OBA: St. George’s Needs A Cruise Ship
Pat Gordon-Pamplin, Shadow Transport Minister, spoke out after the news that the Veendam cruise ship would move to Hamilton visits only saying, “The best solution for St. George’s is a dedicated weekly cruise ship. This can be achieved, but the Government must commit to making it happen.”
Holland America’s Veendam made its inaugural call to Bermuda in April of last year, splitting its time in Bermuda between St George’s and Hamilton.
The cruise ship stops at Murray’s Anchorage on Tuesdays before docking in Hamilton from Wednesdays – Fridays. Due to the ship’s size, it cannot pass through Town Cut so passengers are ferried into St George’s on a smaller boat.
Starting next season, the Veendam will bypass St George’s, spending the entire visit in Hamilton, which leaves the east end without a visiting ship.
“The best solution for St. George’s is a dedicated weekly cruise ship. This can be achieved, but the Government must commit to making it happen,” said Ms Gordon-Pamplin.
“The St. George’s economy needs help and a dedicated ship is one sure way to help out. This was always done as a matter of routine, but in recent years the commitment of ships to the Old Town has been erratic.
“We appreciate the industry trend toward bigger ships, but don’t see that as a deal killer. A new contract with a ship that can access the Town Cut is possible and its duration could allow the people of St. George’s and Bermuda time to decide on expansion plans for the Town Cut.
“St. George’s needs the commercial injection provided by cruise ships. This should be a goal of the Government’s cruise ship policy. Until the situation is sorted out, it should make sure regular tours of St. George’s are available to cruise visitors aboard the Veendam.
“It is also understood the Government has been in possession of the study regarding the widening of Town Cut for some six weeks without making public.”
“They must realize the St. George’s economy is hanging by a thread and needs decision-making that supports its revival,” concluded Ms Pamplin-Gordon.
the best solution for st georges is a dedicated full service yacht marina. stop allowing all those yachts and sailboats to anchor for free in the harbor. those people have money and want more amenities. rent them a berth & charge them for water/electricity. now that they can stay for longer give them incentives to extend their stay in the old town. someone needs to start advertising to draw more foreign sport fishing boats here as well because the numbers are going backward. few years ago we had almost 40… this year only about 20… and they all rush town after checking in in st geo. wonder why? st georges needs to wake up and focus on the boats that CAN fit through the cut.
I agree. Think outside the box OBA. Not just another cruise ship…this is pandering. Develop something new and workable. Let’s face it, nothing new has been tried in the Olde Towne for, well, decades. The people of the town are -at times- their own worst enemy, not wanting to embrace any real change.
If OBA ever has a chance of taking control, it needs news ideas. So get on it!
What makes you think that the migrant yachts which stop here have wads of money hanging out of their pockets? Why would they pay $5 per foot per day, or whatever, when they can anchor out & dinghy to shore. There is also security in being away from shore where some of the locals think that they are entitled to step aboard.
The nice thing about a boat is that it moves. Make it unpleasant to stop here & they will bypass Bermuda. Lots of ports on the east coast will be happy to see them.
Same with the cruise ships. If their passengers are not happy they will go elsewhere.
There is a full service marina planned for St Georges, down at the boatyard, but this alone won’t save St Georges. Sailboaters are famously cheap and are constantly looking for the free stuff. These guys have a limited budget and the vast majority of them will not pay for luxuries like docking in a marina for two weeks. The OBA are on the right track in demanding a St Georges-only ship. All facilities are already in place so cost isn’t a concern. We need this until a major hotel opens on the old Club Med site and has consistent occupancy numbers.
The last I heard, there were some stiff objections to widening of Town Cut, so vessels like the Veendam can come into dock. I read somewhere that the cruise passengers are upset about the long time it takes to be ferried from the boat to land, hence the Veendam decision to bypass St. Georges next year, but I stand to be corrected.
The attitude from yesterdays generation, has always been to resists change. It’s time for today’s generation take the helm of Government and make the changes necessary to make Bermuda better for the next generations. The Dinosaurs running things now are too stuck in their old ways, to to even peak outside the box, much less to think and act outside the box. Which is what we need to make any real progress.
Once a Tourism Authority is established, then issues such as these will be resolved quickly. That said, this will never happen if Bermuda does not vote for change in the coming election.
