Are ‘Cruisezilla’ ships crucial for the Cayman Islands?

The warning from the world’s largest cruise operators to the Cayman Islands could not have been clearer.

In the plush surroundings of the Governor’s Ballroom at the Westin Grand Cayman on Seven Mile Beach last week, executives at MSC Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line confirmed that, yes, if the Cayman Islands didn’t invest millions of dollars in building a cruise berthing facility, then the next generation of cruise ships would simply sail on by, taking their lucrative port fees and thousands of spending passengers with them.

For an island which has a significant cruise tourism sector, this is a big problem. It not only affects government revenues – cruise ships pay huge sums in port charges and passenger fees – but the livelihoods of businesses that depend on the cruise sector, including taxi drivers, food and drink vendors, tour operators and retailers.

The rise of the megaships

As cruise ships get larger and larger, leading them to be dubbed ‘Cruisezillas’, this is a unique problem for the jurisdiction, which is one of the largest cruise shipping destinations in the world, but still without a cruise berth which would allow cruise passengers to walk on and off the ship. Instead, passengers have to be brought ashore by tender boats, which might not be an issue for ships with a few hundred passengers, but is a logistical nightmare when you’re dealing with several thousand people at a time.

Faced with huge queues and costs to get passengers ashore and back again in a strict time limit, cruise operators are simply refusing to call into tender-only destinations.

The impact is already being felt. In 2023, around 1.3 million cruise passengers visited the Cayman Islands, according to figures from the Department of Tourism, up from 2022 but a 31% drop from the 1.8 million visitors received in 2019.

Putting this in context, 2023 was actually an all-time record for the Caribbean overall, with 31.1 million cruise visits to the region, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO). This was an increase of 11.3 million, or 56.8% over 2022 and surpassed 2019, the previous record, by 2.4%.

Projections indicate that the cruise sector will continue its upward track, with an estimated 34.2 million to 35.8 million cruise visits expected in the Caribbean in 2024.

Cruise traffic is booming – just not in Cayman

This boom in traffic is clearly not being shared by Cayman.

For the first three months in 2024, compared with the same period in 2019, nine destinations reporting to the CTO saw increases in cruise visits, ranging from 10% in Saint Lucia to 285% in Bermuda. Meanwhile, the other four destinations all saw declines: Barbados (down 0.3%), the Turks and Caicos Islands (down 3.9%), Jamaica (down 10.4%), and the Cayman Islands, a huge 36.6% fall.

In the first six months of 2024, cruise passenger arrivals to the jurisdiction numbered 634,212, down 14.3% on 2023, with 197 cruise ship calls, 50 fewer than in the first half of 2023. Projections for 2024 overall expect just 746,000 cruise passengers arriving on Grand Cayman, and blame is being firmly placed on the Cayman Islands’ reliance on tender boats.

It’s a subject which the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce recently weighed in on. Said a spokesman: “As cruise lines continue to build larger vessels, they increasingly prefer destinations with fixed piers that offer greater efficiency and safety. The lack of such infrastructure in the Cayman Islands has disadvantaged the destination, leading to fewer ships choosing to dock here.”

The rise of the megaships

There is no doubt that cruise ships are getting larger, doubling in size in the last decade alone. The world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, weighs nearly 250,000 tonnes, has 20 decks, 40 restaurants, seven swimming pools and can take 7,600 passengers at full capacity.

As well as this giant, Royal Caribbean is rolling out its Oasis class of cruise ships, which each take more than 5,000 passengers, not counting crew.

It isn’t just Royal Caribbean’s ships which are growing in size though – its cruise rivals, such as Carnival and MSC, are also adding larger ships to their Caribbean fleets.

In 2000, the biggest cruise ship in the world was Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas, with a gross tonnage of 137,276. Since then, the average size of the 10 largest ships has doubled from 103,000 GT to 205,000 GT and the trend is showing little sign of stopping.

The million-dollar cruise question

The question is what should Cayman do to address the problem? A proposed referendum over plans to build cruise berthing facilities several years ago became mired in legal arguments and was eventually dropped, but the issue is more crucial than ever.

