TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Norwegian Cruises..

,,has cancelled Tortola as a port of call for a couple of months citing a passenger survey.That is 4,000 passengers per call not coming ashore.I am not crying...only the Gov, taxi drivers and chair renters are weeping..

Actually I thought the reason why they cancelled those port calls is because the ship has some engine issues and they couldn't complete the itineraries as planned. As you said, most folks on Tortola probably won't be that sad.

The news states a spokesperson citing fuel usage issues and client surveys..its on the BVI news wires...I hope it migh encourage more land based folks to return..we need them..

I can't think where I saw the story, but the BVI news may not have all the info..

From what we saw and those we spoke to, it seems few in the BVI would regret fewer cruise ship stops at Road Town. It seemed clear that the cruise ships are not necessarily as additive to the economy as may have been hoped. Mal would certainly know more than most, but others seemed to also agree that the cruise shippers have a displacement effect on others and those others tend to actually contribute more on a per person basis to the local economy than the cruise shippers do in the case of the BVI.

BVI News reported this on May 1: The cancelled visits were scheduled to take place on May 16, May 23, May 30, June 20, and June 27, 2024. According to the BVI Ports Authority, Norwegian cancelled the calls because of engine overhauls onboard the vessel, which will be operating at reduced speed.

nevar-thanks. That's what I thought, but couldn't find the story offhand.

That is only part of the story reported by BVI News.They cite customer feedback as well. BVI politicians are finger pointing, blaming the state of the BVI infrastucture. For those of us with rental properties the cruise shippers have had a very negative impact for those expecting"Nature's Little Secrets"...not much of a secret with 4000 folks ,and sometimes almost twice that number, on our small island. The yacht charter business is doing well because they just sail away from the crowds ( witness the fewer boast at anchor in CGB when cruise ships are in).The beach bars that everyone thinks do well from the cruise passengers actually suffer because they keep customers away who want a nice lunch and cocktails .Sadly the folks on cruise ships do not spend much money ashore.There were even stories of one cruise line telling cruise shippers not to bother shopping in the BVIs and save their $$ for St Thomas...where,of course, they recommend several high end stores..The Gov makes $$off the landing fee per head...taxi drivers (especially the Romney Group) make $$ and the chair renters make $$..at the expense of land based guests who rent a car,dine out (and tip well) and stay in a villa or small hotel.

No lies detected. We stopped at CGB about a week and a half ago, almost sat down at Myett's for a burger and a couple beers for early lunch, but with the cattle car taxi's arriving one after another, we grabbed a couple of souvenirs at the shop and high tailed it to Smuggler's Cove instead. There were still one or two small groups there who showed up from the cruise ship, but totally different crowd from those who descended on CGB. From what we saw, the cruise shippers pretty much went straight from the cab to the beach.

Patricia's food is remarkably good by any standard, but especially for food served from a tent.

We will always miss Sailor's Rest. It was sad to see such an amazing space turned into a gift shop.

Totally agree about "Sailor's Rest"..just loved that place run by Quito's sister..great loss but delighted you love Patricia's as much as me...just watch for the food snatching chickens(right Laura?!).BTW the cruise shippers also love to use the beach bars bathrooms..you dont want to go in there at the end of the day.Its serious when you have to put up signs asking folks not to wash their feet in the sink!

"Sadly the folks on cruise ships do not spend much money ashore.There were even stories of one cruise line telling cruise shippers not to bother shopping in the BVIs and save their $$ for St Thomas...where,of course, they recommend several high end stores.."

My parents are avid cruisers and they (well, my mother) fall into the this category. Dad was scolded for wanting to get a beer at a local bar on their last trip. They never spend $ on shore.

I am wracking my brain to remember an article in the WSJ or NYT about cruise lines buying up land at ports to put their own stores in place.

You can read what a Norwegian Cruise Line exec says about the BVI's and our $hitty infrastructure if you Goggle "BVINews".Its not just a cruise ship fuel issue but also customer feedback..

