. harsh reality says:

    When this guy was sitting on half of the Government Boards in the Cayman Islands, why did he never speak up, or speak out i should say, about any of the failings and bad practices the Government was engaged in. Now that everyone thinks there money tree and special privilege Geeni McKeeva is out of the picture as Premier, even his own cronies have no shame in bashing him and desperately seek to throw him under the bus. Something we should all think about before you hail these "corporate wizards" is that if McKeeva was driving a vehicle and they were all along for the joy ride and he careened off the road and hit at lightpole at highspeed everyone would pay the price. Why is it all these political hopefuls feel they can just walk off from the wreckage with their heads held high! Bashing the very man they stood side by side with all along. I'm finding it very hard deciding whats more appalling, the behavior and conduct of the Premier or the nerve of all his fellow cronies now acting as if their elightened and so much more morally respectable than McKeeva. Seems like wolves all now dressing up like sheep to me. they were all accomplises who now want to turn states evidence! No Mac and definitely none of his disguised supporters!

  22. Really? says:

    So lets just kill off George Town, finish turning it into a ghetto and let Camana Bay (Where Jude Lives) and DART get all the power and riches? This is what 4 years of Jude Scott will do for Cayman!

     

  23. Anonymous says:

    This is to weary caymanian. You said you didn't spend any money on shore but you also said you took a tour . I hope you think before you write.

    • Anonymous says:

      16:53 The tour was booked with the ship. The ship got the majority share of the costs- what is  passed down to the operators of the tour is probably negligible.  As for the shops at the Port – they sell the same stuff  in every port of call.  The same goods are on sale on the ship itself, with greatly reduced prices. Have you ever taken a cruise? 

       

       

      • Anonymous says:

        Actually yes I have taken tours on ships and when they stop at ports around the caribbean and central america. 

        I'm one of those people that have been in bus tourism for 25 years. I get that probably negligible piece of the ticket. It works out to pay rent,water elect., internet and TV during the off season. How much I make from it during season is for my eyes only.

  24. Weary Caymanian says:

    I absolutely agree with Mr. Scott.  Cayman is too small for those mega ships. I have been to Falmouth on the "Oasis of the Seas" – I booked a tour through the ship and never spent a penny on shore.  Falmouth is not located near any major town -it is located between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios so there are no traffic jams or strain on the infrastructure of those nearby towns.  I also spoke with many passengers on that ship who said they enjoyed the experience but next time they would be going on a smaller ship.

     

     

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Im a Brac transplant also – and sensible stances this position is why Mr Scott WILL be elected.

      I just hope none of the tired party people are voted back as Premier to finish Cayman's destruction!!

    • Anonymous says:

      So far what i have heard from these C4C guys is this: No cruiseship berthing, no minimum wage,  cut the civil service and cut financial aid to the needy.   Maybe if Jude didn't live in Camana Bay and Winston at the Pinnacle on Seven Mile Beach they'd both have some connection to what the average Caymanian has to deal wih on a daily basis.  Pehaps it they understood what it is like to struggle to pay your light bill, put food on the table, find lunch money for your children and to be unemployed they might have a little more empathy.  These guys are smart and rich but they are too pampered to even begin to understand the issues affecting Caymanians.  

      Where  is their plan?  What are they going to do to get the economy moving again and give Caymanians jobs?  That's what i want to know.   i need a decent job.  All i've ever heard from them is how bad everything is and how bad everybody else is.   Not one proposal, not one solution.  Go back to your high rise offices and beautiful lives, boys.  You don't belong here in the real world.

      • Rorschach says:

        I agree with you wholeheartedly..how can Jude and Winston come here from overseas, with absolutely no ties to the local community, from families with generations of wealth and gentry and have jobs given to them without ever having to work hard and get an education and apply themselves and put in their dues and build up there personal wealth and then have the NERVE to tell POOR Caymanians that THEY have ideas of how to run the country and bring it back to it's feet… oh..wait…

  25. Anonymous says:

    Mr. Scott seems more concerned about protecting Dart's interests than revitalizing George Town.  Our businesses in GT have already been devasted by Camana Bay.  We need the cruise pier in George Town for our Caymanian-owned restaurants and shops to survive.  The cruise passengers allow us to be in control of our future.

    Those of us who work here everyday don't want to get to the point that we need Mr. Scott and his DART buddies to act like heroes when they offer to 'take over George Town' too. 

    Enough is enough.  When Camana Bay is large enough to have it's own electoral district then Mr. Scott can represent them.

    • Anonymous says:

      Unfortunately, Mr. Scott is too out touch with the reality of the working people who are losing their jobs because our economy has slowed. Anyone who finds it necessary to walk around meeting people in the tougher neighbourhoods of GT accompanied by 2 body guards is clearly out of touch. Why are you afraid of your fellow Caymanians Messrs. Scott and McTaggart? Just because we are not rich like you does not mean we are going to attack you! When I saw you both with a total of 4 body guards,last week you really offended me and my family! Don’t even think of getting our votes!

