Mega cruise ship arrives with reduced passenger load
(CNS): The biggest ship to visit George Town since the Cayman Islands reopened to cruising last week, MSC Seashore, arrived Tuesday with just 1,770 passengers, even though it can carry more than 5,600. It was followed a few hours later by the Disney Fantasy, which can carry up to 4,000 but had 2,420 passengers.
Since the Cayman Islands Government began the phased return of cruise ships on Monday 21 March, seven ships have brought over 14,000 passengers on four separate days. Two ships are expected on Wednesday, Rotterdam and
Celebrity Reflection.
The CIG has said it will be monitoring the impact that the return of cruise visitors has on the current spread of COVID-19 before it allows any further increase in the number of ships and people aboard to dock in George Town.
PACT is hoping that by allowing the ships to return, it can stop paying stipends to tourism sector employees unable to work, which was initiated after the borders were closed more than two years ago.
But this is not a universally welcome decision, given concerns about the potential spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases on cruise ships. In addition, the industry is offering diminishing benefits to the ports where ships dock around the world while exacerbating environmental problems, including pollution.
Here in Cayman, since overnight tourism generates three or four times as much money per head compared to cruisers, many hoped that government would re-think its cruise policy before allowing ships to return.
However, the government remains focused on increasing the number of local people working in the tourism industry and maintains that cruise tourism is an important part of that goal.
Premier Wayne Panton and Tourism Minster Kenneth Bryan have promised to rethink the policy on cruise ship visits. However, the tourism ministry only began searching for consultants to help shape the new policy at the beginning of March, suggesting that any change in direction is a long way off.
- Fascinated
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- Bored
- Afraid
The arguments for locals only as tourism guides and drivers are real.
Look at the pride and expertise in this example:
https://fb.watch/c5WjpvDuwS/
And it looked like all 1,700 of them were sat on the postage stamp sized and dangerous beach in front of Coral Beach. It was a disaster.
Cayman kindness is a myth or at least something of the distant past before you all decided to sell everything.
George, please stop promoting this idiotic “Caymanian Kind” label. How about just reverting to “Caymanian Hospitality.” Everyone understands that.
Prediction: Cases will start to rise, and air travel / overnight tourism will be further punished, all for a few lousy T-shirt sales. CNS: I think the overnight tourist average daily spend is more like 10 times the cruise passenger.
From today’s Miami Herald:
MIAMI – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed its COVID-19 risk advisory against cruise ship travel on Wednesday after issuing it about two years ago.
The CDC continued to warn the virus spreads easily in close quarters onboard ships and passengers and crew are at risk for infection — even if they are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.
The CDC also continues to update a list of travel health notices grouping specific countries into four levels of risk.
The level four recommendation to “avoid travel” includes the Caribbean destinations of Martinique, Saint Martin, Bermuda, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Guadeloupe, Saint Barthelemy, Dominica, and the Cayman Islands.
When will our island understand that cruise ships should stop and tourism shoudl focus on hotel and rentals with more qualitative high-spenders customers? Ah… corruption.. ok
I heard that DART is building a marina in Cayman Brac where Marijana was planning around Scott’s dock. CNS: mind checking on that.
CNS: Not Dart. See here.
Frank not doing it either, watch.
You know tourists are back when every coconut on the island is being cut down and transported to town by pick up truck.
And trespassers on bikes with machetes on private property!
JUST SAYING….have been to Grand Cayman 31-times; point being, “in-the-day”, 1st stayed @ Coral Caymanian Hotel for a week in 1979 (DART now OWNS the VACANT lot) the Government tax was 6%, there was NO resort fee & the rate was $ 68 per in January of that year….NOW, we stay for a month, BUT, small hotels are a thing of the past, NO t.v. in rooms, NOW, one even in the bathrooms !! MISS the Pagoda, the 18th Hole, Wreck of the John B, Royal Palms, Holiday Inn (7-mile beach), Beach Club Colony & many others….just saying, “ole” days missed
Bob Hillgrove – we appreciate visitors like you who came for the local charm. Sorry but we sold it all out! Just saying…
Glad you’re still coming though.
APPRECIATED !!….SIX weeks for PART of January & ALL of February in ’23…@ EATS, hope “BETTY is still there, SHE shared many OLD photos of “open-air-markets” photos W/ ONE stop-light in Geogetown…stay the course, GRAND CAYMAN !
Remember going to the Jump Up in the early 80s? Locals and visitors happily mingling.
