Troubled Falmouth, Jamaica cruise port finally welcomes first cruise guests

by Chris Owen on

Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas became the first cruise ship to visit the new port of Falmouth, Jamaica which unofficially opened today, months behind schedule.

“We are delighted to see Voyager of the Seas make the first-ever ship call at Historic Falmouth,” said Craig Milan, senior vice president of Land Operations, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “By partnering with the Port Authority of Jamaica, we are working to deliver our shared vision of Falmouth’s rebirth. Together, we are bringing the town’s historic sites to life and integrating the culture and authenticity of this destination into a superior guest experience.”

The port construction is a joint effort between between mega-ship maker Royal Caribbean International and the government of Jamaica. Originally scheduled to open last May, ongoing construction delays pushed opening the troubled port back, rerouting giant sisters Oasis and Allure of the Seas to Costa Maya, Mexico instead. It looks like the port is on track for an official grand opening in March though when Oasis of the Seas will make her first stop at the new facility.

On the ground today in Jamaica, cruise expert Stewart Chiron CEO, CruiseGuy.com tweeted “Crowds massing on rooftops, churches, roadways as town about to enter new Millennium. Feels like Christopher Columbus’ arrival.”Indeed, the historic area of Falmouth, Jamaica dates back to 1790 at a time when Jamaica was the world’s largest sugar producer. One of the major obstacles in the construction of the new port has been building up an infrastructure that dates back to the late 18Th and early 19Th century when it was a central hub of the slave trade.

That was then, this is now.

“Marching band welcoming @RoyalCaribbean #cruise passengers as 1st to visit historic port of Falmouth” chimed Chiron.

Today, guests from Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas are experiencing a new and diverse variety of shore excursions while at Historic Falmouth, including:

  • Good Hope Great House:located fifteen minutes from Falmouth, guests can choose from the new horse & carriage ride, river-tubing, ATV exploring, among others, on this former 18th century Jamaican plantation
  • Dolphin Cove & Dunn’s River Falls:adventure seekers can climb Dunn’s River Falls; zip-line through the lush rainforest canopy or wind down the mountainside on a Jamaican bobsled at Mystic Mountain; or swim with the dolphins at Dolphin Cove.
  • Appleton Estate: after a scenic drive through the Cockpit Country and Bamboo Avenue, guests can indulge in one of Falmouth’s old-world delicacies by learning to make rum and sampling different aged rums.
  • Rafting on Martha Brae: located five minutes from Falmouth, guests can enjoy a tranquil ride on a 30-foot bamboo raft.

Once complete, the port’s master plan calls for 120,000 square feet of retail shopping and two berths capable of servicing the line’s Oasis-class ships. Located on the islands North side between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, most tours and excursions currently offered at either port will be available from Falmouth.

Some ships previously scheduled to call at Falmough had been redirected to Ocho Rios or Montego Bay where guests aboard Royal Caribbean ships got a discount on the very popular “JamaicaForADay” packages that sounded like just what they need and maybe what super-slow Falmouth construction workers shouldn’t have had.

The all-you-can-drink, all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-play excursion at Sunset Beach Resort pretty much washed away any post-ship diversion blues and brought on the trademark Jamaican party time with no problem mon.

Photos and video @CruiseGuy


On Celebrity Cruises X marks a change to on board experiences

by Chris Owen on

Cruise lines continue to hack away at what we think of them. Pretty much burried are images of shuffleboard, bingo, and “just old folks” on the ships. Now, they are moving forward with intense new branding efforts that are making for clear choices between lines.

It wasn’t all that long ago that if your answer to “Where did you go on vacation?” was “on a cruise” that similar images, impressions and perceptions would come up. Cruise vacations really were quite similar between lines and “on a cruise” was a good, accurate answer.

Now, cruise lines are clearly focused on defining their brands and making sure you know it.

Celebrity Cruises, traditionally seen as a more upscale line with a more fancy onboard experience, is taking it’s signature “X” icon to a different level with a new theme “X the rules”. This is different than Norwegian Cruise Line’s “Freestyle Cruising” that promotes how guests are “free to do whatever…” It’s different than sister-line Royal Caribbean’s “Land of why not?” campaign.

Celebrity Cruises is promoting change through a “trendsetting onboard experience”, different than other lines. Still upscale, Celebrity “iLounges” offer the latest Apple technologies and invite guests to become immersed in new applications through “iLearn” courses. Celebrity also offers vacationers the chance to learn a new language through Rosetta Stone, become immersed in the culture of the destinations with experts from Smithsonian Journeys, or taste the difference a glass makes in comparative wine tastings with Riedel Crystal.

Yes, there’s still bingo and you can find shuffleboard if you look for it. But Celebrity ships, new and old, are going after a unique onboard experience that won’t be for everyone. That’s a new direction for cruise lines in general who wanted to be everything to everybody for so long as the industry was developing.

While only an estimated 20% of the U.S. population has taken a cruise, the Cruise Lines International Association predicts strong growth in the future. If the individual lines have anything to say about it, they will find you, sail with you, and be everything you ever wanted in a vacation.

