‘Quality over quantity’ cruise plan back on agenda
(CNS): After walking back the ‘quality over quantity’ idea recently and focusing on increasing the cruise visitor headcount, Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan has revealed plans that he said demonstrate that the government is still working towards that goal as part of its “reimagined cruise strategy”.
The ultra-luxurious Evrima, part of the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection that offers cruisers a chance to spend time at its hotels as well as on the ocean, made a very brief call to George Town last Thursday, which Bryan said was part of talks to add Grand Cayman to its itinerary.
He said the ministry and the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman are working on an agreement to pave the way for the yacht to visit the Cayman Islands, which would allow guests to have a dual land and sea experience with a two-night stay at the resort. However, the first call would not be until the end of this year.
“I am really excited to be in talks with the Ritz-Carlton to bring this quality cruise product to the Cayman Islands. By enticing ships of this size and calibre to visit our destination, we are demonstrating the type of ‘quality over quantity’ we are working toward harnessing as part of our reimagined cruise strategy,” Bryan said in a press release.
“We look forward to solidifying this partnership with The Ritz-Carlton and will work toward cultivating relationships with other ultra-luxury yacht carriers to develop the Cayman Islands as a part of their route offerings.”
The Evrima, the first of three custom-built ships, made its inaugural voyage in October from Barcelona to Nice. Last week the 190-metre ship, which carries just under 300 passengers, made a brief stop here on its way from Panama to Fort Lauderdale. The luxury yacht is one of a number of vessels in this type of category that could help develop a new type of cruise product here.
There has long been broad support in the community, including tourism stakeholders, that Cayman should try to attract smaller ships with high net worth passengers. For decades, tourism operators have seen their margins squeezed by the bigger cruise lines and passenger spending on the island decrease. This has resulted in unsustainable pressure on infrastructure and attractions, especially on beaches in recent years as a result of dwindling access.
Aiming for fewer people with more cash is seen as the holy grail of cruise policy, reducing the impact on Grand Cayman’s resources while enabling tourism stakeholders to make a fair living.
Ritz-Carlton GM Marc Langevin, a former president of CITA, told the Cayman Compass recently that attracting these types of ships could potentially fill the gap created by any drop in cruise calls, which cruise lines such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean have said will happen because they will not tender their new mega-ships. “The interesting part of the Yacht Collection is that they’re not tied to any specific ports because their size allows them to be anywhere,” he said.
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these caymanian people we call ouf government dont even have enough common sense to run this little island without having other nation people telling them what to do.you just wait couple more years and the caymanian people wount have a say in their little island.
Money, and those thirsting for it, or to be around it, at any cost, are not quality people in my experience. Money just amplifies the character and personality that is already there, with no preloaded determination on the quality of person behind it. If anything, it can corrupt badly in the opposite direction, if we’re being honest. Anyway, other than a glorious daily sunset, and diving, we don’t really offer much of interest for these folks. Maybe if there were a few master works anchoring the gallery collection, visible police to prevent unsolved assassinations, and removal of work permits for visiting entertainment there’d be some redeeming points for a return visit. Cayman doesn’t want to score itself honestly and fix the problem areas.
QUALITY over QUANTITY…….That must include health promoting environment free of major health destroying pollutants… I’d think people who organise walks, runs for cancer, heart disease, including congenial, mental health, etc. must be concerned with healthy environment, rather than focusing on fund-raisers that generate so much junk such as T-shirts and other mostly plastic accessories’
There recently was an article about danger of living within 5 miles of Ethylene Oxide Commercial Sterilization Facilities. The US EPA has a site showing such location by State.
Does Cayman have such facilities? I’d think yes, with so many hospitals, radiology services, physicians, dentists, veterinarians…etc. If so, where is it located?
What Cayman EPA equivalent is doing to address Ethylene Oxide (assuming such facility(s)does exist in Cayman)?
Lastly, why nobody and I mean NOBODY is questioning the absence of Radiation Protection Act? NOBODY! Literally nobody.
With a new Cancer treating facility the risk of cancer from improper handling, storage and disposal of radioactive waste would increase many folds due to the lack (non-existence) of laws and regulations. Lastly, WHO IS the Radiation Safety Officer in each of the Cayman hospital? Who is in charge of radiation safety in CIG?
Sadly what has brought us our success is now going to destroy us. It was Yogi Berra who said: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” We got greedy and did not plan for controlled growth. Now we will fail because of this.
How true. Limit daily anchorage slots to 3 or 4. Problem solved.
CIG passenger fee contribution is just $2.46 per passenger, gross. Even if it were 100x at $246, it still wouldn’t be a pillar of our economy. We need to ask why this Cruise Tourism is so disproportionately important to successive Ministers of Tourism.