Wife and I honeymooned at the Royal Palms in 1984. Still trying to make the “Banana Brace” drink. (Maybe a Banana Brac??). Wonderful time, and very fond memories. Diving with Caymanian dive masters and boat captains who eye-balled the dive sites by shore trees. Three years later, not many Caymanians left on the boats – Fosters, Sotos, Parrot’s Landing. No dive shop at the Turtle Farm yet. We did shore diving there off the iron shore in front of the Turtle Farm. (I have over 400 dives on SMB). Watched year by year as the Cracked Conch building was built about 1′ per year! (Cayman speed…).
Been coming back, over 45 times, but I question if we are welcome, the conversation on CNS is not very positive for vacationers. Cayman, be well.
It’s all true, to be honest.
So much has changed, and the biggest tragedy is that there are no more local people to be found in the dive industry.
Neither at the restaurants Cracked Conch or Macabuca for that matter. Even the food is not up to the standard as before.
6:42 pm Please know that you are still very much welcome here. Your history of visiting from 1984 tells me that you are who will always be welcome to our islands. You will no doubt remember the mutual respect we shared, together with good manners, kindness and a spirit of caring for each other. All of that still exists. Much has changed but much remains the same, including true Caymanian hospitality. Don’t expect to find much of that on what was once 7 Mile Beach though – visit the Eastern Districts and Sister Islands instead. So do come, we are still here to welcome you!
Thank you. We are scheduled to return end of April for a 10 day stay. Very much looking forward to returning after a 2 1/2 years.
You are very much still welcome here! Pay little attention to most of the venting on here. Many of the people mouthing off here are not even Caymanian. That said, most everyone is frustrated by the inept leadership here, not our visitors. You are always welcome.
Thank you. We are returning the end of April.
Vacationers like you are very welcome.
However, many of us are not happy about mass cruise tourism which is bad for the environment, bad for stay-over tourism and totally disrupts George Town and contributes almost nothing to our economy.
Thank you. We are returning the end of April.
It is amazing to me that cruise ship passengers do not have to meet the same entry standards as those who fly in and actually spend money here on our shores. Make the rules the same for everyone. If visitors from cruise ships are not required to apply to Tavel Cayman and not required to covid test one day before disembarking then visitors arriving by air should be afforded the same entry requirements.
I will never understand the “science” CIG claims to follow.
This is because CIG has no interest to follow logic/science. Yes, cruise arrivals should be viewed the same as air arrivals. Simple?… Not to our superbly educated Ministers.
Can government release their stats on how many stay-over visitors tested positive before flying back to USA/Canada and how long they stayed in Cayman until testing negative?
They can even keep accurate records of how many people are in isolation – what makes you think they could do that even if they wanted too ( which no tourist venue with a quarantine program would do would they now).
Can you give us the stats how many locals walk around positive each day and do not get tested?
I do. The world has moved on.
Bullshit. South Korea has its highest totals of critical condition patients to date.
Zzz. Move your sorry ass to South Korea then.
Stoney Coral Disease due to them dumping waste in the harbour while no one cares
That will be why it started in the North Wall then?
Have you thought it maybe our local tour boats send passengers in different areas without cleaning equipment?
As for waste, where is all the SH..T and P..S going from all the local tour boats and private vessels. Cayman Shipping imposes all the international pollution prevention laws on vessels out side Cayman BUT who monitors all the S..T from local vessels? NO ONES!
Shoot, get educated! SCD started in Cayman while there were essentially NO tourists! You are spreading misinformation.
So these people can come and waddle around our streets freely but my Caymanian family and I must apply for permission to return to our home? No suh.
Have you seen your duly elected Ministers lately? The also can waddle with the best.
See plenty of waddling going on w/ out tourist crossing.
Cruise ships not only spread disease and environmental destruction, they also provide networks of crew members who buy stolen property in one port and then re-sell it at a later port. Crime went down when the cruise ships stopped coming as thieves had few places to pawn stolen property. Watch for burglaries and armed robberies to increase now that the cruise ships are back.
Duh. It’s the biggest because we JUST reopened to cruise ships. Kind of a silly logic.
We’ve had a mini-spike in Covid cases recently. . .linked to the arrival of the cruise ships?
No, linked to another covid strain.
Of course, no people involved in the spread of Sars CoV2, right? This new strain just travels around on it’s own. . . Idiot!
Well, it’s not the tourists who are at the strand grinding up on each other or playing dominos. Stop the blame. Take some responsibility for once.
No, linked to a mild flu.