As Celebrity might have said in the not-nearly-as-well-defined past “It’s all about you”.

Flickr photo by sailorbabe80



“Weapons of mass effect” found on American soil says San Diego port director

by Chris Owen on

In a startling video of a recent interview released yesterday, the assistant director of San Diego’s cruise port revealed that “weapons of mass effect” had been found in the past. As the interview continued, on-camera comments suggested a cover-up of important information regarding port safety.

In an interview reported on Fox News, San Diego assistant port director Al Hallor, also an officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said that authorities had uncovered weapons of mass effect in the past and that San Diego was a target for terrorism.

“Given the open waterways and the access to the Navy fleet here, I’d say, absolutely, San Diego is a target,” Hallor said. When asked if they ever found a chemical agent or weaponized device Hallor replied “At the airport, seaport, at our port of entry we have not this past fiscal year, but our partner agencies have found those things”

Immediately, a public affairs officer stepped in to intervene, attempting to steer the interview in a different direction, limiting questions to just the Port of San Diego.

Homeland Security officials tried to say the assistant director was confused and nervous. Later in the day, the Customs and Border Protection issued this statement:

“CBP has not specifically had any incidents with nuclear devices or nuclear materials at our ports of entry. CBP is an all-threats agency. The purpose of many security measures is to prevent threats from ever materializing by being prepared for them. And, we must be prepared to stop threats in whatever form they do materialize at the border, whether it’s an individual or cargo arriving by land, air, or sea. Regardless of what the contraband or threat is, we’re being smart, evaluating, and focusing in on anything or anyone that is potentially high-risk.

We were able to show you first-hand one example of how we evaluate segment risk, inspect, etc. in the cargo environment by air and sea here in San Diego. This is one portion of the CBP mission, and hopefully gives you some examples of how much has evolved in the past decade, with the new technologies we have at our disposal. This, coupled with document requirements at the border, advanced passenger and cargo information, better information sharing, and many other measures help us to secure the border – and each measure doesn’t work individually or in a vacuum, but rather in the layered security that we were able to demonstrate one facet of.”



The Port of San Diego recently made news on another front when they introduced the technology that allows cruise ships to “plug in” when at port, turning off their highly-polluting engines while in port.

Flickr photo by Port of San Diego

Princess Ships to Broadcast Historic Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton

by Chris Owen on

Just announced, the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton will be televised live on Princess Cruises ships on April 29. Passengers can follow along with full coverage of the historic wedding through BBC World’s broadcast of the event.

Some other lines made a similar announcement in December. Princess Cruises is doing it differently though.

“As this is the first British royal wedding in years we know there will be wide interest among our passengers,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. “We at Princess also feel a connection with Prince William because his mother, Princess Diana, christened our original Royal Princess back in 1984.”
Princess is adding onboard viewing parties complete with British-style refreshments and royal-themed cocktails as they watch the most extensive coverage of this royal event. BBC is the official wedding broadcaster and has exclusive access inside Westminster Abbey during the ceremony.

Onboard events include a William and Kate look-alike contest and royal wedding trivia competitions.

Royal Wedding broadcasts are planned for all ships in the Princess fleet, subject to satellite availability. Shown on giant 300 sq ft “Movies Under The Stars” LED screens like they have the Super Bowl and Academy Awards in the past, there will be a good seat for everyone to watch the entire event.

Flickr photo by TossMyPancake


New EPA fuel rules could drive cruise ships out of Alaska again

by Chris Owen on

They went away and then they came back when Alaska government officials raised then lowered their cost of doing business in Alaskan waters. Looking ahead, upcoming Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards may send cruise lines running once again.

It all has to do with regulations in the works that enforce “dramatically tougher pollution limits as early as January 2014” the EPA says of Ocean Vessels and Large ships.

“The tougher standards could add $50 million to $150 million in annual costs for Alaska routes by 2015, when the pollution clampdown gets even tougher” Andy Nelson, vice president of tour operations for Royal Celebrity Tours told the Puget Sound Business Journal.

It’s a topic cruise lines would rather avoid but have taken steps to comply and even go beyond existing regulations.After turning a cold shoulder to an Alaska that seemed determined to tax cruise ships out of the market, cruise lines returned this year to the land of the midnight sun with more ships, sailings and capacity.

“We are particularly appreciative of the efforts of Governor Sean Parnell and the Alaska state legislature that have resulted in meaningful progress toward resolving the challenges facing Alaska’s recovery as a cruise destination,” said Princess Cruises President and CEO Alan Bucklew.

Cruise lines often come under heavy criticism for environmental impact but have been making efforts to be good global citizens. “Plugging in” to shoreside power is a growing way ship emissions are being controlled.

Yes, new EPA fuel rules could drive cruise ships out of Alaska again. But is that what Alaska wants? Cruise lines say no; it’s big business to them and they are trying to comply with regulations. Tourists say no, they want to go there. Alaska residents say no, tourism runs in the hundreds of $ millions.