The popular western Caribbean cruise port of George Town, Grand Cayman won’t be open for cruise ships until September.
Grand Cayman Closed Until September
it is being reported by local news that Grand Cayman isn’t expecting to welcome cruise ships until at least September 1, 2020. This was confirmed by tourism minister Moses Kirkconnell on Thursday.
The government has introduced a new extended border closure due to the worldwide pandemic. The border will now remain closed through August 31, 2020, and that includes any cruise ship calls. It also not guaranteed that the port will even open on that date and could remain closed for much longer.
This comes as Carnival Cruise Line has already announced that eight cruise ships will resume sailings in August. Carnival Horizon is scheduled to call at the popular Caribbean port of call once it resumes sailings out of Miami, Florida in August.
Premier Alden McLaughlin has said that any announcements from cruise lines to call to Grand Cayman have been made without consulting with the Cayman government.
Authorities in the Cayman Islands are working on getting back to business as the world takes control of the virus. Plans are already underway to restart tourism for the short-term and long-term. However, there is still a possibility cruise ships may not return until the end of the year.
Many Caribbean destinations rely on business from cruise ships and islands such as Grand Cayman usually cater to thousands of cruise visitors daily. The cruise industry has been hit hard and many cruise ports are currently closed in the region to keep citizens safe.
Even though cruise lines have already announced plans to return to service it’s likely it will be over time starting with just a few vessels. Hopefully, the cruise industry will be back to full by the start of 2021.
