Boutique cruises, overnight stays should be Cayman’s focus, say campaigners

Cruise tourism can continue to flourish in the Cayman Islands without a cruise terminal, says campaign group CPR Cayman.

In a press release, CPR Cayman, which campaigned for a referendum on the now-abandoned PPM plan for cruise piers in George Town, said, “A sustainable tourism model that invests in overnight tourism and nurtures a boutique cruise tourism sector will yield higher long-term returns for the local economy, while minimising negative impacts on our overall community well-being.”

The model would see Cayman following the example of other Caribbean nations, such as Anguilla, which are focusing on smaller, boutique ships, as well as building up air passenger numbers.

While some cruise lines are replacing older ships with newer mega ships that will bypass the Cayman Islands if a cruise terminal isn’t built, CPR Cayman said that cruise operators such as Disney, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line have all recently announced that they are continuing to build smaller ships to enable them to continue to visit more unique, boutique destinations, like the Cayman Islands.

The group said data showed that Disney, Celebrity and Norwegian Cruise Lines have actually increased their calls to Cayman since the overall record high year of 2019.

Overnight stays questioned

CPR Cayman also questioned how profitable it would be to allow cruise ships to keep their casinos and bars open while in harbour, a idea suggested by Tourism Minister and Deputy Premier Kenneth Bryan.

“Contrary to the Deputy Premier’s statement in October 2024, that with a pier, cruise ships would stay in port overnight, Carnival Executive David Candib confirmed that having a pier would not change the current dynamics and their ships would not stay overnight or into the evening,” CPR Cayman said.

While Candib has said that the company might consider scheduling more ships to Cayman if they were allowed to have their casinos and bars open while in harbour, CPR Cayman said that additional economic benefits to the local economy were questionable as many cruise guests would return to their ship for pre-paid meals. The move would also require gambling in Cayman waters to be legalised.

Just last week, top economist and Caribbean expert Marla Dukharan questioned the financial contribution of cruise ships to Cayman in her keynote address at the Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Forum, ‘Cayman 2035’.

She highlighted that cruise ship tourists each spent an average of US$116 during their time visiting Cayman, which is up 10% on 2019, but a decline in real terms.

Referendum concerns

With just a few days to go until the next sitting of Parliament, where the bill on the proposed cruise berth referendum might be debated (if it is first approved by the House business committee), CPR Cayman said that it still had concerns about what it called “the current lack of referendum regulations”.

It said, “we are concerned that the Government referendum will proceed without adequate regulation to ensure a fair and effective process. Public spending has already begun with a complete absence of regulation.”

There were also unanswered questions about what the referendum was actually proposing, said the group.

“Cayman deserves to have complete data in order to make an informed decision on cruise berthing and all matters of national importance, however the minority Government, while continuing to push for an April 2025 referendum, has made no disclosures on plans, location, costs, environmental impacts or other key information,” CPR wrote.

The group says that in 2019, government spent more than CI$217,000 promoting a cruise berthing plan, which, it said, would have resulted in dredging of 22 acres of seabed, the direct loss of 12 acres of coral reefs, sedimentation from dredging that would smother surrounding coral reefs and cloud the usually clear waters, and a CI$550 million hit to the value of natural assets over 25 years, as well as an increased risk of flooding due to the loss of natural coastal defences.

Stayover tourism booming

While overall cruise arrivals have declined, Cayman’s stayover tourism is experiencing near record highs, said CPR Cayman, with the January-June period in 2024 showing the third-highest visitor numbers ever for the first half of the year after 2018 and 2019. While making up only 20% of head count, stayover tourists account for 80% of tourism revenue and contribute less strain to Cayman’s limited carrying capacity.

Putting the case for a new cruise terminal is the pro-cruise pier campaign group Advancement of Cruise Tourism, which has been holding a series of public meetings about the issue. At a meeting in West Bay last week, the group, headed by Ellio Solomon, alleged that the public is being misled about the importance of the cruise sector and the need to expand infrastructure, while claims about potential damage to the environment are being exaggerated.

“[CPR Cayman’s] arguments about damage to the environment are simply designed to create fear and confusion, when in fact the opposite is true,” Solomon said.

On Wednesday, 29 Jan., Parliament’s Business Committee is meeting to determine what will be on the Order Paper for the upcoming session of Parliament, which reconvenes on Friday.