Tia Smith On Change To Viking Cruises Itinerary
“St George’s is the historical heart of Bermuda and, once again, it seems like we are being left out in the cold,” the OBA’s Tia Smith said in reference to the recent change to Viking Cruises itineraries.
Ms Smith, described as the approved OBA candidate for Constituency 1, said, “It’s disappointing to hear of the recent change to Viking Cruises itineraries resulting in the cruise line cancelling its St. George’s stay-over.
“Even though at its core, it is a logistical decision made by Viking Cruises, it speaks to the lack of infrastructure, namely the absence of a consistent ferry service to the East End.
“St George’s is the historical heart of Bermuda and, once again, it seems like we are being left out in the cold.
“We have seen glimmers of hope for tourism in the Old Towne, with restaurants opening back up after Covid-19 restrictions, the new St. Regis hotel and an influx of tourists expected from the cruises. Now it feels like some of that hope has been taken away.
“The people of St George’s need to feel like their concerns are being not only being heard, but acted upon. But this doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment.
“It’s imperative that all of Bermuda’s stakeholders work collaboratively for the tourism industry to succeed. These stakeholders should include taxis, buses, restaurants, Stevedoring Services and our union partners.
“Reinstating some kind of regular ferry service to the town might not solve all of our issues but it would be a good start.”
Unfortunately no new ideas or solutions here…
There will be no new ideas for at least 4.5 years. Hamilton is dying also and that is set to accelerate. I say that because retail is dead and international business has run it’s course the only new business in Bermuda are restaurants and bars catering to locals who are reliving an old dream. On the upside we can rename anything for the feel good moments we seem to crave….30-6.
Bermuda is dying because it is the second most expensive place to live in the world! No wonder why hundreds of people leave the island every year. I came back to Boston where my money goes so much further and you can see new things and not the same streets everyday. Also learned that many service businesses RIP the public off! The owners do not even live on the island…….disgraceful!
can the buildings down there get fixed up?
invest in the place and then people will come and spend there
this government has always ignored st georges but yet we have those who dont think for themselves and believe the green machine what a world we live in ….this plp government has
closed a police station
closed a fire station
closed a golf course
knocked down a club house did not attempt to find cruise ships to come to the towne.The OBA found ships in 6months ….OBA found an hotel group wanting to build a hotel and reopen the golf course
who you going to vote for next time keep thinking the plp are your future look at it today we are sinking fast
Driving St. George into poverty will lessen the outcry when the PLP Government takes over the Town of St. George and the City of Hamilton for its own profit
what happened to the guy James Perry who ran for the OBA only 10 months ago? Is he not involved in Constituency 1 anymore?
What came first, the chicken or the egg? No amount of gratuitous whining is going to change the fact that Ye Olde Towne is presently a dump and not fit for purpose. It’s not Viking’s job to fix that.
Ms Smith I hope you’re not making this Political because you an approved Candidate for The OBA in C1
The problem with St. George is that everyone who is in business in that town, does not need the money! The cruise passengers step foot on land at 9am and most places have a sign on their door saying that they’ll be opened at 10am or 11am. This is the biggest issue here! You can’t even get a fresh cup of coffee before 9am. Keurig coffee at the Somers Market. This town is despicable!
That’s a ridiculous statement. I know several people in business there and I can say, if you’re most worried about being able to buy a cup of coffee, they need the money more than you. You have no idea of other people’s financial situations. So if all you do is complain, but don’t offer helpful ideas on solutions, just stay quiet.
So if the people of st.georges want better, why don’t you do better. Fix your dated restaurants and stores, fix your roads ,fix your houses….oh that’s right it’s the government that has to do everything. Because tuckers point is nice because of the government lmao
Where is the money to fix those things going to come from? The PLP Government and the BIU have made sure that cruise ships will not visit St. George. People like you will not visit St. George and support the Town.
I happen to like the “dated restaurants and stores”.
St. Georgians do not want the PLP Government to “do everything”, they simply want the PLP Government to stop sabotaging the Town.
I seem to recall something about the ship not going to St. George because Viking could not count on unionised portworkers to do their jobs.
I know that Chris Furbert spoke out and said that Viking had no reason to doubt that the portworkers would do their jobs, but I also know that he fell short of actually saying that the portworkers would do their jobs.
Please do not interpret this post as in indorsement of any political party. I simply seek to speak the truth.