Phased return for cruise ships begins late March
(CNS): Cruise ships will be returning to the Cayman Islands from 21 March in what officials have said will be a phased approach, with a maximum of 40% of the previous passenger numbers for the first four weeks. In a press release issued late Friday afternoon following the cancellation of a press briefing scheduled for Thursday to announce the news, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan stated that the return of ships was pending the approval of Cabinet and changes to the regulations.
Aside from limiting the number of calls and accepting only fully vaccinated passengers and crew, the minister had asked for no other requirements, such as ensuring that Cayman was the first port of call or asking that passengers must take a COVID-19 test before disembarkation. Also, despite claims that “effective public health protocols will be maintained”, most cruise ships now no longer require their passengers to wear masks.
During Phase 1, passenger arrivals will be limited to 40% of previous volumes or a maximum of 75,000 passengers during these first four weeks. Should things go well and subject to Public Health approval, the capacity constraint will be removed before the end of April, though “effective public health protocols will be maintained, integrating the lessons learned during Phase 1”.
Bryan said the decision was not taken lightly and that all travel, whether by air or sea, presents a certain degree of risk while the pandemic persists.
“However, as we are seeing with stayover arrivals, our island’s high vaccination rate, coupled with having the right safety protocols in place, is allowing our tourism industry to recover,” he said.
Drawing on experience from the reintroduction of tourist air arrivals, the Programme Board and various local government entities are reviewing regulations to ensure that appropriate mechanisms are in place to protect the public.
These are intended to take into account the unique characteristics of the cruise industry and the fact that cruise passengers are only in the jurisdiction for six to eight hours on average.
Officials claimed that cruise operations have been safely resuming, and public health measures, such as pre-embarkation tests and wellness checks that comply with COVID-19 guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are in effect. Individual cruise lines have also developed their own safety protocols that exceed CDC guidelines, and ships are now equipped with excellent medical facilities, including intensive care and isolation units, the release said.
Nevertheless, there have been numerous outbreaks, and given the closed situation onboard ships, the virus can still spread very quickly.
But officials said that during Phase 1, in addition to the rigorous safety protocols implemented by cruise lines, which include the requirement for passengers and crew to be fully vaccinated, the Cayman Islands Government has identified which cruise calls will be permitted to increase the layers of public protection, though these details have not yet been released.
Interim Chief Medical Officer Dr Autilia Newton has examined the health protocols of all cruise lines that operate under the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) and said she is satisfied, noting that no COVID-positive passengers, crew or their close contacts will be permitted to disembark the cruise ship in Grand Cayman, whether they are symptomatic or not.
Minister Bryan urged cruise operators, businesses and employees to prepare. “After two years of uncertainty there is finally light on the horizon,” he said. “I encourage businesses to start staffing up and making the necessary preparations to give cruise passengers a great experience when they arrive.”
Officials said that a press conference will be held in the coming weeks after Cabinet approval to provide the public with further information, including the approved cruise ship schedule.
The return of cruising will be welcomed by some in the tourism sector but many others, as well as the wider community, saw the ban on ships due to the pandemic as an opportunity to re-assess Cayman’s relationship with this sector, given the myriad concerns about the business.
These include the exploitation of operators in the jurisdiction supplying trips, the appalling environmental record and the limited benefit to the economy when weighed against the negative impact on overnight tourists, who are a far more lucrative source.
Bryan has also said that Cayman needs to rethink how it handles cruise ships, but he has said it needs to return before changes can be made.
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So it’s okay for planes to come in but as soon as its cruise ships y’all want to complain…acting like tourism don’t help Cayman and provide jobs for the locals. Majority being foreigners that complaining…go back home simple. 🥴
Watch the gouging that takes place by unscrupulous vendors on the GT oceanfront to try to make up for lost income during the Covid period. Cruise ship passengers are in for a very rude awakening when they land here.
They’ll think they’re in Jamaica.
Most cruise ship passengers have been reading the posts for months where they have been called all sorts of derogatory names. I hope that these tourists are very forgiving.
Just for the record………….. I am against ALL cruise ships that pollute the seas worldwide.
Given you are anonymous, saying it’s fr the record is a bit pointless.
Just announce that Cayman is opening up without pre-departure testing and give tourists the opportunity to book flights etc..
Cayman and the world need to get back to living. COVID’s survival rate is more than 99% with no chronic/lasting complications — act on the data not the drama.
