Falmouth Port Calls Delayed

Visits to the historic town were set to begin on January 7th 2011 with Navigator of the seas making her port call, however visits have been delayed until February 17th when Voyager of the Seas will greet the port.

In November and December last year P&O and Holland America line also cancelled stops in the port. In place of Falmouth ships will now call at either Montego Bay or Ochos Rios instead.

Royal Caribbean has been working alongside Jamaica since 2008 to create the new cruise port at Falmouth, with a pier large enough to accommodate the colossal size Oasis Class Ships. There will also be a tourist zone with a 17th century look to reflect the town’s heyday.

According to the cruise line, "This past weekend, Royal Caribbean and the Government of Jamaica toured the development together and decided that it is not quite ready to deliver the high standards we are striving for."

An article this week in the Jamaica Observer describes Falmouth as a construction zone. Jes Olsen, project director with Pihl (the Dutch construction firm working on the project) is quoted as saying, "The port facilities, especially the shops, are not ready. I would say the earliest they would be ready is about mid-March, and fully operational around late April, and the terminal building, a hundred percent open at the end of June."