POP Cruise Port Construction Start Soon?

Ken · Sep 27, 2012

From today's Sosua News:

[h=5]Several newspapers reported that the construction of the cruise port in Maim?n (near Puerto Plata) will start within 14 days. The construction of this for tourism so important port, has been delayed because of disagreement over a garbage dump and the ownership documents of the area.[/h][h=5]The owners of the cruise company, 'Carnival Cruises' first wanted certainty on these issues before the construction to begin. It is hoped that if the terminal is ready, a large number of tourists can be welcomed every day. The cruise terminal will also create 800 jobs. But it will also generate for the rest of Puerto Plata, Sos?a and Maim?n additional revenue because passengers will (hopefully) visit these places and make use of the bars, restaurants and souvenir shops. Because it is said that cruise tourists at every port of call spend an average of $ 97.[/h]

the gorgon · Sep 27, 2012

Ken said:
From today's Sosua News:

[h=5]Several newspapers reported that the construction of the cruise port in Maim?n (near Puerto Plata) will start within 14 days. The construction of this for tourism so important port, has been delayed because of disagreement over a garbage dump and the ownership documents of the area.[/h][h=5]The owners of the cruise company, 'Carnival Cruises' first wanted certainty on these issues before the construction to begin. It is hoped that if the terminal is ready, a large number of tourists can be welcomed every day. The cruise terminal will also create 800 jobs. But it will also generate for the rest of Puerto Plata, Sos?a and Maim?n additional revenue because passengers will (hopefully) visit these places and make use of the bars, restaurants and souvenir shops. Because it is said that cruise tourists at every port of call spend an average of $ 97.[/h]

what is so important about a cruise ship port for tourism?

the gorgon · Sep 27, 2012

Ken said:
From today's Sosua News:

[h=5]Several newspapers reported that the construction of the cruise port in Maim?n (near Puerto Plata) will start within 14 days. The construction of this for tourism so important port, has been delayed because of disagreement over a garbage dump and the ownership documents of the area.[/h][h=5]The owners of the cruise company, 'Carnival Cruises' first wanted certainty on these issues before the construction to begin. It is hoped that if the terminal is ready, a large number of tourists can be welcomed every day. The cruise terminal will also create 800 jobs. But it will also generate for the rest of Puerto Plata, Sos?a and Maim?n additional revenue because passengers will (hopefully) visit these places and make use of the bars, restaurants and souvenir shops. Because it is said that cruise tourists at every port of call spend an average of $ 97.[/h]

cruise ship tourists spend different amounts in different ports. and, on what do they spend the bulk of the money?

http://ermes.u-paris2.fr/doctrav/0811.pdf

Kyle · Sep 27, 2012

it should be great for the local economy. what i'm interested in though is whether maimon will be a day stop for cruises or an overnighter.

the gorgon · Sep 27, 2012

Kyle said:
it should be great for the local economy. what i'm interested in though is whether maimon will be a day stop for cruises or an overnighter.

care to explain why?

jrhartley · Sep 27, 2012

I would imagine its better than no-one coming

Castle · Sep 27, 2012

Kyle said:
it should be great for the local economy. what i'm interested in though is whether maimon will be a day stop for cruises or an overnighter.

caribbean cruises normally travel all night and stop during the day at different ports. It will probably be the same there.

the gorgon · Sep 27, 2012

jrhartley said:
I would imagine its better than no-one coming

well, that is only one side of the coin. most people look only at the benefits. what are the costs associated with cruise ship tourism? the most important is the CROWD OUT effect that it has on stayover, land based, tourism, which is where the real money is.

the gorgon · Sep 27, 2012

Castle said:
caribbean cruises normally travel all night and stop during the day at different ports. It will probably be the same there.

exactly. they do not usually overnight in port. they generally sail at sunset.