A new forthcoming referendum on the issue, should, according to Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan, be a “straightforward” question, but the solution is far from simple. Saying yes to cruise berthing facilities does not necessarily mean saying yes to the ‘Cruisezilla’ ships of tomorrow, which will undoubtedly bring in crucial revenues but could risk changing the nature of these islands for good.

Campaign group CPR Cayman recently launched a survey for people to express their views on the issue ahead of the national referendum. The group has long been warning about how a cruise berth could affect the quality of life in the Cayman Islands, with traffic congestion, overcrowding and safety issues being paramount, particularly where tourist attractions are arguably already at capacity. There is also the impact on the unique Caymanian eco-system, such as its waters and coral reefs.

Says the group: “We accept the fact that tourism is an essential part of our economy. However, Caymanian tourism has been built for decades on the natural beauty of Cayman. As tourism morphs, what will Cayman transform into, as the market demand is pulled toward the cruise boat facility and our environment begins to die?”

While modern cruise ships are more environmentally-friendly than the carbon-emitting behemoths of yesteryear, there is no doubt that they can have an impact on the environment, both natural and man-made. Traffic congestion on cruise ship days is legendary and having thousands of cruise-shippers descend at once can’t help but have an impact on any destination.

Indeed, it is the impact of cruise ships and their passengers which has led to authorities in Venice, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Bruges, Mallorca, Maine, Florida, California and Alaska to restrict cruise passengers. The Greek government has just announced a 20 euro tax per cruise ship passenger, following its moves to combat over-tourism by restricting the number of cruise ships and passenger visits.

What are the alternatives?

However, simply reducing the number of cruise visitors to the Cayman Islands would not address the economic issue, which is that cruise shipping is very lucrative to the nation, bringing in around $200 million each year. The Chambers of Commerce says a possible solution could be to explore alternatives which would diversify the tourism sector and arguably cause less of a permanent impact on the island.

It notes: “The Cayman Islands can create a more resilient and sustainable tourism industry that benefits visitors and the local community by expanding into different types of tourism. By promoting these activities, the islands can attract a segment of tourists who are less dependent on cruise ship schedules and more interested in extended stays.”

These include enhancing the current stayover options, such as luxury resorts and hotels; eco-tourism, which showcases the islands’ diverse ecosystems and natural beauty; and adventure tourism, including scuba-diving and snorkelling, kayaking, paddle-boarding and jet skiing. Other options to be explored could include cultural tourism, health and wellness tourism, culinary tourism and sports tourism – all options which do not necessarily require the mass-tourism options of mega cruise ships.

“By focusing on alternative forms of tourism, supporting local businesses and strategically planning for the future, the Cayman Islands can build a more resilient and sustainable economy,” concludes the Chamber.

Businesses whose livelihoods depend directly on increasing the number of cruise ship passengers as much as possible might disagree. But looking at how other destinations across the Caribbean are wrestling with the same issue offers a potential middle way between embracing the megaships and missing out on crucial cruise shipping revenue in the future.

Quality, not quantity, in Anguilla

At 35 square miles, Anguilla is around half the size of Grand Cayman. The government in Anguilla has made a deliberate decision to eschew the megaships, and has instead chosen to focus on smaller, luxury cruise ships.

“One of the things we pride ourselves on is that we don’t subscribe to commercial tourism,” says Stacey Liburd, director of tourism at the Anguilla Tourist Board. “We don’t have the infrastructure that will support large cruise ships, and if you are hosting ships which have thousands of passengers, then what does that mean for the quality of the tourism offering? Do we have enough activities that they will find worth coming on the island for, and if something happens, can our hospital and medical centres support that?”

She adds, “When you’re thinking about the cruise industry, there’s a lot to think about in terms of infrastructure, manpower, human capital and so on, but you also want to ensure that your stayover visitors have a nice balance. There’s also the concern around the environment and marine life.”

But what about the prospect of being bypassed by the larger ships in the region in favour of other ports with greater capacity? “We’re OK with that!” laughs Liburd. “We can’t be for everyone. We have to focus on what we do well, and on other sources of revenue. We’re not trying to diversify totally away from tourism, it’s just being able to diversify our revenue streams, so if one of them gets hit, then it doesn’t cripple our economy.”

