Posted on Thu, 11/05/2009 - 23:25
Yes, and as soon as possible - whatever it takes
31% (214 votes)
Yes, but we need time to look at all the possibilities
20% (139 votes)
Perhaps, but environmental and social factors should weigh heavily
23% (156 votes)
No, using tenders is working just fine
26% (181 votes)
Total votes: 690
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Can we learn from history?
Several years ago British Airways sent people here to convince us of the benefits of their new Boeing 777 service that was being launched. The only catch was that our runway was too short and had to be expanded. After some horsetrading with local merchants and sports clubs about where to move the road, the CI Government incurred the expense of upgrading and lengthening he runway and building a new road.
Shortly after this capital outlay, British Airways brought in the 777 service for a short time then replaced the plane servicing the route with a 767 which would have landed just fine on the old runway. The justification by BA was that they couldn't fill the plane so couldn't justify the costs of keeping it on th route.
CI Govt was stuck with the sunk costs of the runway and road construction work...
Is this Oasis class megaship story of history repeating itself? Will the story change after a few visits to the new $150 million dock that Cayman is too small to handle the volume or that they can't fill the ships and therefore will be pulling the ships off the Cayman route?
Compare the new Oasis class
Compare the new Oasis class ships to the Airbus 380 jumbo jet. Their initial claim was similar in that their hypothesis was that air travel was moving towards larger aircraft as the worlds population increased and became wealthier. All airports which wanted to benefit from the future lucrative market of air travel would have to retrofit their airports to accomodate their huge planes, if not they would be left behind.
Very few airports upgraded to suit the requirements of the Airbus 380 and is not selling as well as expected.
My friends, there is nothing that we are going to build that will be able to unload passengers during a northwster.
All of the current ships are being tendered effectively.
This begs the question, should we spend $150 million to build a dock for one class of ship?
I say no.
Each one of these ships has
Each one of these ships has thousands of crew... the crew don't come ashore now because the cruise line doesn't want to pay for thier tendering...
Once we have a dock, those crew will be free to leave the ship for several hours...
The crew of course are not shopping duty free... they will be off supporting local merchants....
Just a thought...
The cruise lines are
The cruise lines are bluffing. We are right in the loop for the weekly florida/caribbean cruises and suit the cruise lines itinerary just perfect.
We do not have the capacity to handle more cruise passengers on any given day and should leave things just the way they are, rather than take the Tender business out of the hands of caymanians and give it to foreigners.
Of course our Premier only sees what is in it for him and could not care less how many caymanians get shafted in the process. I dont know of a single case where this people loving Premier has helped anyone outside of his West Bay constituency. Goes to show why people keep electing him.
Maybe someone needs to look into the matter of a possible fronting scheme here by members of the UDP.
Pros and Cons of Finger
Pros and Cons of Finger Piers:
Pros
1. Safer operation
2. Larger new ships cannot tender, too many passengers ...6,500 pax and 2,500 crew...FCCA members currently removing smaller ships from western Caribbean.
3. FCCA says they will bypass Cayman (admittedly maybe a bluff) but clearly less ships will be in region.
4. Longer time ashore for passengers, will translate into more revenue onshore, longer tours to eastern side of island therefore more dispersal of cruise passengers.
5. Government fees from "landing fees" will go up significantly.
Cons
1. Bodden shipping will loose $5-6M per year for bringing passengers ashore.
2. Potentially more passengers on streets of George Town, more traffic, etc.
3. UK warships can now dock when they need to show force, not just sail up and down offshore in the heat.
4. Cruise Ships will be closer to shore having bigger impact visually.
5. Environmental Impact if any
You decide or add points.
Frankly the losses to Bodden
Frankly the losses to Bodden Shipping must be ignored since it is a Luddite response. It would be like deciding not to open an airport because the ferry would lose money.
What makes Cayman unique as a cruise port?
Short answer: Tenders... With more and more ports with berthing facilities, a thought might be given to making us stand out from the crowd...
Yes, mega ships may elect to pass us by, but let's face it, George Town is not very nice when we have huge numbers of cruise shippers descend on us all at once. And the mega ships are increasingly slotted towards mass tourism and moving 'em in and out like cattle... Not a nice mental image.
I believe we would see only a slow increase or a levelling off in cruise numbers... but I suspect that an improved tourist experience would translate into higher spending per passenger. Especially as the smaller ships tend to cater to the very people who can't (or won't) put up with being herded...
And as someone who normally doesn't wager anything... I'm willing to bet that tenders actually contribute to increased time on shore and spending by passengers vs. being able to quickly slip back on board for lunch etc...
Any takers?
Wont argue with you on the
Wont argue with you on the Pros but here goes on the Cons.
1) Transfer earnings for landing Passengers from a Caymanian to a Foreigner. How much do Mack stand to benefit from this exercise??????????????.
2) Larger ships do not necessarily mean more Passengers. It only means that the Cruise Lines can move more Passengers with less ships.
3) UK Warships will arrive anyhow once Jack get back to the UK and is debriefed on all the corruption and crime he has imaginary uncovered in these islands.
4) A Mega cruise ship will make a nice hotel sitting on the rocks in George Town harbour.
5) The western end of Grand Cayman has long been dead. It is only those who fail to know this that continue to believe that there is still something left to destroy in GT Harbour.
CRUISE DOCK
Anyone can find a document/spin on any point of view in reference to cruise business pro or con. Just choose what suits your position on the web.
IMHO we should look at the destination and the impact of the new mega ships on the infrastructure and environment. Go on line and look at these "giants". The statistics are amazing and even frightening when you place one of these beasts in any Caribbean port. The visual impact will be enormous.
When these mega ships dock the propulsion units will blow a small wave onto the shore/dock. When they back up they will blow all the sand, algae, small creatures etc into the water layers for hundreds of yards N, S and W of the docks. The almost dead coral in the harbor will now die completely and the affects of the silting will move N towards the beach and S towrads "Pull be Dambed". The temperature change that will happen to the water in the harbor by just having a couple of these bateaux's present will affect the environment. The noise will kill what ever is left. This is just docking.
What will happen to the "round the island" currents with this new structure in place. What will happen during a norwester or hurricane.
The goal of the cruise ship companies is to keep everyone on board spending as much as possible. Babysitting, rock climbing, movies.....you know the drill. They sell every duty free item for less on board. If they could keep people at sea just roaming around they would.
Having a pier allows people to come and go as they please. Come back for lunch, a knap, then go back ashore. It works both ways. Some will stay longer on shore, some less.
The traffic, flows, number of buses, taxi's, rental cars, business people, number of toilets needed, electricity and on and on will rise dramatically. Is there a study on the affects to the infrastructure?
With streamlined customs on board, new off loading facilities/loading facilities, enhanced Bodden Shipping service you take care on the business that does come with less congestion and impact.
Some are thinking that stayover tourism will languish forever with this type of cruise business. They might be right. What is wrong with doing the proper studies and publishing them.
Sometimes bigger isn't better.
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