Royal Caribbean International has chosen the Santo Domingo port that is undergoing major improvements by Sans Souci Ports, S.A., which is currently executing a 40-year build-operate-transfer concession to expand and operate the Sans Souci and Don Diego cruise ship terminals in the capital city. So far, US$41 million have been invested, according to Luis Molina, executive director for project development. The Don Diego port renovation was concluded in November 2006 and the new Sans Souci terminal, designed to handle mega-cruise ships of 35,000 or more passengers, will be completed next December.
As reported in Diario Libre, the Sans Souci operation handled 40 ship arrivals at the Don Diego port during the 2006-2007 cruise ship season. It also handles four weekly sailings of the Puerto Rico-DR ferry, Ferries del Caribe. For the 2007-2008 season, so far 69,700 passengers have arrived, including 56,500 homeport passengers.
The project involves infrastructure improvement and river management problems that have historically plagued the cruise industry in Santo Domingo. It consists of rehabilitating and renovating the existing infrastructure at the terminals, managing pollution issues affecting the Ozama River basin and upgrading the navigational channel. The improvements will incorporate the infrastructure needed to handle today’s cruise ships and provide the level of service expected by cruise operators and passengers.