Tourism Minister convenes crucial meeting on the matter 

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Efforts are now underway to bring about improvements to the Falmouth Cruise Ship Pier in Trelawny, which has come in for much criticism from stakeholders in the local cruise industry.

The stakeholders have complained that the pier is falling short of cruise ship passengers’ expectations with many expressing their dissatisfaction at the offerings. In fact, Our Today did a scan of visitor feedback on the port and found a number of uncomplimentary postings. 

We observed one review on cruisecritic.com, which the reviewer stated, “dirty horrible port if I could give it zero I would.” Another reviewer wrote, ” The port of Falmouth should just be eliminated was filthy and felt unsafe. There were a lot of music venues but nothing outstanding but acceptable.” 

More unflattery reviews

Another reviewer who travelled with her husband and three teen sons commented that it was very easy embarking and disembarking but “drivers did not show up for historic Falmouth tour so many of us were left stranded. RC (Royal Caribbean) rep said he thinks it was a union strike. There were vans available to take you places for a fee and most of the RC guests, including us, wanted to go somewhere.”

In spite of some of the stinging criticism, there were some complimentary and congratulatory responses with one cruise passenger writing, “The port has been developed into a very nice-looking complex of shops to serve cruise ship passengers.“ 

Tourism Minister steps into action

In a bid to bring about the desired improvements, Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett met with partners in the industry yesterday with a view to increasing arrivals at the Falmouth Pier, as well as enhancing the recovery programme for the sector. During the meeting, Minister Bartlett encouraged all stakeholders will concentrate their efforts on the pier with a view to improving the offerings to cruise passengers.

He remarked that for Falmouth to become a major port of call, there needs to be an improvement in the infrastructure as well as the excursion experience of the passengers, highlighting the inclusion of more attractions as one important step.