Cruise Ships and the George Town Port

Some Cayman business owners are upset that cruise ships are bypassing our harbour.

It’s a complicated issue, but the main points include the down economy, summer weather, and the size of the George Town port. The winter season is typically our busy season for cruise ship arrivals.

So it’s understandable that tourists would seek cooler climates for their summer vacation – especially this summer with it’s well-publicized record high temperatures in the US. The more difficult issue is that the port in Grand Cayman cannot accommodate the new super sized cruise ships that are turning the trend in that industry. Vendors, residents and Government have been debating for the past several years whether the George Town port should be expanded. Tourism reliant businesses say ‘yes,’ and the Government sees that logic. But environmentalists say ‘no,’ pointing out that the dredging required for such a project would be harmful to the reefs and marine life, so would be detrimental to the scuba and water sports businesses here. All parties are trying to come to agreement on this issue which affects our country in so many ways.