Employs the otherwise unemployable
Kenneth Bryan has revealed that he actually as no plan and will continue to flip flop in his political career due to lack of any real intelligence, a spine and moral compass.
Please can we get some competent politicians next time around ?
Voters need to petition to amend the Elections Law to disqualify those with serious criminal and civil breach of trust convictions. The crooks are very comfortable where they are.
Unless competent politicians grow on trees Cayman is screwed for decades to come.
Even if they did, the excavator cometh
Nope
Cayman should want its repeat guests, solo travelers, honeymooners, families and professionals. Stop the greed and outreach for the rich as the rich are not looking for the hotel experience, trips to Hell or see the stingrays. Cayman is an overpriced island, not a 5 star, not even the Ritz is 5 star standards really. There is a real niche, but it is being overlooked.
I don’t know whether to laugh, or cry, or just shake my head in disbelief at the way some people try to portray things sometimes.
Firstly, Ritz Carlton looked at having their vessel call here long before the Minister was a Minister. They simply emailed the Port to ascertain if the dates they wished to call were available, obtain a confirmation and they were good to go. Any logistics with respect to collecting and transporting their guests to the hotel would be worked out by the cruise ops team at the Port.
Secondly, what’s this hype about a reimagined cruise strategy that harnesses quality over quantity? Back in August 2022, the Minister said he had a different “imagination.” See article on CNS at the following link: Minister walks back plan to cut cruise numbers
Let me simply it for those who don’t understand the business. It doesn’t matter how much money you have unless you are buying jewelry, or real estate, but an island tour, a Stingray City trip, a Turtle Centre excursion, or any other excursion cost the same whether you have a million dollars or just a few hundred.
And there is only so much time in a day, so that means that most visitors will only do one excursion per day.
Therefore, considering that a Ritz Carlton yacht with 300 passengers of means may buy approximately 150 excursions, when compared to a regular cruise ship with 3,000 passengers of ordinary means purchasing 1,500 excursions and all are paying the same price per excursion it isn’t hard to see which set is providing a bigger benefit to the local operators.
And because Cayman has no berthing facilities for those size yachts and the bigger cruise ships, it also means there are no other opportunities and benefits available to local economy such as refueling, waste removal, or provisioning etc.
So not only China is sending hot air balloons up these days, we got it right here too; a hot air balloon of a “reimagined cruise strategy that harnesses quality over quantity!”
yes please let us offload MORE waste than we already accrue. We need high end customers not carnival cruise cheapo ones that don’t spend money outside of 1 beer.
That we were promised quality over quantity. Yeah right take a drive through Town today………
You might call me a carnival cruise passenger although I do not cruise to your island, I stay in your budget hotels ( Hampton, Locale, Sunshine Suites, Holiday Inn and some local b&b’s) I come down 2x a year. I drink and eat in your restaurants three meals a day. I tip well. I rent a car. I shop in your grocery store and usually in your shops for some little trinkets. I return year after year…for the last 25 years.
Do you want me or do you want the high-end customer who comes once and sits on their balcony at the Ritz, does not go out for 3 meals a day? May or may not return?
You don’t get it. These guests aren’t itching to clamber up on a Carnival shore excursion. This echelon of travel doesn’t have to pull anchor and be churning at sea by 4:30pm for Cozumel or MoBay. They could stay the full week, maybe a day or two in Little Cayman/Brac with two nights ashore in the hotel on Grand Cayman. Their passengers can hire a car/personal driver, go to the caves, eat dinner in our restaurants, do some real estate tours, and everything else a stay over guest does. An extra floating hotel without the construction, and a whole industry of extra high touch support jobs, for those few capable of delivering 4 star plus.
I am a winter stayover and walk the beach (where I can) every day. The only places cruisers have for a “beach experience” is the crowded public beach…with locals selling everything from water to booze to chairs. It is usually wall to wall. Coral Beach has a few laying on towels on the grass. It won’t take long before even the low end cruises won’t come here because the feedback on Grand Cayman is “lousy beach accomodations, nothing to do”. I never see parasailers up, fewer jet skis whizzing by, and not as many snorkelers in the water. The days of many satisfied visitors is coming to an end.
let’s hope the cruisers go! fingers crossed.
I have traveled to Cayman every year in April since 1990 (except the covid shutdown). This year I am heading to Jamaica, to stay in an all-inclusive. The airfare to CI was $1400. And to stay in the all-inclusive (air/hotel and food was $1567. Where would you go? I do not have flexible dates to fly and prices are always high, but $1400. To fly before I even book a hotel room can not be justified when I can go next door and get air,hotel and food for just a few extra dollars.
I’m happy if the jet skis are less noticed. My recent past (summer 2022) they were running inside of posted pylons by 40-60 yards. I snorkeled with a flag and bubble float, and they circled me inside towards the beach. I did no more snorkeling that visit. Very disappointing. I shed no tears for those vendors – they have no control for what they rent.