Just big, ugly, polluting cesspits full of overfed meatsacks
LOL, Cruise boats or CIG Cabinet Meetings?
30 @ 10:47am – That would be Cabinet meetings!
Is that the best comment you can offer to a serious issue?
Coronary heart disease and diabetes are indeed very serious matters.
Is that the best comment you can offer to a serious issue?
Are all these ships required to report numbers of positive Covid cases on board at arrival (if any), and if so how many have there been so far. If not, why not?.
The big tourism joke now are the big tour companies who are making public appeals for their tour staff/drivers for cruise tours to be exempted from the PTU License and the vetting/local tourism knowledge process.
Shame, since the companies hire few if any Caymanians anyways, and instead have import tourism guides from near and far countries, even from halfway around the world.
Why will they not get local guides and drivers? Because of the dire conditions for their staff, who are paid low wages and given low hours, so the jobs are unrealistic for locals with Bills.
So then they are usually granted many work permits – A Bigger Shame, as the don’t-know and don’t-care expat drivers do much harm to Cayman with their lack of knowledge and blatant ignorance!
The problem is, locals will never take these jobs until proper salaries are offered, which in turn will NEVER happen under these bus companies (who by law are required to be Cayman owned, but the guides do NOT have to be locals. Big Shame there!)
Simple solution then:
Amend the PTU Law so ALL Tour Guides and Drivers must be Caymanians.
I will wait and see if the big bus companies will win in their public efforts to embarrass the PTU and government.
Perhaps bus companies will be forced to also pay their staff the grats collected for big corporate events, and stop forcing staff to work for free, just so the boss man can look good.
Eg forcing staff to work transporting families at local events and funerals for free (ie drivers are NOT PAID for their days work!!)
Simple solution that will cut the number of drives dramatically. You read the article which says they are already struggling to get enough staff. How are we going to move the cruise ship tourists around then? And BTW, if you think most Caymanians can answer the local knowledge questions you need your head examined. Who was the first financial secretary – something every tourist wants to know and every Caymanian does lol.
Learn our history or leave.
I have heard so much disparaging and inaccurate information from tour guides and bus drivers on permits.
It’s a shame that guests can’t learn local culture from local guides who live the country, instead of users (and owners) who don’t give a flying mango about Cayman or it’s people.
The visitor experience quality is telling – or the lack thereof.
Easy solutions: make all Guides and Drivers local by Law!
Pay them fair wages.
Stop stealing their grats.
I guess they don’t know who is Cayman’s first Knight either.
Learn our local culture or go back and tan a you yaad.
How can you be a Cayman Ambassador on permit, and with no care to even pass the simple Dept of Tourism test?
That’s proof that we ddon’t need Tour Guides on Permits as another reduction of our standards to the surrounding territories.
seen lots of disabled passengers/ visitors coming off these ships. ashame we have not addressed proper facilities and sidewalks for this group of travellers…
Cry us a river.
Nice… #Caymankind. Very bad attitude.
Cayman kind is NOT Caymanian. So stfu
Well, it is not the Canadian tourism slogan, is it? Don’t think Cayman kind is describing the American way. Don’t even think it has to do with Jamaica or any other Caribbean island for that matter. Definitely not the UK mantra. You own it, so instead of being rude about it, maybe start living up to it.
So unjabbed Caymanians have to quarantine for a week when returning to their own country but jabbed Caymanians and cruise ship visitors are free to come and go with no quarantine. Utterly ridiculous.
It’s their choice to not be jabbed, so don’t complain as they know the guidelines.
Yup. CIG is social engineering to make life as miserable as possible for those smart enough to refuse COVID vaccines.
Smart isn’t the right word. Ignorant is.
lmao is this a real comment?
they are unvaccinated…………… how are you comparing the two lol i cant believe we still have to talk about this very obvious reason every single time
Yup, a real comment. From real intelligent folks. And this is why no real progress gets done in Cayman. But hey, they will elect the next group of Ministers; there is a happy thought! (NOT).
There is no need to wear masks outdoors..not sure why the cruise shippers should if we don’t wear them outdoors if we don’t..silly argument
People are still driving their own car with the windows up and a mask on.
There’s a special place in East End for that lot.
Unless wearing a proper N95 mask and sporting no facial hair, there is no need to wear a mask full stop, as it doesn’t do shit against a virus!
You should have stopped after your first seven words.
The noted ship capacities are pretty alarming especially for those operators that might have jumped right back into previously existing contracts for FOMO. Will PACT open the flood gates for ship calls to compensate for the low ship counts ? I rest easy knowing Mr Bryan most certainly has a plan.