Conchman · Sep 27, 2012

well 4,000 passengers and crew at an average of US$97 per visit at 350 visits per year (thats an average of one ship per day for 350 days - the Maimon facility will have berths for two ships) is US$135,800,000 per year - that goes to taxi drivers, restaurants, restaurant employees, shore excursion operators and their staff, bus drivers, tour guides, gift shops, manufacturers of gifts, cashiers, additional beer/rum consumed, boat operators, local hotels, maids, etc etc.

bri777 · Sep 27, 2012

I used to be a cruiser till I found the DR lol

Carnival cruises are very reasonable(cheap)
therefore most passengers are on a budget and just get some souvenirs and maybe some lunch and a couple of drinks while
on shore
the most important thing is first expression on landing
the cleanliness of the port and the hospitality of the locals
then the souvenirs shop and maybe excursions if time permits
there are cruiseports I will never go back to

and chances are that I will not fly there either,because of my first impression
Manu

mido · Sep 27, 2012

Conchman said:
well 4,000 passengers and crew at an average of US$97 per visit at 350 visits per year (thats an average of one ship per day for 350 days - the Maimon facility will have berths for two ships) is US$135,800,000 per year - that goes to taxi drivers, restaurants, restaurant employees, shore excursion operators and their staff, bus drivers, tour guides, gift shops, manufacturers of gifts, cashiers, additional beer/rum consumed, boat operators, local hotels, maids, etc etc.

... versus maybe approx. US$100.00 per week for an average AI tourist. Think about it, new people every day spending there money, day by day.
Sounds like a winner to me!

DRob · Sep 27, 2012

Many people are on a strict budget, but I'd be surprised if the percentage was significantly higher than, say, AI vacationers on the North Coast.

I've done a few cruises, and generally spent around $100 in tours and t-shirts, per person. However, I also got a chance to look around the destination, and see if it was interesting enough to justify a longer vacation there in the future.

If done right (think Nassau and St. Thomas more than Martinique), it can be a boon for many folks in the tourist economy food chain. I wish them luck.

the gorgon · Sep 27, 2012

Conchman said:
well 4,000 passengers and crew at an average of US$97 per visit at 350 visits per year (thats an average of one ship per day for 350 days - the Maimon facility will have berths for two ships) is US$135,800,000 per year - that goes to taxi drivers, restaurants, restaurant employees, shore excursion operators and their staff, bus drivers, tour guides, gift shops, manufacturers of gifts, cashiers, additional beer/rum consumed, boat operators, local hotels, maids, etc etc.

how do you arrive at the figure of 97 dollars, conchman? what year was the study done? can you give us a breakout of how this 97 dollars is spent? how much of it is spent in the in bond duty free shops? how much of their merchandise is locally produced? you paint this rosy picture, of all these benefits for locals. i have read dozens of studies, and all conclude the same things. the cruise company CONTROLS the port area, the stores, the shopping, everything. the locals get a pittance. if you have any disagreement, i will post numerous articles, studies, and breakdowns about the economic impact of cruise ships in the caribbean. the picture is bleak, in all cases.

jrhartley · Sep 28, 2012

I liked martinique,,, the taxi driver couldnt beleive the stories I told him about here lol

Conchman · Sep 28, 2012

the gorgon said:
how do you arrive at the figure of 97 dollars, conchman? what year was the study done? can you give us a breakout of how this 97 dollars is spent? how much of it is spent in the in bond duty free shops? how much of their merchandise is locally produced? you paint this rosy picture, of all these benefits for locals. i have read dozens of studies, and all conclude the same things. the cruise company CONTROLS the port area, the stores, the shopping, everything. the locals get a pittance. if you have any disagreement, i will post numerous articles, studies, and breakdowns about the economic impact of cruise ships in the caribbean. the picture is bleak, in all cases.

The $97 was quoted by another poster, but Carnival has detailed stats on all their ports and it ranged from $60 per person from their worst ports (Samana) to $150 per person to their best ports (St. Thomas). Thats why I chose $97 as a decent average.

We also operated an out-island port in The Bahamas in the 1980's, where we had a 800 passenger ship arrive twice per week and I saw with my own eyes what the people spent on Dolphin Encounters, Horseback riding on the beach, Snorkelling tours, Island Hopping Excursions, gift shops, and alcoholic drinks at the food pavillion. Since we operated all of the excursions at our port (except the Horseback riding, for which we got a commission). Back then we got almost half the people to buy a shore excursion and the other half spent money on gifts/drinks so it was about $50 then (which is probably about $80 in todays dollars), so when combined with the fact that there would be more tours available and a real town to visit (we were only operating on a small island without town/stores), a $97 estimate would be reasonable.

