Princess Cruises Dropping Jamaica For 2009-2010

[rienreiter]

Hello All Fellow FOD's:

 

Given the fact that Jamaica is so frequently a heated debate on our boards, I thought I would share with all of you this Cruise Critic article just posted today. I am sure that there are a lot of you out there that may be quite content to know this new interesting piece of information.

 

Regards,

 

 

 

Passengers Prompt Princess to Jettison Jamaican Ports

 

Is Jamaica on the decline? Could be.

 

Princess Cruises will remove Jamaican ports from its Western Caribbean itineraries beginning next year, due in part to the island's poor performance on passenger surveys.

 

The cruise line's 2009-10 Caribbean cruise schedule, released last week, drops Jamaican port calls from all seven-day sailings to the Western Caribbean. The Honduran island of Roatan will replace the Jamaica stop (currently either Ocho Rios or Montego Bay) on all of these cruises, joining holdovers Grand Cayman, Cozumel and the private island of Princess Cays on the itinerary.

 

Crown Princess will handle the altered Western Caribbean lineup, taking over the route from Ruby Princess, and will sail on 27 departures beginning in November 2009.

 

Ocho Rios and Montego Bay have long been mainstays for Princess in the Caribbean, and are both included on 2008-09 itineraries currently offered onboard Ruby Princess. But Jamaica's somewhat gritty image, along with persistent passenger concerns about crime and a too-visible drug culture, may have finally forced the cruise line to make a change.

 

Passenger response played a significant role in the decision to add Roatan at the expense of Jamaica's pair of ports, according to Princess.

 

"Part of the selection process for ports of call is based on passenger surveys," Princess spokesperson Karen Candy tells us via e-mail. "At the conclusion of each and every cruise, we ask passengers to rank the ports on their sailing based on both whether it was important to them in the purchase decision for the cruise, and also whether it delivered to their expectations."

 

It would seem that Ocho Rios and Montego Bay were unable to meet those expectations.

 

The significant loss of calls from Princess is a serious blow to Jamaica's somewhat beleaguered tourism industry, and could blunt an ambitious five-year plan recently announced by the Jamaica Tourist Board. The JTB expects cruise passenger arrivals to rise 1.9 percent in 2008 and hopes to increase arrivals by 6.3 percent overall by 2012. Jamaica has started strong this year with arrivals up 4.2 percent in January and February compared to the same period in 2007, but the pending loss of so many Princess calls could eventually stall the island's momentum.

 

A spokesperson for Jamaica did not provide comment by press time.

 

Princess, however, has not forsaken Jamaica completely. Montego Bay will be included on the line's 14-day Grand Caribbean Islander and Grand Caribbean Adventurer itineraries onboard Sea Princess during the 2009-10 season.

 

--by Michael Potter, Assistant Editor

[satxdiver]

Good riddance to them. We were on a RCCL cruise this winter that stopped there. We did not get off nor did a large number of our shipmates. They did it to themselves.

 

There is an article entitled: Jamaican PM Blasted For Homophobic Remarks that talks about the latest flap. You can read it at: http://365gay.com/Newscon08/05/052108jam.htm.

[dad son team]

I got off the ship on my first visit to Jamaica with my then 8 year old son and vowed to never get off again. We walked over to Margaritaville, which was about a 5 minute walk and were approached twice to "purchase". On the way out of the mall where Margaritaville is, a cop had to gesture with his baton to the locals to back off us. After that experience I was done with the island. We have been on ships that have gone there since, but we just stay on board.

[NYCFOD]

I think that if too many people stay aboard during a port of call, it costs the line more because they have to keep extra staff on duty and provide more food for lunch etc. than if most people get off and have lunch etc. on the island. They will also find that they get lower commissions from their preferred vendors in port. If people are afraid of robbery, they're hardly likely to go and spend $10,000 at Diamonds International, meaning the cruise line lose their 20% commission.

 

They may also be finding that people are less likely to book cruises with a Jamaican stop, and potential cruisers want to pay less for a cruise that stops in Jamaica.

[Plant]

I see that many people stay onboard at Jamaica (Montego Bay or Ocho Rios). We did the Dunn's River Falls and we were done! I agree with NYCFOD and dad son team, unless it's the first time you've been to Jamaica you're probably not going to get off the ship!

 

But to put a different take on it, we walked from the ship to the Island Village in Ocho Rios. It was totally different from any other shopping experience in Jamaica. Not only were we NOT hassled to buy, but we had to ask for help in the stores :eek: !

[bbenson]

I've been to Jamaica twice on cruises and definitely won't miss the stop! Both times I remember thinking the place looked dirty and unsafe. My 13 (at the time) yr old nephew was approached and asked if he wanted to buy pot AT Margaritaville! The second time we stopped in Jamaica we got off the ship because the port looked safer but after about a half hour we realized that it was much the same and returned to the ship.

[HotlantaCruiser]

'nuff said

[Schplinky]

Hello All Fellow FOD's:

 

Given the fact that Jamaica is so frequently a heated debate on our boards, I thought I would share with all of you this Cruise Critic article just posted today. I am sure that there are a lot of you out there that may be quite content to know this new interesting piece of information.

 

 

That's great. It makes me want to give Princess a try!

[Rotterdam]

The first time I was in Jamaica was 1975.....had the drugs trying to be sold to us on teh beach(think silver vendors in Mexico) and had cars veering towards us as we walking to town..I was 16 and walking with my Aunt!!!!

 

I returned in the mid 1980's hoping things had changed they had not...I have not been back........and most likely never will!!!