The good news however is that with perhaps a limited supply of designer handbags those desperate for the couture item won’t experience their own particular FOMO due to the low passenger capacities, – PACTS Silver Lining 👍👜🌤
Big ship, big anchor, unmasked visitors, damaged coral, pollution.
Marvelous!
But…but…but…someone bought a t-shirt!
Hahaha. Maybe a DQ ice cream (few T shirt shops in GT now).
Why do we have huge ugly signs that used to be banned? ‘Free daiquiris’ – across from DW
Modern Cayman. Dollar above all else.
Oh please… everyone, including Caymanians walking maskless outdoors.Stop blaming others for everything. The island has lost its welcoming ways and just look like one big bunch of b**chers to people reading these posts.
yes!
Of course. We are now used to getting paid for doing nothing which has always been the goal of several of us. You think we want others to work and flourish and risk losing our free stuff? You must be crazy.
We were never like that. That was expatriate bullshit for us to be walked all over about “cayman kind”. As if we can’t voice our opinions, thoughts, and feelings. If we do, there are people like you who bitch and complain about it. Don’t like it, F off from our shores.
Tear up your British passport if you’re so anti-expat. Why would you want anything from us?
Sorry, ‘you’ were/are like that. Cayman welcoming from the 1980’s is nothing like Cayman from 2020’s. You are cynical, unwelcoming, don’t respect minorities, don’t give equal rights to those you are bigoted against. You want money from outsiders, but don’t want them here. You want business, but don’t want non caymanian residents. Your small rock in the ocean is being abused??? I agree, but Caymanians have sold it out – YOU are to blame. Look in the mirror of who has elected the current ministers.
So look here, all you electors. This is your absolute lack of influence. 23,596 electors who are supposed to have a say in how things happen. We are the majority of nothing of consequence. We have NO say.
You have a say. You voted for these people. Look on their works ye mighty and despair.
And when they assault a women, video recorded in a drunken fit of rage, they get re-elected! And then is asked to serve in a high office – unbelievable, can’t make this up.
And when they assault a women, video recorded in a drunken fit of rage, they get re-elected! And then is asked to serve in a high office – unbelievable, can’t make this up.
No, we got ONE vote for ONE person in a very small neighbourhood area. You cannot say WE voted for ALL those people in Parliament. The One Man One Vote process needs to be abolished. It is time for a National vote where all electors have a say in whom we want running our country, not just our neighbourhood.
Could not agree more Ms. Bodden. I’ve been saying this for years!
We need a national vote so that every Caymanian voter has a say in who is elected. MPs shouldn’t be elected based on a few hundred votes in one village.
They repeatedly elected MacBeater. Yes, their vote has had dire consequences for the reputation and conduct of the CIG.
Sometimes you have to go with the evil that you know.
You set your bar of acceptably very low. Why would you ‘go with the evil you know?’ You are basically acknowledging that you accept incompetence. This is an absurd logic. And sadly, this is why Cayman has not progressed in respect of the international stage it desires.
Might be a big cruise ship but certainly not a mega-cruise ship..
When I first saw this I was thinking Oasis Class size..bit misleading..
Yeah only 5600 pax versus 6200 – twat.
Not a mask in sight.
Unmask our children Wayne!
There is no need to wear masks outdoors..not sure why the cruise shippers should if we don’t wear them outdoors if we don’t..silly argument
The fact is that they don’t have masks with them and don’t wear them when entering shops or restaurants…why should they? They aren’t ignorant slaves like the residents here.
Not slaves, just ignorant (frequently).
So much for the narrative that said they couldn’t disembark passengers from these mega-ships without a pier…
@4:24pm Sir Alden and Tourism Minister Moses were quite clear on this. No mega cruise ships could disembark/embark passengers without a pier..
Those two need to remain in mothballs..
Anyone else remember the YEARS these companies and cruise lines spent saying that they would never tender these larger, newer lines of ships? And that Cayman would be stuck with lower level smaller ships with less affluent passengers, because sometimes I feel like I am the only person with a memory of 2013-2019
** to be clear this ship is not one of the infamous Oasis class but it is near in both size and passenger capacity
Cruise companies desperate to stop here with their lower passenger loads.
I wish they would sail on by….
No one desperate to come
Say that to all the tourists who are here dipshit
Just a stop on the cruise….no one is desperate to come to a place with such a bad attitude and no beach.