St Geo needs to take the lead instead of waiting for Govt or someone else its always been the case they are too laid back.
I thought the same thing!!
Bite the bullet, just widen the cut. THAT seems to be the solution… why aren’t we getting serious about that?
Or is it our near pathological obsession with the Status Quo that’s holding us back?! We MUST change to get anywhere….
Pamplin does not give a darn about St George.
She speaks out both sides of her mouth.
Didnt the Residents and Leadership in St Georges make it absolutely clear to Ewart Brown and the PLP that they did not want any cruise ships or development in their Old Town?
Here’ a list of the best “medium” ships & their ratings according to Conde Nast:
http://www.concierge.com/tools/travelawards/cruisepoll/top_medium_ships
1. Crystal Serenity
Crystal Cruises, 93.3
2. Crystal Symphony
Crystal Cruises, 92.9
3. Seven Seas Voyager
Regent Seven Seas Cruises, 90.3
4. Seven Seas Mariner
Regent Seven Seas Cruises, 90.2
5. Viking XPRS
Viking Line, 88.2
6. Prinsendam
Holland America, 87.3
7. Insignia
Oceania Cruises, 86.9
8. Nautica
Oceania Cruises, 86.2
9. Regatta
Oceania Cruises, 84.2
10. Tahitian Princess
Princess, 83.8
11. Amsterdam
Holland America, 82.4
12. Zaandam
Holland America, 81.7
13. Veendam
Holland America, 81.3
14. Rotterdam
Holland America, 81.1
15. Statendam
I’m sure the Gov’t is talking with all these ships, as it appears many of them could get into St G. If not, we’ll just have to widen the Cut!
Exactly!
Maybe the next time you put out a list of ships you should do some research. For crying out loud you included the fee dam on it and we already know it doesn’t fit through Town Cut nor do the rest of Holland Americas ships. Neither the regent, oceania or the crystal ships do regular seven day voyages so the best you can hope for is a one day stop over on a transatlantic crossing. (and that’s not even checking to see if they fit through the town cut. That leaves just the tahaitian princess and the Viking xprs to see if they fit.
All every does is talk about what needs to happen, buy they never do anything about it. Until I see some action I will not believe a word. Yes, St. Georges needs a ship desperatly but they also need a Mayor that open to idea s and helps EVERY business and just not his selection of favorites.
RIP ST. GEORGES
Just berth the bloody ship at Oil Docks. Plenty depth………ann yaltunz…..
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. The City of St Georges should do some research – itself – to find a suitable small cruise ship to tie up along side. Form a Cruise Ship Committee, and get on the phone and on line, and start talking with people. Take responsibility for your own future, for cripes sake! If you wait for the PLP Gov’t to do anything, it will be too little, too late. And probably the wrong thing as they likely would not seek input from other “stakeholders.”
One simple thing that could be done to brighten up the Olde Towne a little bit would be to ask all the Shopkeepers & Staff to dress in period clothing. That would be totally cool and would attract more cruise ship passengers out there.
Instead of closing down businesses, get with it, get creative, get some positive energy behind you, and create solutions to your own problems. Think.
Have not heard a darn word from The mayor of the Olde Towne in months…
appears he was another all talk but no action.
Seems like everyone always wants the GOVERNMENT to do something. Doesn’t St. George’s have their OWN CORPORATION? Why have a corporation if it’s up to “Guvment to do this and that!?” I think it’s time that St. Geo put their future in their own hands in stead of waiting for someone to feel sorry for them.
Bingo!
Yah! Why should people expect Goverment to do stuff for us, just ‘cuz that’s their job and what they’re supposed to do?
What a ridiculous proposition!
I mean, it’s not like we pay them to run the country or anything!
Oh… Wait…
What the hell do you expect from a bunch of people that pay 1 Peppercorn a year….. and a bunch of Freemasonites………….
I hope this is not how OBA will continue to operate. Stating the obvious and poking at the current government, will not get my vote. I WANT SOLUTIONS. St. George’s, like Bermuda, has had it’s time.
lol and this is all the OBA bring to the table Ha ha har harrr . Think outside the box peoples
Please read what has been posted on Cruise Critic copied below. If we continue to get these kind of reviews, we needn’t worry about any ships calling in Bermuda let alone ST. Geoge!
