WASHINGTON: The Port of Kingston on Tuesday (December 6), welcomed its largest ever cruise ship, ‘MS Monarch’. In an interview with JIS News prior to the arrival of the cruise ship, Vice President, Cruise Shipping and Marina Operations at the Port Authority of Jamaica, William Tatham said the ‘MS Monarch’, operated by Royal Caribbean’s Pullmantur Brand, would call at Kingston Wharves at 6:00 a.m. with 2,700 passengers on board. Mr. Tatham said the ship was unable to secure berths on Jamaica’s north coast as those at the Montego Bay and Falmouth ports are full. He said the decision to call on Kingston was secured after discussions between the Port Authority of Jamaica and the cruise operators in 2015. “It’s a very short call. It comes in very early… and it’s going to depart at 1:00 p.m.,” he noted. Mr. Tatham said tours of historic locations in and around Kingston including Port Royal, Devon House and Bob Marley Museum have been planned for the passengers.
Visits have also been planned for Spanish Town, St. Catherine and Dunn’s River Falls in St. Ann. Mr. Tatham told JIS News that free shuttles have been arranged for Emancipation Park, the Craft Market, and the National Gallery of Jamaica. He said that although Kingston is located on the southern coast of the island, the capital city is capable of hosting successful tours, even though it does not fall “well on a traditional Western itinerary”. The traditional Western itinerary usually includes The Bahamas, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Grand Turk, Belize and/or a number of the Central America ports.
“Cruise lines leaving out of North America like to do four port calls in seven days or three in five days, and the mere fact that the ship has to come around and hit Jamaica’s south coast and south east coast for that matter makes their next point of call a bit difficult; but there is a lot of interest,” Mr. Tatham explained. He said the Port Authority, Kingston Wharves, the Ministry of Tourism and other stakeholders are collaborating to ensure a successful call, noting that this will open up future opportunities for the Port of Kingston.
