Jamaica to welcome Four New Cruise Ships in 2006
Montego Bay, August 26, 2005
Superlatives will abound when Jamaica’s cruise industry gets a dramatic boost next year with calls by the world’s largest ship and the world’s most prestigious ship, along with two of the newest ships from the leading cruise lines.
Royal Caribbean International’s Freedom of the Seas, will make her maiden call to Montego Bay in June 2006, just a month after her expected world debut in May. Accommodating 3634 guests, the world’s largest cruise ship is now under construction in Finland. And while the Freedom of the Seas has already gained repute for her sheer size, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 has the distinction of being the world’s grandest luxury ocean liner, famous for indulgent transatlantic crossings. With a passenger capacity of 2620 Queen Mary 2 will commence calls to Montego Bay in November 2006.
Also starting calls in November is the Norwegian Jewel, the newest vessel in the NCL fleet, which will visit Ocho Rios. The Costa Magica from the Italian cruise line Costa, will make seasonal calls to Ocho Rios commencing January 2006.
“We’ve always wanted Jamaica to be considered as an imperative for itinerary planners in the industry. Securing not one, but four of the most exciting new ships, signals that our long term strategy is bringing meaningful payoffs,” said William Tatham, Vice President of Cruise Shipping and Marina Operations at the Port Authority of Jamaica, (PAJ).
“Everyone, from the attraction tour guides and duty free sales assistants to taxi drivers and craft vendors should be on the mark to welcome not only more cruise passengers on each call, given the size of these ships, but also passengers with possibly more sophisticated interests, given the profile of QM2 guests.”
The continued growth in cruise calls has led the PAJ to embark on expansion plans which will enable Montego Bay to accommodate larger ships, now the standard for the industry. In advance of these plans, a purpose-built floating pontoon pier is being installed to enable passengers from these larger cruise ships to come ashore. Studies are also currently underway to assess the expansion possibilities for Ocho Rios.
A ninety-two per cent jump in passenger arrivals is expected for Port Antonio in 2006, as the port continues to develop a strong reputation as the destination of choice for smaller, boutique lines. At the end of 2005 there would have been nine ship calls to the port with 3954 passengers. In 2006 there will be 15 ship calls, bringing 7600 passengers.
At the end of June 2005, total cruise passenger arrivals were 621,378, showing a slight increase over 2004 figures of 619,862.
Jamaica has been nominated as the Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Destination in the World Travel Awards, the premier global event for the travel industry.
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