Premier holds cruise berth talks

Cruise Liners in Grand Cayman

Premier McKeeva Bush was in Florida this week discussing the future of the cruise product in the Cayman Islands.

Mr. Bush met with representatives of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association to talk about Boatswain’s Beach, port security, the alternate cruise port at Spotts Bay and the redevelopment of the Hog Sty Bay cruise facility to include berthing for Oasis-class ships.

“It’s a continuation [of talks]; we’ve pledged that communication is very important at this juncture in order to be able to put into place the best possible facilities for the berthing. We discussed that, Spotts and better utilisation of the attractions,” said Michele M. Paige, president of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, which represents 15 cruise lines operating over 100 ships in the region.

“There will be ongoing meetings; we will have meetings at least every month. We don’t have a firm date yet [for the next meeting] but we pledge constant communication,” she noted.

Communication

The talks also involved Cline Glidden of the Ministerial Council for Tourism, Boatswain’s Beach managing director Timothy Adam and Carson Ebanks of Ministry of Finance, tourism and Development.

Ms Paige said that the cruise association wanted to make sure that the planning and construction of a new port berthing facility in Cayman would be undertaken with a strong focus on communication with all sectors of the tourism industry who would be affected.

“[We want] to make sure that all of the ingredients are properly formulated and all the parties are communicated with, to make sure that every single private sector representative that has any dealings with the port knows what their role is and how they’re going to be part of the process.

“Whether they’re a taxi driver, tour operator or shopkeeper, this way everybody is working to understand what the ultimate utilisation of the port is going to be,” she added.