Cruise lines pulling out of Barbados
(Jamaica Observer): Barbados has been dealt a major blow to its cruise business with the loss of two major cruise lines for the upcoming summer and winter seasons. Executive vice-president of the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Sue Springer, said the Royal Caribbean line had announced the removal of all its ships from the southern Caribbean during summer 2012, while the Sea Princess, which has been calling at Barbados weekly this winter season is to be repositioned to Australia for winter 2011-2012 under the P & O Australia brand. Royal Caribbean operates the Serenader Of The Seas. Springer said the Royal Caribbean line had extensive tonnage in the western Caribbean, but the cost of fuel to get ships as far south as Barbados had resulted in the removal of ships.
Category: Business
Here we are getting ready to spend $100 million dollars to appease these cruise line operators when other destinations that did so are now left to foot the bill.
Please note none of the reasons giving for quiting these destinations cold turkey include a lack of berthing facilities, it is all about their bottom line, not the destinations bottom line.
I predict that long before the loan to build the cruise dock is armortised by us that Cuba will allow cruise stops in the western Caribbean and they will no longer need the Cayman Islands as a convenient stopover and that we will be left holding the bag for this white elephant of a cruise port and complaining about how a choice few have cotten rich off the project that we no longer need.
After carefully analyzing of the world’s financial climate, and the recession the United States and other countries are going through it appears the only solution to a sustained economic recovery in the Caribbean is a return to:
Piracy.
It worked for Wall Street.
The people in Barbados was quite friendly, and there is much more for a tourist to do, the island is a lot more scenic than Grand Cayman. Hopefully not too many job loses.
"Expat Weirdo" Surprised you could get a job here as an expat, with such incredibly poor grammar…
03/21/2011- 09-10
How do you know the person who calls himself/herself is an ex pat? could be anyone, just posting to ruffle ya feathers.Dont take the bait, some people post nonsense,they have nothing better to do,let alone say.
Why would a Caymanian post that?
When you sell your tourism soul to the overweight fly-overstate tight-fisted low spending penny-pinchers of cruise ship tourism, you end up getting the worst of all worlds.
Now who gains from touting tatty t-shirts with pirates on them or selling truly ghastly jewellery from stores whose main attraction seems to be the use of the word "outlet"?
Still wondering why tourist are not that keen on a Caribbean destination? Why go to Cayman again? I forget.
Lucky Barbados now gets the real dregs of cuise shipe, Carnival!
Hope they pull out of Cayman too!
err ….. I thought RCL had?
For those who’d like to see the ships pull out of Cayman, I have just a couple of questions: Do you have any idea how much money the cruise lines bring in to Cayman each year? And do you know how many people the duty-free industry downtown employs along with all the associated businesses, such as tourism and transport? I thought not.
The mere fact that the financial power of the ships can support the construction of the proposed 200 million dollar terminal in George Town, should be hint enough that these figures are highly significant to Cayman’s economy.
I would guess that those jobs directly dependent on the cruise ships must be around 750, and the cash flow is well north of 100 million dollars per year, so be careful what you wish for, unless you like making rope and cooking on a caboose, or perhaps you could start up a new business, "Cayman Lionfish Fritters."
Don’t let the facts get in the way of bashing businesses that people don’t understand. I recall it was only a year or so ago that people were saying that getting rid of the ex-pats would sort out the Cayamnian unemployment issue. Well we are now 10,000 less ex-pats and no reduction in the Caymanian unemployment rate. Go figure.
so be careful what you wish for, unless you like making rope and cooking on a caboose, or perhaps you could start up a new business, "Cayman Lionfish Fritters."
Thank you for the ideas. I hear them Lionfish fritters are delicious.
"Carnival to leave Mobile; officials shocked, saddled with cruise terminal debt"
http://blog.al.com/live/2011/03/carnival_jumping_ship_from-mob.html
I am fascinated by the thumbs down.
This has happened. This is not opinion or political posturing, this has happened. And we need to know that this is a possibility for us as well.
We need to factor in this possibility when trying to decide as a community whether massive development to support cruise ships is in our best interest.
Are the thumbs down against the cold hard facts or are you just reluctant to face the truth?
As usual Cayman just wants the tourist (,work permit, duty, Dr. Shetty, etc. ) money without actually having to do anything resembling work for it.
Carnival Cruises Jumping Ship, Leaving Mobile
I hope the Hospital gets its own birthing pier soon. Oh, you meant "berthing" pier. Sorry!
‘I hope the Hospital gets its own birthing pier soon. Oh, you meant "berthing" pier. Sorry!"
simple mistake sheesh!
There’s your birthing pier guarantee.
Nyahhhh what’s up, Dock?
Barbados should have had the foresight to open up sweat shops for American consumer goods.