    • Anonymous says:

      Hey Jude, All these solutions now but  you did nothing while on the board at Cayman Airways when you had chance. You never stood up for us once. I will not along with my family and co-workers be voting for you! You had a chance.

    • Anonymous says:

      If the businesses in George Town are so devasted then why dont they open when the cruise shippers get ashore instead of them having to walk around all the closed shops first thing in a morning? How about all shops in town have to open at the time a cruise ship arrives? It is such a bad impression to see all these people milling around with nothing to do.

      If the restaurants and shops were "visitable" why are the cruise shippers so willing to stand in a queue for an hour or more before getting back onboard?

    • Anonymous says:

      This is a silly comment. Camana Bay does not cater in anyway to cruise passengers. If someone gets a cold in cayman Brac is because of Dart…come on lets get logical folks and think!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      The dock does not guarantee ship calls and/or full cruise ships and even if, it will not necessarily keep tourists in town cause there is nothing to do there! It is hot in town and it is an ugly mess of concrete. Having foreigners selling stuff made in Cuba or China does not appeal to tourists cause they are looking for the "real" local thing.

      Instead of everyone focusing on the dock as the answer to everything, the focus should have been towards redeveloping town 10-15 years ago. The court house should have been ripped down and relocated and the area should have been turned into a park where local bands can play and local food vendors can sell local food and local crafts. The streets in town should have been lined with Palm trees and shaded benches. There  should have been a focus towards setting up appealing street cafes and bars with local ambience instead of international chain restaurants. The area should be pedestrian only for certain hours each day. Hell, residents may even consider to hang out in town after work or on weekends if the area is somewhat attractive and if there is something to do.

      As usual, Cayman is 20 years behind the market. The whole world is slowly turning towards eco tourism and tourists more than ever are seeking what they don't have at home. They want the paradise and the local experience but we still put concrete on every inch and expect that tourists just take whatever we dish out.

       

    • Anonymous says:

      If he was interested in protecting Dart's interests, he would be FOR the port since Dart owns all the jewelery stores downtown. Besides Kirk's. For now..  LOL

      A cruise dock is NOT your savior.

  26. Anonymous says:

    What are you all drinking? Forget about Cuba they have nothing to offer before 20-30 years from now.If they reach the sort of service they need to have for americans to go there. Remember americans love to complain . Cubans don't care in cuba they care in miami. 

    George town will close if the ships stop coming ,end of story. We don't have enough stayover tourists to maintain the stores in town. Can't you see stores closing with cruise lines coming in now. Can you imagine without them. Boss man you starting to sound like chuckie when he sent them other cruise lines away. Don't make that mistake my friend you will regret it. Talk to the bigger stores and find out what cruise lines mean to them. 66% of business check it please. 

    I thought you were going to say we need to change the dock from town to red bay that would make better sense for all businesses who are having problems getting some. My thoughts on the matter is that transportation people would bring people to fort street and people would be given directions to flow through stores till they reach as far as boilers rd. Then go behind Bay shore where they would pick up transportation back to red bay piers . Then everybody would get a chance of business from all ships that come to town. 

    Why would you go to town anyway Camana Bay is expanding .As a sayover tourist you are far away from cruise line tourist. You are just down the street to Camana Bay. 

    Re-eveluate that idea by just talking to Gerry or Dart's man.

    • Anonymous says:

      20-30 years? Make that 2-3 years. Clearly you haven't been to Cuba recently. I was there recently and not only was the hotel service excellent (even the Russians, Germans and French staying there weren't complaining!) but they were already making plans not only to put cruise ships into Havana harbour but to open the south of the island up with new cruise-dedicated resorts. It's ill-informed attitudes like your's that are going to kill the Cayman Islands. The situation in Cuba is they know their economy is going down the toilet but they are prepared to do something about it rather than stick their heads in the sand and hope for the best.

      • SSM345 says:

        17:12, well said. People who think Cuba is behind are deluded.

        Once they "open up shop" to the world, they are going to crush those (islands) who are still in the mentality of the "island that time forgot".

        Its an untapped jewel, if people have not been there you are missing out.

  27. Anonymous says:

    If Jude gets in I will feel sorry for the people of GT. Everytime I hear this man talk he sounds like such an Elitist to me. He consistently criticizes solutions that are designed to put people to work immediately. When criticizing the UDP's plan to put people back to work he tried to call it a bandaid and when he was pressed on how he would quickly put people back to work he says that he would engage the private sector and work with them to get people back to work. I mean seriously!? What planet does this man live on? If the private sector had the capabilities to put people back to work don't you think they would've already done so?