Chief Development Officer of Norwegian Cruise Line, Dan Farkas has praised the natural beauty of the BVI but said the roads are “not in good shape,” taking away from the guest experience the territory offers.

“The country is absolutely beautiful, the waters are stunningly blue but you asked about infrastructure and I can tell you, just from my ride from the airport, the roads aren’t in great shape,” Frakas said frankly. “It could have been a cleaner ride in and it’s a distraction from the beauty. Our taxi driver had to play a little dodgeball with the potholes.”

Link: https://bvinews.com/norwegian-cruise-bvi-is-great-but-the-roads-arent/

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Or in this case.."They paved paradise and put up a cruise ship dock"..It will be interstin g to see if Norwegian returns...any bets?

Gee, Fitzhughlaw, you haven't heard of 'fair use'?? No need to post all of that when a small quote and a link will do, to avoid copyright infringement claims. I have edited your post.

Wha, wha... the potholes in New England are Faaaarrr worse. He musn't be made of sterner stuff

Easier to blame it on "potholes" than admit the real problems and risk insulting the BVI tourist board and Ministers if they have to deal with them in the future..

Can’t let them think the time and money has all been wasted when you can just insist that a LITTLE bit more money and time spent will solve ALL the “problems”.

We used to tell people Tortola was our favorite island, and we have been to many. Sadly the cruise ships have ruined it for us. Cane Garden Bay is a joke now with all of the chairs and umbrellas set up. We spent most of our last trip on Smugglers, drinking and eating at Nigel's or on the water. The rest of the island just seemed over run with cruisers.

Look at the ridiculous and unsightly buoys mandated by the cruise ship industry on any beach they bring guests near. The only great photos of the Baths are pre cruise ship.

I have indeed heard of "fair use" and have handled such cases in the defense of people who posted a news item and were threatened with a lawsuit by copyright trolls. First of all, if not for commercial purposes, quoting of a piece is not infringement, and secondly, in Section 107 of the Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107 in case you want to check), "news items" are given specific treatment as examples of non-infringement.

You're the boss here, and can do whatever you like, but chastising me for replicating an article merely to enable readers to avoid clicking on a link is misplaced - and with regard to the law, unavailing.

Fitzhughlaw--WE as TTOL could be threatened with lawsuits for allowing others to post items in violation of copyright laws. Thus, we will continue to remove them. And, as I said, there is absolutely NO reason to copy and paste huge sections of text that one can just click on and read the original story.

@Fitzhughlaw - you are assuming that TTOL is subject to U.S. law; which might not apply. In addition, you agreed to the terms and conditions, and it seems that you've forgotten Paragraph 16; which means that when it comes to TTOL's and your interpretation of what might be a copyright is a moot point.
(Forum Rules)

"WE as TTOL could be threatened with lawsuits for allowing others to post items in violation of copyright laws."

Apparently my note about news items and the Fair Use doctrine slipped past you. Again, you can do whatever you want, but before scolding someone, you should: (a) know what you're talking about; and (b) have a command of the law. I realize that having graduated from an institution that perenially turns out the largest graduating class in the world makes my credentials suspect because it's obviously one of those "factory law schools," but in this instance, I can claim both.

I'll save you the trouble of having to ever edit or delete a portion of a post of mine in the future. Adios....

I for one hope you will change your mind.

Fitzhugh--And yet, your clients got sued. Even if you win the case, your client lost, because they got sued. We are a small shop and can't afford to get sued, period. And again, for the third time, absolutely NO reason to copy and paste whole sections of copyrighted material, when a link will suffice.

[quote=Carol_Hill]Fitzhugh--And yet, your clients got sued. Even if you win the case, your client lost, because they got sued.

Agree...avoiding litigation to start is the huge win...

OK, this one isn't about the original topic anymore, so will close it here.