Italian liner, Costa, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, will be making a much-anticipated call to the port of Falmouth, in Trelawny on November 8, following a year-and-a-half- month absence due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“It has been a tough 18 months for all concerned. It was a case where our cruise sector was booming where we were used to seeing the ships coming in their numbers and then came the coronavirus, forcing the lockdown of all cruise ports,” said Falmouth Mayor Colin Gager.
The vessel’s visit, he said, is welcomed news for local officials, businesses, and residents, and “represents a glimmer of hope for bigger things to come.”
Falmouth has been making plans to welcome back cruise liners ever since cruise shipping resumed in Ocho Rios over two months ago. Now these efforts will intensify.
“We know the importance of a good first impression and what it means to the future of Falmouth as a major port of call,” said Gager.
Chief Strategist/Adviser in the Ministry of Tourism, Delano Seiveright, who was part of a delegation that met with cruise owners and officials in Miami, Florida, recently, said the visit of the Costa cruise ship is only a “sample” of things to come.
“In every meeting I have personally attended with the top cruise honchos, Jamaica is on top of everybody’s Caribbean agenda. The truth is that they have always had this beautiful love affair with Jamaica and had it not been for COVID-19, our cruise shipping sector might have been at a stratospheric level by now,” he pointed out.
Seiveright noted that Ocho Rios, which has been welcoming cruise passengers since August, has proven that Jamaica is adequately prepared to host ships during the pandemic.
This, he said, bodes well for other destinations, including Falmouth, and will open the gates for a plethora of ships to call on the island’s other ports in the coming months leading into 2022.
“I would say that by the middle of 2022, our cruise shipping sector should be rocking again. We have put in the work, and we have been having the dialogue. Our people need this, our people deserve this, especially with what we have all been through over the past 18 months,” said Seiveright.