In The News:
Lots of grumbling and rumblings after Royal Caribbean’s announcement to end Serenade of the Sea’s Barbados calls and reposition the ship from the Caribbean to Europe. The move will come in the summer 2012 cruise season.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has expressed concern over the announcement as signaling a loss of cruise revenue for the region. The Caribbean maintains a strong presence in the cruise market during the winter months, but the summer is another matter, when some ships are repositioned to the Mediterranean and other locales and Caribbean business takes a dip.
CTO Secretary General Hugh Riley is on record as saying his organization is aware that repositioning is a normal course of business within the cruise sector, particularly during the summer months.
In the months ahead, we can expect to see the CTO develop strategies to improve the competitiveness of the Caribbean for cruising, especially its competiveness as region of choice for summer port-of-calls.
The news concerning Royal Caribbean isn’t all bad in the Caribbean. The Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International’s newest and largest Oasis-class cruise ship, will be calling at St. Kitt’s Port Zante cruise pier on December 30, 2011. |