It would be interesting if vacationers were asked to fill out a quick survey about their stay prior to catching their flights home. I wonder what the most common comments would be.
I spoke with my neighbor who did visit Cayman while on a cruise- There is nothing to do or see in cayman, she said, all so called “attractions” or “excursions” are pitifully bad.
Survey says, it does indeed, suck
Little here, little to see without being harassed, never coming back.
Too much cement, too expensive for what you get, no more beach bar experience with locals i.e. bring back Royal Palms and Calico Jacks, flights are too expensive and so are the hotels- bring the prices down to what they should be ( pre 2018-19 rates)
Prices are too high would be my comment. The prices went sky high the year that all the other islands had the hurricane damage and Cayman wanted to scoop up their customers and the prices never dropped.
Where is the tourism plan that states Quality over quantity ? Until I read a policy document signed by the minister in black and white, his words are just words!
Quality over quantity? My big fat stuck in traffic ass.
So who did you vote for in the last election? You got what you wanted – enjoy the traffic!
Quality for whom?!
Shame for not fixing the $4.50 hourly “wage packet” doled out to Tourism Sector workers.
It has surely escalated the race to real indentured slavery of import staff; as well as cemented a welfare state for locals who would really enjoy working in the sector.
After all, we locals (mostly!) built it from scratch until the Immigration Laws changes in the 80s and no longer protected the rights of locals.
Caymankind is a just PR stunt by DOT Now.
Enjoy.
Need to bring back a new version of the Caymanian Protection Law (on steroids) and inject it into every business sector.
You realize that is is Caymanian owned businesses that are brining in the poverty level work permit holders. What are you trying to protect?
280 passengers (basically an airplane load) coming for two nights a few times a year.
Doubt this will move the needle!
Be nice for the owner of the Ritz tho. Now who is that exactly?
Sadly our success is now destroying us. To quote Yogi Berra. “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
Wow, quality over quantity. Who would have thought this!
It has been talked about for years but never the guts to implement it. We wait to see how it goes this time around.
This presupposes that our , not so honorable minister of tourism , knows the difference. Because it certainly is not quality that put him in office.
Sorry, there is nothing left of QUALITY in Grand Cayman.
Environmental pollution has turned this rock into a cancer cluster and it will get much worse.
Just One example: The new Cancer center would add so much medical, radioactive ª, pharmaceutical, infectious, biochemical waste in the absence of radiation safety laws and regulations, antiquated hazardous waste disposals laws and the existing methods of disposal of hazardous, household and industrial waste.
This is criminal, if you ask me, and I am not a lawyer.
Cayman Constitution:
Protection of the Environment
You and your community have the right to the protection and preservation of your environment. The Government is obligated to implement legislation and other measures to protect Cayman’s heritage, wildlife, and land and sea biodiversity; prevent pollution and ecological degradation; promote biodiversity; secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources.
ªBermuda Radiation Act was implemented 1972!!!!!!!!!!!!
The World, Seabourn, Viking, Windstar, Crystal, Azamara, Silversea, Cunard, Regent Seven Seas, even Virgin…rarities in our part of the Caribbean, because we are focused on the weekly scheduled bundled mass-tourism needs of Michele Paige’s FCCA cartel. Our preference for FCCA’s discount passengers means we have neither the sophistication of offerings, nor money to fuel the necessary attraction/skillset build-out for high-end discretionary spenders. George Town doesn’t have an opera house, ballet company, soundstage, casino, galleries, and museums, or theatre attractions that might hold some overnight entertainment appeal. Our own wealthy millionaires and billionaires are not philanthropic by nature. We don’t have a Gaming Commission willing to negotiate cruise casino operation cut while in port. DoT have never been smart enough, too vain to understand what’s missing, and are unwilling to listen to those with industry experience. At least Langevin stands to fill his vacant garden view for a couple nights in the off season. Fish in a barrel for DART, for as long as that lasts. CIG needs to pick a lane, and execute a focused plan. Permanent moorings for super yachts would be a start.
Key point about local millionaires and billionaires. Give nothing back but ensure they’re set up to continue taking.
This government talks out of both sides of its mouth. The low-end FCCA cartel bring the cheapest, lowest-spend tourists, but even for them, we can barely deliver an enjoyable destination experience. Their very presence degrades the stay-over experience that actually contributes to GDP. As for attractions and natural beauty, we have next to nothing to offer the high-end tourist of today. Few from any boat are being drawn ashore for perfume, limoges china figurines, or bejewelled wrist watches – these forgotten luxury curiosities from the 1990s are nearly irrelevant in 2023, and those foreign-owned failing duty free stores have not adapted to shifting tastes. Let them fail, and focus on stay over.