Bermuda Attitude & 2nd thoughts
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We (Mrs. Steveo and I) are thinking about taking the Norwegian Dawn out of our home port of Boston to Bermuda this year. A co-worker has just returned from this trip and reminded me of a vibe we picked up on our previous visit back in 1992. A colleague just returned from the Dawn and I happened to mention the pretty pink busses are idle due to a Bus Driver Strike. His reply jogged my memory; “The bus driver’s were jerks anyway.” He related an exchange he had where he asked the driver if this was the bus to somewhere or other. The driver barked “What’s it say on the front of the bus”? Real nice, and real helpful.
Rewind back to ’92 and the Bermuda Jazz Festival. Seated for dinner it took an hour to get drinks, 2 1/2 hours to get served dinner. I remember thinking about reverse discrimination (we are a white couple). I also remember at the time thinking “why would I ever want to go back?” The mention of the bus driver’s piss poor attitude reminded me of the crazy ridiculous prices and crappy service. The Jazz festival was great, the trip was overall fun but memorys of poor treatment with under currents of hostility have bubbled to the surface.
This colleague who just returned from Bermuda is young, maybe 25? Back in ’92 I/we were younger too. As a relatively broke youngster, I can understand poor service if youngsters have a reputation for lousy tipping or rude behavior. I was thinking it might be fun to return to Bermuda, now that we are more established and can better afford such a trip. However, if this is a patern other cruisers have encountered maybe it would be better to spend my sparse vacation dollars elsewhere. I’ve visited many islands throughout the Caribbean and have felt more welcome and more appreciated at almost every single one.
I’m very interested to hear from other Bermuda travelers to see if we were treated like crap because we are white, were young or something else. I’m all ears.
There are glaring observations that seem to be ignored. 1) The once Premier and Current MP of St.Georges is mute on the development of an appropriate cruise ship program, is seemingly mute on demanding that the Town receives a daily ferry service to Hamiltoin and Dockyard.
2) The Current Mayor has not fought to get a daily Ferry Service. Is there any chance that he could get a dedicated cruise ship program running?
3) It is time to review the structure of the Corporation of Structure so that it can be run effectively. Managing a municipal cannot be done on an unpaid part-time basis. A review and decision has to be made on how best to support the residents and businesses in St.George’s.
That time is now, in advance of next cruise ship season.
If the Corporation of St. George’s doesn’t want to lead, perhaps they can outsource their responsibilities to the new EEZ quango that is coming to St.George’s. At least they have some new ideas, new life and maybe the will and resources to get things done.
***Corporation of St. George’s*** sorry
St Geo just need to damned an election I mean now that we have fair and just election rules since april 1, 2011. So dose the mayor really represent the town or is he only leading the water street gang. The water street gang is aleady full of money why do they need to come up with ideas or change. Let start to rebuild St Geo from the top dowm and only than can St geo find a goverment they can work with. Think about the old election laws state u can only run for a seat or vote if u own land or own a business. P.S. Where dose the present Mayor own land or business in the town of St Geo
he he I second that…..
The present Mayor has a shop that is closed down. He only opened it during the election.
OMG!!!!!!!!!! Is this rocket science that the OBA has come up with????? I know I remember an offer being made to assist the Town of St. George financially in widening the cut to accomodate larger cruise ships by the former premier which was outrightly refused . . . and now the OBA come out with this????? Once again, just more of the old UBP in a different suit trying to make us all look like we are all stupid . . . please!!!!!!
Project to widen town cut: Ewart + Correa = Several hundreds of millions $$$$$$ missing and unacounted for.
The present government’s attitude is either your with us or against us! If you dont agree with exactly what we say then we don’t mind the economy suffering as a result. The solution is that there are smaller ships that could visit St.Georges but the government do not want to support that because there is no Quango in place to extort cruise passenger money from. Hence why they forced all the ships upto dockyard, as a result all other parts of the Island including Hamilton suffered. We need a government that thinks of Bermuda as a whole and NO it is not the Corporations job because the department of tourism and the government run the show with regards to Cruise operators, contracts, purse stings etc!!!!!!!
Open the old Gun Powder tavern make it a casino, just a thought you can yous the golf course for parking its like crap anyway. Take the Golf Course use it for farming prisoners can help. Then sell the produce in the Town on weekends just a thought