Heads of some of the world’s largest cruise companies discussed bringing their ships to Cayman Brac during a closed meeting with the government and Port Zeus developers.
The attendees, including representatives of Royal Caribbean Group, Holland America Group, Celebrity Cruises, MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line, met on Wednesday, 15 March.
During the meeting, Port Zeus project manager Matthew Manning presented the plans for the new marina, port and village at Scott’s Dock. It does not yet have planning approval.
Michele Paige, president of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association which represents 24 cruise lines, described learning about the port as a positive learning experience.
She said the cruise industry and the government have an “extremely close” relationship and they are looking at building bilateral bonds to spread economic wealth to the people.
The government talked about new opportunities, she said, and is looking at ways to have the “virgin territory” of Cayman Brac opened up for shore excursions or port calls.
Paige added, it is very early on in the process of building a cruise industry in Cayman Brac but described it as having a “bright future” and they are working together to get there.
If the cruise industry supports an idea, she said during the event at the Marriott Hotel, it will embrace it and spend millions of dollars on marketing.
Port Zeus, as currently envisaged, is unlikely to be large enough for a cruise ship to dock, but it is possible that passengers could be tendered to the marina, once it is built.
A ‘brand new light’
Minister for Tourism Kenneth Bryan told the Compass: “Post Covid the customer’s expectations are different. They don’t want the conveyor belt type of tourism.
“They want authenticity, they want uniqueness. They want to see Cayman’s products, not Caribbean products,” adding, cruise lines can offer guidance to the government.
He said now is the time to bring tourism and development stakeholders together to see where partnerships and synergies can be found.
This will allow Cayman Brac to have a “brand new light” of economic development, Minister Bryan said, adding the meeting is the first of its kind but will not be the last.
“What I can say, based on the reaction of most of the represented from the cruise lines – there seems to be interest and opportunities available.”
He declined to say which cruise lines had expressed interest but said there would be further discussions.
“Cruise tourism has been under much scrutiny over the last five years in the Cayman Islands,” the minister said.
“What I think we are presented with is an opportunity to start fresh with Cayman Brac… to balance the amount of people, what we want to offer and what we’re willing to accept.
“I think that falls in alignment with what the passengers’ expectations are: authenticity and encouraging delivery of a product.”
During their visit, the guests also learned about the status of Cayman Islands’ ports, were given an update on the waterfront project and were given a tour of Grand Cayman.
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Boo. Cruise ships & their largely obnoxious passengers will quickly ruin Brac. But money money money right???