Thread: Ultimatum: No docking facilities- No Oasis

From the Cayman Compass (Grand Cayman Newspaper)

Cruise line industry threatens to leave Cayman behind if berthing docks are not constructed
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. . . Members of the Florida–Caribbean Cruise Association, visiting Cayman this week to tour passenger facilities and discuss future arrangements for cruise ships, said regional and global destinations with docking facilities were competing with Cayman and the industry would prefer to take passengers to places with docks rather than use tender boats.

Michael Ronan, vice president of Royal Caribbean Cruises . . . . said Royal Caribbean would not bring its new Oasis of the Seas super–cruise ship to Cayman if it did not have a berth.
“We’re not calling anywhere where the ship cannot dock.”

He said with 6,000 passengers and 2,000 crew on board it would take too long to disembark. “Build it and we will come. Don’t build it and we will not come”

READ FULL STORY HERE: Cayman Islands - Cay Compass News Online - FCCA: Build berthing dock

Too many passengers at one time! If there are other ships in port at the same time as the new mega monsters you won't be able to enjoy the beauty of the island. It has already been changed with the addition of the standard Caribbean mainstays like Diamonds International, Hard Rock Cafe and Margaritaville!

It has already lost the native attraction for me. We already make this a "sea day" and stay onboard.

I usually stay onboard when our itinerary calls in Grand Cayman, however, if we were there with a mega ship like Oasis of the Seas, that would cement the deal for me.

Once this ship hits the seas, I will be looking for itineraries that do not have any ports in common with it. Ports are crowded enough, without dumping 5,000+ passengers, from one ship, into a port.

Good Point! For sure ... we don't care to have the same port stop as Oasis!

An excellent point, cruizinlass! I think I will be comparing itineraries before booking on another ship in hopes of avoiding the crowded ports that the Oasis class ships will undoubtetly guarantee.

Good point indeed -- avoid ports where Oasis might be unloading entirely too many passengers.

And I wouldn't mind never having Grand Cayman on my itinerary again. Been there, done that, enough.

I guess that leaves Jamaica and Haiti as port stops for Abomination of the Seas. I'm ok with that. How long do you think it will be before Oasis sets a world record for Nora cases or lost luggage?

I could never get tired of Grand Cayman. Now Cozumel...

Wow!

I never considered the PPP (Port Passenger Pollution, abbreviated 'P3') effect of a really large cruise ship. It's given me pause for thought. Ran into it at Nassau a while back (5-6 ships) but it didn't fully register at the time.

It appears to have added a new factor to cruise choice: given a specific cruise on a specific ship, how many other ships will dock at each scheduled port?

While this falls somewhere between the cost of a balcony stateroom and whether chocolate melting cake is on the dessert menu in importance, it's a possible consideration.

Looks like there might be justification for a data base of this information. Anyone care to help get one cobbled together?

Someone has already done that for us. I use this site all of the time, to find out what the port load is going to be on any of my port stops. It is a little difficult to use at first, you have to kind of back into it. I will try to explain.

1. Go to the main page and pick a port that you know is on your proposed itinerary.
2. When that port comes up, click on the month and year of your trip (at the top of the page).
3. When that comes up, click on your ship's name.
4. Finally, once the ship's schedule has come up, click on the month and year of your proposed sailing.

This will show you where your ship is each day of that month, arrival/departure times, as well as what other ships are in port with you and the total passenger load in the port.

I know it sounds daunting, but it really is easy to use, once you get the hang of it. I just realized that I am in port with 18,000+ people in Cozumel on 11/13

I think I'll stay on the ship.

Cruise TT : Your Cruise Ship And Port Timetable

cruzinlass:

Many thanks! You just saved me some 'puter time.

Jim