Instead, Anguilla is redeveloping its airport capacity to boost the number of visitors it can receive by air, with a new terminal building and a longer runway. “That’s our focus right now,” confirms Liburd.

Spending per head by overnight guests – which includes accommodation and meals and is likely to be for several nights – for any Caribbean destination far outweighs spend by cruise visitors, who are likely to spend just a few hours at each destination. The key for Anguilla, as many other tourist destinations, is to convert the cruise visitors of today to the week-long holiday makers of tomorrow, so making the cruise experience as attractive as possible is key.

So what should the Cayman Islands do, in the opinion of some of its Caribbean neighbours? “The Cayman Islands should be doing whatever is best for the Cayman Islands,” says Liburd diplomatically.

“I think for islands like Jamaica and Bahamas, it [mass cruising] makes sense – they have the activities, they have the infrastructure to support it, and it contributes to their revenue. Some of the smaller islands who now accept cruise ships, though, I think if they can pull back and rethink, I think they would, because that contributes to other environmental factors, such as marine life and reefs.

“There are some who probably want to pull back, but again, it’s such a huge contributor to revenue I’m not sure what that is going to look like. If you spend millions on a marina, then pull back on cruise, then you’re going to have to have some other plans in terms of how to use it.”

Dominica – going for growth

Around 225 miles south of Anguilla is Dominica, which is the polar opposite to Anguilla in its cruise ship plans. This nation has a target of a million cruise ship passengers a year by 2030, a huge leap from the current annual total of 300,000.

“We are very keen in growing our cruise ships passengers,” says Marva Williams, director of tourism at Discover Dominica Authority. “We welcome the possibility of bringing in more cruise ships and we want to build capacity to maybe even six cruise ships to our docks during the day. It’s an annual $20.8 million boost to the economy and we want to increase that.”

Cruise shipping in Dominica is already booming, with an 11% increase between the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons, with more ships bearing greater numbers of passengers to its shores. While Dominica can already accommodate, with some careful timing, two or even three cruise ships at once, it is planning to build a new cruise berth to welcome in the next generation of megaships.

“We know that we have some work to do but we are very keen in growing our cruise ship passengers so we’re looking to develop and build on what we have now,” says Williams. “It does cause a certain level of congestion internally, so we’re talking to stakeholders and letting people know when the cruise ships are coming in, so they are prepared. But, in Dominica, we have the capacity to host more visitors and we want to fill that capacity.”

Increasing cruise visitors is not only lucrative in itself, but Williams is keen for them to return, and stay longer that just a few hours. “We want to give them an amazing experience so they come back and stay for five days or more,” she says. “We have a lot of things that you need time to experience so this is about giving people a taste of Dominica – they come briefly, but fall in love.”

Making the best of its location in Saint Martin

Differing in approach yet again is French Saint Martin, which shares an island with Dutch St Maarten. According to Valerie Damaseau, Saint Martin’s commissioner for tourism and culture, Saint Martin has “more of a unique, high-end feel which is very intimate and nothing to do with the big ships – that’s something which, politically, we don’t want”.

Handily though, Philipsburg, the capital of St Maarten, is near by and does cater for the larger cruise ships, which means the French side still benefits from the tourism spend, without having to build vast terminals itself.

“Maybe for Saint Martin, [the decision] is too easy,” muses Damaseau, “because we have the Dutch side, but even without that, we would still not choose the mass tourism from the big cruise ships. Everyone has to understand their product and our product does not cater for that.”

Instead Saint Martin caters for smaller, more high-end cruise ships and is currently considering upgrading its existing berth at Galisbay port, not to cater for larger ships, but to improve the tourism experience by separating out its cargo facility.

“We don’t have mass-market hotels, we have boutique hotels.” says Damaseau. “Our product is unique and after the pandemic, we realised that we didn’t want to mess it up with mass tourism.”

She adds, “Across the Caribbean, there’s something for everyone, so it’s about positioning yourself, knowing and sticking to your true identity. You have to define who you are and what you have to offer. You don’t have a tourism product without a country’s people or its culture, so if Caymanians don’t see a need for this mass tourism then that is a choice that they’ll have to make.”