I guess you can make the argument that we received most of that money, just like Carnival would now, however, we employeed about 100 people all these operations, not counting additional staff required for stores, subcontractors, etc. In addition, in a port like Puerto Plata there would be a variety of shore excursions avaialable, such as Ocean World, Free Style Catamarans, White Whater Rafting, Cable Car Rides up Mountain, Puerto Plata City Tours, Outback Safaris, 4 Wheeler, Sosua/Cabarete Tour, etc.

The variety of shore excursions would mean that a lot of the money would flow out of Carnival's hands, except of course the commissions and duty free shop sales.

Now remember these ships would have 4 times the capacity of the ship we had, plus crew, which tends to spend money in bars/casinos/beaches.

the gorgon · Sep 28, 2012

Conchman said:
The $97 was quoted by another poster, but Carnival has detailed stats on all their ports and it ranged from $60 per person from their worst ports (Samana) to $150 per person to their best ports (St. Thomas). Thats why I chose $97 as a decent average.

We also operated an out-island port in The Bahamas in the 1980's, where we had a 800 passenger ship arrive twice per week and I saw with my own eyes what the people spent on Dolphin Encounters, Horseback riding on the beach, Snorkelling tours, Island Hopping Excursions, gift shops, and alcoholic drinks at the food pavillion. Since we operated all of the excursions at our port (except the Horseback riding, for which we got a commission). Back then we got almost half the people to buy a shore excursion and the other half spent money on gifts/drinks so it was about $50 then (which is probably about $80 in todays dollars), so when combined with the fact that there would be more tours available and a real town to visit (we were only operating on a small island without town/stores), a $97 estimate would be reasonable.

I guess you can make the argument that we received most of that money, just like Carnival would now, however, we employeed about 100 people all these operations, not counting additional staff required for stores, subcontractors, etc. In addition, in a port like Puerto Plata there would be a variety of shore excursions avaialable, such as Ocean World, Free Style Catamarans, White Whater Rafting, Cable Car Rides up Mountain, Puerto Plata City Tours, Outback Safaris, 4 Wheeler, Sosua/Cabarete Tour, etc.

The variety of shore excursions would mean that a lot of the money would flow out of Carnival's hands, except of course the commissions and duty free shop sales.

Now remember these ships would have 4 times the capacity of the ship we had, plus crew, which tends to spend money in bars/casinos/beaches.

conchman, one reason i have always enjoyed, and respected your postings, is that you are an honorable man, who is willing to tell the truth, as it exists.

Eddy · Sep 28, 2012

bri777 said:
I used to be a cruiser till I found the DR lol

Carnival cruises are very reasonable(cheap)
therefore most passengers are on a budget and just get some souvenirs and maybe some lunch and a couple of drinks while
on shore
the most important thing is first expression on landing
the cleanliness of the port and the hospitality of the locals
then the souvenirs shop and maybe excursions if time permits
there are cruiseports I will never go back to

and chances are that I will not fly there either,because of my first impression
Manu

If I based my opinion on what I saw when I arrived in Santo Domingo by cruise ship 2 years ago, the DR would be on my "Never come back to" list. The only thing I didn't see floating in that cesspool was a corpse. Well maybe I did.

Let's hope this one will be cleaner.

the gorgon · Sep 28, 2012

conchman, even though i respect your candour in admitting that you got most of the money in the 80s, i have a further point to make. cruise ships in the 1980s are nothing like ships today. in the 80s, cruise ships were ocean going airplanes. they were transportation. they were well outfitted, and luxurious, but only insofar as creature comforts are concerned. cruise ships today are THE DESTINATION. the destination is no longer the country, or the port. therefore, most passenger spending is done on the ship. that is why up to 15% of passengers do not even bother to disembark, because some current ships have higher levels of entertainment services aboard ship than any caribbean island can ever hope to provide.

Buzzard · Sep 29, 2012

The entertainment services on a cruise ship are serious curtailed on a 'port day'. Those staying on board have only the minimul daytime offerings: bingo, trivia, discounted spa services, etc. The cruise company charges a lot for shore excursions, and they are very determined to sell as many as possible.

POP Cruise Port Construction Start Soon?

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