    • CayStudent says:

      Yes, but at least its constructive criticism. He called it a bandaid because their plan is simply that. It's temporary employment they're claiming they're going to improve. What people really need is long-term employment positions. 

      And just saying… this man wouldn't be worth the millions he is now without having a smart head on his shoulders. Not saying he is a good person or not, but you don't make millions in the private sector when you're 'incompetent'.

      • Anonymous says:

        Jude Bracers wanted you to runin Cayman Brac. Why didnt you? You would have cleaned up. Always remember its not what you want but what the people want. With you not running for Cayman Brac has made many many people upset and will cause the election to go in the wrong direction. You would not have had any competition to run there, but George Town is always very difficult, you have to be very known.

        • SSM345 says:

          He will end up putting JuJu on the back bench where she belongs, the greatest service the Brac can look to for from Jude in the upcoming elections.

      • Anonymass says:

        True, think of what it normally takes to make as much as he has as fast as he has. Then think about what that translates to when put in government. Can we afford it?

    • SSM345 says:

      14:53, short term employment is not the answer, guess why? Because its short term and then when the job is done you are back to square one!!!!!

      Which if you haven't already figured out is a "bandaid", the be all and end all to our problems over the last 10yrs.

      If you hadn't noticed, it isn't working, pun intended.

    • Anonymous says:

      > Everytime I hear this man talk he sounds like such an Elitist to me.

      This comment reminds me of  the movie "Idiocracy".

    • Rorschach says:

      Creating more government jobs is not the answer.  The civil service is overbloated as it is..just go to public works or NRA and look at the number of employees versus the amount of work that gets done..Caymanians need to be trained and given opportunties in the private sector, and this will only happen if someone take the lead and engages the private sector and takes steps to make Caymanian people employable again.  This will not happen overnight, but the country needs to shift back to the days when the larger portion of the local workforce was employed in the private sector and the Government was not such a large employer of otherwise unemployable persons.

  28. St Peter says:

    This is a very wise view indeed. The cruise lines want better facilities but they are infact the people making the bulk of the profit by having onboard duty-free stores and casinos, and arranging the tours.

    They will not stop coming here if we dont immediately build the port. If their customers want to see this destination, then they will come no matter what.

    And it is has not been proven that spending huge sums of money building the port will cause business to increase in proportion.

    Then there is the issue of over crowding George Town further and diminishing the quality of the experience for the tourist.

    We need to step back, look at all of the pros and cons before rushing into debt further by building a port…

    • Anonymous says:

      Not only that St Peter you should see what they are doing with the cost of excursions.

      The people here in ourcountry provide the excusions all they do is advertise.

      But they get the giant share of the cost.

    • Anonymous says:

      Dear St peter the cruise lines do not offer anything on board except onshore excursions. They make about half of the ticket like they do anywhere they go. Europe is now offering more cruise lines excursions, I wonder why? Cuba will be also. If there is no money in it why open to cruise lines? Dart also has stores that sell to cruise lines I believe he would be higher up the totem pole then Jude in business experience. By the way how did he make millions? Was it through working in accounting? or owning a business?

      Well for sure Dart is still above him in business experience that is not saying it disrepectfully. I praise any Caymanian that has achieve any success. But saying that what is his experience in tourism? 

      The tourist like cayman but can't afford cayman. So this is the percentage that you would never get unless you have cruise lines. But what people don't know is the creme de la creme of cruise line tourist always come on the newest ships and those are not coming here. So without those ships we're losing big time. We need the piers end of story.

  29. Anonymous says:

    Well said Jude!  

  30. CayStudent says:

    Previous governments failed to see how interconnected infrastructure projects are to the rest of the economy and environment. It's true, the cruise facilities would mostly benefit the George Town and West Bay area if put in the capital or west at all, thus neglecting opportunities out East. The location of the berthing facilities definitely needs to be placed somewhere where it poses minimal environmental threat and allows and almost equal distribution ofeconomic opportunities for the island as a whole and not just two districts. Tourism is our national product, not just GT's and WB's. 

  31. Anonymous says:

    At last the voice of sanity. The cruise dock only makes senseif there is a long-term committment to its use and there isn't. The resources would be better directed towards resort development for the all-inclusive market and extending the airport for direct flights from the UK and Europe because that is where the real money is. In a very few years time Havana will open up to cruise ships, when that happens the dock would simply become several thousand tons of concrete baking in the sun.  

  32. Anonymous says:

    Questioning is never a bad thing, however this question has been questioned many times and I would suggest now is not the time to do it again. Getting more cruise ships in here with proper facilities will allow more visitors in, of which a direct result might be more people coming for longer stay vacations if they like what they see.

     

    What is sadly missing is more long haul flights from Europe/USA/South America and "all inclusive" deals that Bahama's and similar offer at more affordable prices. Casions would help too.

