Historic Falmouth postponement

Just a week ago we were being told that Falmouth, Jamaica, was definitely going to be the new destination of choice for many cruise ships. Now it’s been announced that Holland America Line and P&O Cruises have both decided to cancel their first port calls to the port because it isn’t ready to accept visitors.

The story comes from a Jamaican newspaper, claiming that the planned visits in November and December by HAL’s Ryndam and P&O’s Aurora would now be rerouted either to Montego Bay or Ocho Rios. Further visits from Ryndam and Noordam through December are al so in doubt. There has been a lot of coverage in the Jamaican media about the delays in meeting the deadlines for the port’s refurbishment, with complaints about the state of the streets and the shabby condition of the heritage buildings that were supposed to have been renovated to create an elegant 18th century feel to the port area. The port’s debut as a cruise ship destination will now take place in January 2011 with the visit of Royal Caribbean International’s Navigator of the Seas. Eventually the port may be visited by as many as 500,000 cruise passengers a year.