PAJ SIGNS CRUISE CONTRACT WITH ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISE LINE

PM Bruce Golding (l) smiles as he signs the contract with Adam Goldstein, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Looking on is Rosie Donaldson, Snr. Vice President, Marketing at the Port Authority of Jamaica.

A contract in the amount of US$122M was signed between the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines on Friday, November 7, 2008 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

The Contract is expected to see Royal Caribbean guaranteeing 400,000 visits to Falmouth over the next twenty years. Under this contract, work is expected to be done on the harbour and a marina to facilitate modern cruise liners as well as a ship terminal. Other facets of the contract include the construction of the actual piers, the raising of areas to the shoreline as well as the construction of terminal, bus and taxi areas. Work has already begun on the various facilities and is expected to be completed by 2010.

Speaking at the Signing Ceremony, Prime Minister Bruce Golding noted that the Signing was important for three main reasons. These he listed as:

1. Falmouth’s  accommodation of Royal Caribbean’s Genesis type vessel, the largest cruise ship in the world.
2. Implications for the Jamaican tourist industry and more specifically the cruise shipping business. In this respect, there will be a place for both land and marine based tourists. As a result, he said, craft workers, attractions etc, will provide more opportunities for more Jamaicans to become involved in the tourism industry. The PM used the opportunity to announce that policy issues to facilitate casino gambling have been signed off on so that they will reach parliament by the end of November. Two casino Licenses – one for western Falmouth and the other for eastern Falmouth will be granted. The PM also noted that the Reynolds Pier will be brought on board with a view to expanding the cruise facility in the Ocho Rios area.
3. It will be a catalyst behind the re-development of Falmouth. In doing this, things such as town’s the Georgian architecture will be taken into account.

Prime Minister Golding explained that the Project will be an environmentally friendly one as the requisite EIA was done and that consultations took place with Agencies such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Paris Council and the general public. NEPA has been designated monitors of the Project while the Jamaica National Heritage Trust has been appointed the ‘watchdogs’ so that the ‘flavour of Falmouth’ will not be tampered with. The PM also noted that Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines have started marketing Falmouth as part of their cruise offerings and in this vein, he said, everything will be done to meet the 2010 deadline.

For his part, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruise International, Mr. Adrian Goldstein thanked Jamaica for its part in the partnership and took the opportunity to laud the many Jamaicans who work on their cruise liners. He said that Royal Caribbean Cruise was celebrating their 38^th anniversary and that this was an opportune time for his organisation to continue enhance its offerings in making client’s travel experience a pleasant one. He welcomed the expansion of the Falmouth Pier as a chance for this part of Jamaica to ‘tell its own story’.