Actually; judging by the sales in luxury Cayman real estate and the number of private aircraft coming and going DAILY, not to mention the property developers clambering for a piece of land to drop their projects – I would say the high net-worth clan are quite loving these islands.
ever heard of tax free assets?
True, but they’re attracted mainly for the duty concessions and resulting profiteering from their investing to build and sell, build and sell, which is shortsighted for us a tiny island nation. Especially when the ever-increasing infrastructure costs (roads / traffic) are taken into account.
Or simply using our islands to stash funds away in a tax-neutral jusidiction?
Have to agree there but the high net worth individuals buying up the islands have nothing to do with George Town centre or the “tourist” destinations visited by the hordes off the cruise ships. There is nothing classy or attractive on offer in the town centre, public beach or even sting ray city anymore. The private jet crowd go to massive gated properties, with their own charters, in house chefs, beach areas etc and want nothing to do, in fact actively seek, no interaction with the general populous.
But, keep wanting high-end tourists. They do nothing for the local population. It is the repeat customer that you should be aiming to retain.
loving it for the wrong reasons
Wealthy are not flocking here to retire. This isn’t Naples or Hawaii. We don’t even have plan or policies for what we want it to be, just what will line certain pockets for another 4 years. That’s just one of the problems that pairs with allowing unskilled convicted criminals to be elected to positions of public trust. Amending that standard is the starting point for all that ails us, but we can’t even do that.
We have set sail down the quantity route and unfortunately there is no way back without someone upsetting the high volume discount cruise lines. Can’t see that happening in the near future.
why would these ultra-rich want to come to a place suffocating under constant traffic gridlock and a lack of general infrastructure?
its the exact opposite of what they are looking for.
suffocating in Dumps stench and probably leading in cancer cases per capita
The Ritz Carlton Cayman has helicopter landing areas and so does the yacht; zero traffic concerns and we have no desire to be driven around at 7am or 5pm.
I recently met a couple who stayed at the Ritz while they were in the departure gate at the airport, introduced myself and asked how they enjoyed their stay here, their first time.
They responded favorably , enthusiastically commenting on the hotel and its services.
I asked what sort of things they did while here. That included the beach at the Ritz, the hotels dining and golf. A boat excursion , by way of a private charter to see the Stingrays and Kaibo. I asked did they rent a car ? No. Did they pay to be driven to East End and out to Rum Point then? No. Did they go shopping at Camana Bay ? Yes. They also dined at Camana Bay. I wished them safe travels and that I hoped they returned, which the wife commented on to certainly return to stay …at The Ritz.
What I took from this discussion , was they did very little either outside the Ritz Carlton and its provided services, with the exception of going to Camana Bay , most likely in a Ritz limo, nor did they take the plunge to experience Cayman at street level , or to meet its people. I might have been one of the few they probably spoke to or engaged, outside the Ritz influence.
And that sums it up, Langevin doesn’t want his high rollers mixing with the street ‘ Culture’ we have, despite that being the true Cayman. How the frigging hell then is a Ritz sponsored super yacht and it’s occupants, going to trickle some of that money down into the main stream to benefit Caymanians , Kenneth …whadyareckon?
But its going to put money in the pocket of the owner of the Ritz and Camana Bay, which is the real thing Kenny is concerned about.
I’m not sure you understand economics. They spent money at the Ritz and Camana Bay, which those establishments used to pay wages to residents, who then spent those wages at other local establishments. The gazillionaire in a suite at the Ritz does not have to visit Chicken Chicken to benefit the local economy.
OP doesn’t understand much after reading the comment they wrote. This one couple they asked does not count as a survey.
OP didn’t say it was a survey. It was an anecdote, and presented as one.
This literally happens everywhere there is tourism.
Wealth buys ‘space’ (read private charters, business or first class etc) and “access”.
There are trickle down impacts- they just look different than what you are envisioning.
Sounds like they had a great vacation. The vacation THEY wanted and paid for. I suspect you would do the same.
The quality of our collective offering does not pair with that echelon of guest expectations. Sure, some of them will slum it for a night, and endure our inquisitive chatty service, temporarily, knowing they will return to a hotel where the doorman addresses them respectfully by surname before they arrive at the door. They do not want to bob around boat flotillas at Rum Point peeing in their swimsuits while meeting the alcoholic neighbours and assorted yardies. They would pay to be swiftly removed from that scenario, if we’re being honest.
It’s because they are very lacking in intelligence and believe the con men pushing the cruise ships. Who in their right mind would want to come to the Cayman Islands?
I’m curious how much of the Caribbean you’ve seen. The growth here has produced infrastructure challenges, no doubt. But the infrastructure here is world class compared to most of the Caribbean. It is actually a draw to Grand Cayman compared to most of its competitors.