    • Anonymous says:

      I do not believe there is any relatinship between "shippers" and stay over tourism. I think we have about as many ships now as we can handle. We have a geat stay over tourism product which benefits many residents. Shippers often leave Miami with a shirt on thier back and a $20 bill in thier pocket – and do not change either for a week!

      • Anonymous says:

        Not sure I can agree with you 15.47- any publicity and "show time" the island gets has to be good. Have met people here who said they came on a cruise and decided to come for a full vaction after the day they had here..

    • Anonymous says:

      Cruisers go on other cruises. They don’t come as overnight tourist. It’s a myth. I know because I have been on 5 cruises myself. The ships are too nice and convienient to think about going somewhere as one stop destination. In fact the cruisers run away real tourist when they are here. Nobody goes downtown when they are here – not even us locals.

  33. Anonymous says:

    I hope Mr. Scott is not including air arrivals from Florida going to Havana (and returning) in his overnight statiistics.  That is about 5000 per month that spend approximately 30 minutes in our airport.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      5,000 per month?? You honestly believe that 60,000 of our 321,650 total air arrivals in 2012 (i.e. 18.7%) were people in transit to Cuba? And that Cayman Airways planes have the capacity and flight frequency to bring that many people to Cuba alone?

      With 5 flights per week to Havana those 737s would have to average almost 250 passengers each trip on an airplane that only holds about 150, and that's assuming ALL passengers are in transit.

      There's no way that figure is true! I really wish people would stop pulling numbers and "facts" out of their asses!

      • Anonymous says:

        Those people come back through her so you are talking about 10 flights a week….think before you write.

      • Anonymous says:

        You are ignoring that the planes return and they are also near capacity on the most popular flight of Cayman Airways.  Before you spout off on CNS why don't you ask someone with half a brain if your mediocre calculations make any sense.

        • Anonymous says:

          Original replier here. Firstly, I will admit that I did not include the 10 flights in my original calculations and that was a mistake given that hypothetical in transit passengers would be counted twice, once arriving from Florida and once arriving from Cuba. I concede that point. However, even using 10 flights per week your argument still assumes every single flight is full of US-based passengers in transit to/from Cuba and that can't be right.

           

          So let's approach this in another way. Your argument assumes there are 5,000 arrivals from Cuba each month – or 60,000 per year – because our tourism/immigration statistics would count their "arrival" in Cayman while they are in transit coming back from Cuba.

           

          Here are some more of my mediocre calculations (source: http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2013/03/12/Tourist-air-arrivals-strong-last-year/): if 7.1% of 2012 air arrivals were from countries/regions other than the US, Canada and Europe, then about 22,837 arrivals were from other countries, including but not limited to Cuba.

           

          That number is already almost 2/3 less than your claim and includes arrivals from other countries like Jamaica, Honduras and Panama. The share of passengers from "other" source markets was even lower in 2011, as were the total air arrivals. So about 20,400 were from other countries including but notlimited to Cuba.

           

          It is NOT possible for 60,000 of our stayover tourism arrival figures to be passengers in transit from Florida to Cuba. You are wrong. And it's okay to be wrong. We all need to learn to listen to and try to understand information and facts that conflict with our assumptions, recognise flawed logic and be open to changing our minds. Don't double down on false "facts".

          • Anonymous says:

            You are really bad a math….if all arrivals from other countries are from Cuba then I would be 1/3 off as only 30k are arriving from Cuba in my estimate…..don't go into accounting you have no aptitude.

  34. Anonymous says:

    Jude Scott for premier! I wish I could vote in George Town!

    • Anonymous says:

      Oh please- give me a break.  The only good thing I see from your suggestion is that we would not have to spend money on security because seeing as how he lives at Cayman Baynow and that they have great security.  Jude should have ran for election in Cayman Brac – that would have been a sure way of getting rid of Julianna.

      • Anonymous says:

        He wouldn't do that because he wouldn't be of any use to DART in Cayman Brac.

      • Anonymous says:

        Don't worry man, David goin take her out. PLUS, his Native Caymanian People plan will make more Caymanians for us because he wants every baby born here, regardles of the parent's nationality or background,  to become Caymanian just because they are born here! Even if they have a trillion brothers and sisters to bring and eventually get status too because they are related to them. Try go read his Native Caymanian People webpage .. or look on his facebook wall  .. David got it goin on mang, have no fear, JuJu gone! lol

      • Anonymous says:

        I agree!!!!!! He should have run in Cayman Brac!!! Julianna and Moses will run “un-opposed” for a long time!!!

      • Anonymous says:

        Jude certainly caused us to have her back again. Four more years of trips XXXX, not to mention money wasting in any stupid direction that will her votes.

    • Anonymous says:

      Joey Ebanks for North Side. Wish I could vote in North Side. Lol.

    • Really? says:

      The Monopoly guy ? Come on ! dude can barely speak to poor people much less represent them!