~ No fewer than 20 ships for off-season ~
MIAMI--News for St. Maarten's cruise industry continues to look better, with a projected 30.6 per cent increase in cruisers arriving here aboard Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) ships for the 2010-2011 season, compared to the previous year.
St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies CEO Mark Mingo met with RCCL revenue management, deployment and global itinerary planning officials on Friday. They revealed their projections for the season, based on booking and booking trends. The meeting was a lead-up to Seatrade Cruise Shipping Miami, which starts today, Monday.
No fewer than 20 cruise ships are to make regular calls to St. Maarten in the off-season (June to November), according to Mingo. An average of 12-14 ships called in the slower months last year.
RCCL passenger arrival numbers have declined for the past four years due to the global economic crisis that is now loosening its grip on travellers. As such, this slacking of the economic crisis is now allowing travellers to again seek out much-needed vacations.
Celebrity passenger numbers continued to climb amidst the economic decline because the cruise line caters to the more affluent cruisers. Celebrity cruise ships brought 48,591 passengers to the island for the 2007-2008 season. This was followed by 114,601 passengers for the 2008-2009 season.
Then the crisis began, but this did not affect Celebrity, which has St. Maarten as a preferred destination. The current season (2009-2010) will round off in May with 131,057 cruisers. The 2010-2011 season for Celebrity is projected to show another increase in cruiser numbers to 249,278.
RCCL arrivals on St. Maarten are also poised to bounce back in the coming season. RCCL caters to the more discerning cruisers, many of whom were caught up in the financial debacle in the United States.
After clocking in arrivals to St. Maarten at 654,872 in the season of 2007-2008, the first slide in numbers came the next season, with arrivals dropping to 611,865. Cruise passenger arrivals sank even further for this current season to 473,896. The 2010-2011 season is forecast to see a rebound, with 541,082 arrivals.
Despite the hard hits the cruise industry suffered, first from skyrocketing oil prices and then from the economic crash, RCCL and Celebrity continued their relations with St. Maarten. The island did not lose any ship, unlike other destinations in the region that lost as much as 50 per cent of their cruise business.
Mingo said the numbers from Celebrity and RCCL were promising and uplifting, after the cloud that had loomed over the industry. St. Maarten's endurance and preference in the cruise world are based on meeting and exceeding passenger expectations, and on continued investment in the island as a destination, for which Harbour Affairs Commissioner Theo Heyliger continues to be the driving force.
Heyliger has always insisted on a "direct marketing" approach with the cruise lines. "Sitting with the lines as often as possible, hearing their concerns, addressing these and keeping them updated on the development on St. Maarten are the reasons St. Maarten has had and will continue to be a success," Heyliger said, prior to leaving the island to attend Seatrade Miami.
This direct relationship has helped the harbour significantly. A major success of this approach is the multi-million dollar investment agreement signed with RCCL and Carnival Corporation in 2007 for the construction of a mega-cruise-ship pier that accommodates vessels 220,000 tonnes and over.
During Friday's meeting, Mingo discussed with cruise officials ongoing projects at Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities and elsewhere on island, and future calls of Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Azamara Club Cruises, considered the gold standard in cruising.
Allure of the Seas, sister ship to RCCL's behemoth Oasis of the Seas, is set to call here at the end of the year. Preparation for this was also covered in the meeting.
Mingo discussed these topics with RCCL Vice President of Revenue Management and Deployment Diana Block, RCCL Global Deployment and Itinerary Planning Director Christopher Allen and RCCL Deployment and Itinerary Planning Manager Marc Miller.
Heyliger and Mingo meet with Norwegian Cruise Line officials this week to discuss preparation for the new Epic Class cruise ships, scheduled to begin calls to St. Maarten in June each with more than 4,500 passengers (excluding crew) aboard.