Vaccination does not prevent transmission or contraction of COVID, and masks are of nil effect. Cayman needs to drop all restrictions and testing.
Take responsibility for your health: want the shot then get the shot, want to wear a mask then wear a mask; but do not ask others to violate their sincere beliefs for your false sense of security.
So cruise ship visitors only have to be vaccinated to land in Cayman but tourists that arrive by air and contribute far more to the economy have to do a rapid or PCR test 24 hours before arrival and also obtain a certificate to travel. How can it be different rules for one set of visitors?
“… the minister had asked for no other requirements, such as ensuring that Cayman was the first port of call or asking that passengers must take a COVID-19 test before disembarkation.”
So when we locals travel, we need to get tested prior to to flying back here, but cruise ship passengers don’t? How is that justified?
Because unlike the Florida cruise ship lobby group, you are not in tight with Kenny.
I know that a lot of people will think it’s great to have the cruise ships back, but I am not one of them. The cruise ships are the worst polluters we have, and I can’t think of anything they have done that will change that.
I think the dump is worse than the cruise ships!
Give it one to two years and the dock will come up again, mark my words.
They will have had to have built a beach for them to go to by then as well?
Or will someone be charging tourists to get down the public access sites?
100% markup on prices? Keeping ships? Hostages for ransom much.
Cruise ships back to the island but I can’t bring my 12 year old unvaccinated son with natural immunity to the island. We own a home on the North Side of the island and we have not been able to return since we left when they were closing the airport in March 2020. How is my unvaccinated 12 year old more of a risk than an 11 year old unvaccinated child. WE are forced to take our family and our thousands of dollars that we usually spend on diving and dinners to Miami and Florida Keys. Oh but if I was a fat American on a cruise ship – I’d be welcome! Not to mention that we have sent over $50,000 over the last two years to help the economy by paying for the upkeep for our home. They need to change the rules so unvaccinated children 18 and younger have same vaccination status as their parents.
Umm, they did,,,
They did not – 11 and younger
Welcome to the reality of property ownership as a foreigner on the Cayman Islands.
They take your money and give you nothing in return.
There are thousands of Caymanians here who will never have the means to afford property purchases and yet, you feel entitled somehow?
At a minimum I am hoping that when the cruise ships come back the remaining obstacles and existing hoops will be removed.
I hope they get it right, because some of our legal and corporate jobs are being outsourced to people in other countries to work from home and no one is talking about it or doing anything about it
https://www.flexjobs.com/jobs
The other thing no one is paying attention to is the fact that Jamaica is positioning themselves to become the Caribbean’s next Financial Hub
https://amp.jamaicaobserver.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20220227/ARTICLE/302279983&Show=0
Which may prove to be another series of job losses to our economy
Good luck to them following stringent world regulations. Me thinks it’ll tank from corruption pretty quickly.
I was with you until you said Jamaica….
No cruise ships, no civil service pay checks. Better make the prison much, much bigger.
What a missed opportunity to “rethink” cruise ships before they return.
Ships need to go to the places that the cruisers want to go. Itinerary’s with us included sell better than those without. We have a say!
How many Caymanians work on cruise ships?
How many scholarships are provided by the cruise companies?
They should be only be allowed here if staying a MINIMUM of 8 hours. Time for a tour, and lunch. Fine them if they leave early.
They should be required to have one ship leave at midnight a week. All the downtown restaurants and shops busy that night.
Maximum of 100% markup on the prices WE set for the attractions.
The minister is weak and way over his head. He has been flowing with the wind concerning himself about short term issues such as if the guest will take an LTF before disembarking, no thought of designing a cruise product that the country can support and embrace for the next ten/twenty years.
This guys knows whats up
What happened to the “we don’t need cruise ships” we can rely on air arrival tourism. The mighty dollar over turned that idea….
I still say, “Fug the cruise ships!” If you want to visit an island, catch a flight and stay over to see it! I’ve tried both, and flying is by far the best! Ships don’t give you time to see what you want to see.
Cruise is less impactful than development- one difference being one is permanent and the other is temporary. Another is that cruise benefits equally the socio-economic positives for our people whereas how many citizens can afford to buy real estate? Compare the cost of business with cruise to that of development- and what does development offset vs cruise? Too many one-sided ignorant arguments. Work on positives— don’t be a nimby!
Stupid argument.
Give it up already.
Nice try.
Fried foods are less dangerous than poison.
How about NO cruise ships and NO commercial building…..?