The Executive Director of Jamaica Vacations (JamVac), Joy Roberts, says the 2022/2023 cruise-shipping season will see a major turnaround for the island, following the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking recently to JIS News onboard the Wonder of The Seas – the world’s largest cruise ship – at the Falmouth Pier, Roberts said the inaugural visit by the near 9,000-passenger and crew Royal Caribbean flagship vessel is just a prelude to the return of normality in the cruise sector.
“For starts, 2022 going into 2023 will see Royal Caribbean sending their huge Oasis class vessels, such as Wonder of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas to Jamaica,” she noted.
“These are the three biggest ships in the world… big and expensive… and sending them here tells you about the confidence the cruise line has in our cruise shipping sector and the products we have to offer.”
Roberts said in meetings she has had with cruise-line executives over the past few weeks, Jamaica remains the most exciting port of call in the region and will be getting a lot of calls going forward.
She pointed to the allure of the attractions plus Jamaica’s reputation for clean water as major pull factors, noting that major companies such as Carnival, MSC, Norwegian and Disney have all made commitments alongside Royal Caribbean to send their “biggest and best” ships to Jamaica.
Roberts said along with Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Royal and Port Antonio, all the ports of call will be seeing their fair share of traffic between 2022 and 2024 and that she expects full participation from the local stakeholders, including the residents, the police, and the leaders of the public and private sectors.
“We must begin to understand that there is enough of the tourism pie to go around. Nobody should feel marginalized or left out, as tourism is for the people,” the JamVac executive director added.
Meanwhile, Mayor of Falmouth, Councilor Colin Gager, said the town had been meticulously preparing for the Wonder of the Seas and other Royal Caribbean Oasis vessels for quite some time, noting that to play host to some of the biggest cruise ships in the world is “nothing to scoff at”.
“The Falmouth Pier, which is part owned by Royal Caribbean, was built to accommodate vessels that cannot dock at any other port in Jamaica. We are pleased to be hosting the largest cruise ship currently on the planet, the Wonder of the Seas, and from all indications, everybody is happy with what Falmouth has brought to the table,” he said.
The mayor said the Falmouth Municipality has been assured that the Wonder of the Seas, as well as other Oasis-class vessels, will be making multiple visits throughout the cruise-shipping season, which runs through April 2023.
Wonder of the Seas, which had its first voyage from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to the eastern Caribbean on March 4, arrived in Falmouth four days after sailing from Port Canaveral, Orlando, Florida, on November 27.
The 18-deck cruise ship has capacity for 6,988 guests and 2,300 crew members.
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