Grand Cayman at a crossroads over cruise traffic

[smokeybandit]

https://caymannewsservice.com/2024/05/ppm-accuses-govt-of-abandoning-cruise-tourism-ship/

[WAAAYTOOO]

It must be close to elections-time in the Caymans.  That article had a political slant to me.

The Caymans have always had a love-hate relationship with cruising.  They know they need to have a viable cruise terminal but won’t build one (for reasons which are complex and understandable).  So they just go back and forth….

[JustMeJoe]

51 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

They know they need to have a viable cruise terminal but won’t build one

What a shame; one of my favorite places to snorkel.  Still a great port of call even considering the tender.

[twangster]

Tourism never benefits every citizen directly.  That doesn’t mean it doesn’t contribute to the  local economy.  It employs people.  Not everyone, but it does employ some people.  

When you are a benefactor you support tourism.  When you are not you couldn’t care.  Same story everywhere.  

[smokeybandit]

https://www.caymancompass.com/2024/08/05/plan-for-vote-on-cruise-berthing-prompts-mixed-reactions/

 

Government’s plan to hold a vote on cruise piers at the end of the year has triggered  mixed reactions on the contentious issue.

Shirley Roulstone, who successfully led the campaign against cruise piers in 2019 with the Cruise Port Referendum group, dismissed the new attempt to introduce piers, saying that many people do not disembark their ships in Grand Cayman “no matter the size of the ship or how many it holds”.

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Well yeah, a lot of people don't get off the ship in tender ports because they don't like tenders.

[HeWhoWaits]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Well yeah, a lot of people don't get off the ship in tender ports because they don't like tenders.

Don't speak logically to the illogical. It never ends well.

[smokeybandit]

https://www.cruisehive.com/cayman-islands-look-to-expand-cruising-with-overnight-calls/149134

 

The capital of the Cayman Islands is looking to further its local cruise tourism industry by incentivizing the cruise ships to stay in the Western Caribbean port longer – such as by encouraging overnight visits.

In order to do this, Minister of Tourism and Ports Kenneth Bryan is working to change the rules so that cruise ships can operate their onboard casinos while in Caymanian waters, which is currently illegal. In fact, all forms of gambling in general are illegal on the islands. 

[twangster]

The Caymans were not very open to having cruising restart as the world learned how to deal with the pandemic.  They watched as other countries were reaping the benefits of tourism cash flowing again while they had none.  

They've been pretty quick to shut down any attempts to look at a pier for years citing all sorts of doom and gloom from it.  There are a lot of anti-tourism forces at work there.

Allowing cruise lines to open the casino isn't the only reason ships leave.  Slots are open nearly all day long at CocoCay yet ships still leave the port before dinner time. 

Ships have somewhere to go and they don't move very fast.  Staying in port for hours more means they have higher fuel costs to speed to the next port of call at the same the time the world is asking ships to slow down to lower emissions.  Now GC wants ships to speed up so they can stay at GC longer?  Makes no sense.  

If they want to maintain cruise tourism they need a pier.  If they want to capitalize on the trend towards larger ships they need a pier.  Yet many there don't want a pier, many don't like tourism.  Cruise ships sail past lots of islands that don't have ship visits.  Build a pier or become another island watching ships sail past.

[Nathan adams]

We will be there in January 

[TXcruzer]

On 10/29/2024 at 8:36 PM, twangster said:

The Caymans were not very open to having cruising restart as the world learned how to deal with the pandemic.  They watched as other countries were reaping the benefits of tourism cash flowing again while they had none.  

They've been pretty quick to shut down any attempts to look at a pier for years citing all sorts of doom and gloom from it.  There are a lot of anti-tourism forces at work there.

Allowing cruise lines to open the casino isn't the only reason ships leave.  Slots are open nearly all day long at CocoCay yet ships still leave the port before dinner time. 

Ships have somewhere to go and they don't move very fast.  Staying in port for hours more means they have higher fuel costs to speed to the next port of call at the same the time the world is asking ships to slow down to lower emissions.  Now GC wants ships to speed up so they can stay at GC longer?  Makes no sense.  

If they want to maintain cruise tourism they need a pier.  If they want to capitalize on the trend towards larger ships they need a pier.  Yet many there don't want a pier, many don't like tourism.  Cruise ships sail past lots of islands that don't have ship visits.  Build a pier or become another island watching ships sail past.

The extremely limited bar service while anchored in Grand Cayman's waters is not helping them at all either

[smokeybandit]

Cruise expansion got voted down. Long live tendering I guess.

 

https://www.caymancompass.com/2025/05/01/cruise-ship-piers-sunk-but-voters-take-chance-on-lottery-cannabis-decriminalisation/

[Doug_Texas]

On 11/28/2024 at 7:01 AM, TXcruzer said:

The extremely limited bar service while anchored in Grand Cayman's waters is not helping them at all either

I love Grand Cayman but I’d rather sail to ports that welcome tourism and commerce.  I love Key West too but when the locals don’t want you there it puts a damper on your experience.

[Thumper44]

On 11/28/2024 at 7:01 AM, TXcruzer said:

The extremely limited bar service

oh?  how is it different?

[twangster]

17 hours ago, Thumper44 said:

oh?  how is it different?

Only one bar can open while at anchor.  On the entire ship.  One bar.  

Another ship opened a second bar last year.  They were fined tens of thousands.  

On my last visit in March the ship opened the pool bar.  We sailed away at 6PM.  At 5PM you couldn't get a drink anywhere except at the pool bar.  Schooner Bar was empty.  R-Bar empty, Vintages empty, Pub empty.  It sucks. Finally at 6:30PM they opened bars after we sailed away at 6PM.

The Caymans hates cruise ships.  I won't get off the ship there.  I try to avoid cruises that go there.  In March we were going to Panama so I accepted a crappy day in the Caymans to get to Panama.

[Thumper44]

29 minutes ago, twangster said:

Only one bar can open while at anchor.

That's an interesting restriction, presumably to drive people ashore to drink there -- just like restricting the ship's casino.  But you're right about the general antipathy toward cruise ships there.  I have a cruise in 2027 that stops there with the goal of taking my wife to the turtle centre… but I'm half expecting the local government to ban cruise ships entirely before we get there.

[smokeybandit]

Grand Cayman: Force your passengers to come ashore to drink

Also Grand Cayman: Let's make sure more passengers can't come ashore.

[twangster]

It's not even a motivator to force passengers to shore.

If you are sitting by the pool on a ship you can drink until you can't anymore.  Not being able to bar hop on the ship is hardly motivation to give up and go to shore. 

If you have a drink package and you can't bar hop on the ship?  No problem, park yourself by the pool and drink.  

It's simply done to be annoying.  Someone in a position of power was being passive aggressive and created a policy just to stick it to the the cruise lines and cruise ship passengers.  It doesn't protect Cayman families.  It doesn't prevent drinking on board.  It won't stop someone from getting drunk.    It was done because they don't like cruise ships and they could.

[WAAAYTOOO]

We were very recently at GC and on that cruise the only bar open while in port was the pool bar.

[TXcruzer]

20 hours ago, Thumper44 said:

oh?  how is it different?

As said above, just one bar open on the entire ship; generally on the pool deck, with a limited menu.

[GatorCruiser]

That would, and I know this sounds sad and pathetic, really influence my decision about booking a cruise with cayman on the itinerary.  Between having to tender, their obvious disdain for our presence, and booze limitations, it’s a no bueno 

[smokeybandit]

We just walk up the street to Rackam's, have some food and beverage, then head back to the ship