April 25, 2019 marked the close of the 2018/2019 cruise season. Dominica received its final cruise call for the season, as the MV Marella Explorer of TUI Cruises made the final call at the Roseau Cruise Ship Berth. The ship brought approximately 2084 cruise passengers to Dominica shores.
The last call for the season was commemorated with an array of Cultural performance which were held at the Roseau Cruise Ship Berth. This included performances from Phaze Five Steel Band and the Kalinago Dancers.
Throughout the 2018/2019 cruise season, Dominica received a total of 170 cruise calls carrying 252,500 passengers compared to 28 cruise calls and 18,378 passengers in the 2017/18 cruise season. Cruise passenger arrivals fell short of the last normal cruise season (pre-Hurricane Maria) by only 4%. Cruise passengers were welcomed at the Roseau Cruise Ship Berth, Woodbridge Bay Port and the Cabrits Cruise Ship Berth. Of the 170 cruise calls, nine (9) cruise ships made their inaugural call to Dominica. Ceremonies to include plaque exchange, were held aboard the respective ships. Cruise Lines calling to Dominica for the 2018/2019 cruise season included TUI Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, P& O Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Holland America Cruises, among others.
Dominica’s major cruise sites were heavily visited by cruise passengers throughout the season. These included the Trafalgar Falls, Emerald Pool, Mero Beach, Ti Tou Gorge, Botanical Gardens, Middle Ham Falls, Morne Bruce, Wotten Waven Sulphur Springs, and Kalingo Barana Aute among others. River tubing, whale watching and snorkeling, were among the top activities enjoyed by cruise visitors.
In a survey conducted at some of the popular Eco-Sites during the cruise season, 98% of visitors felt that the sites met or exceeded their expectations. 85% rated their overall experience at the sites as Excellent and over 75% rated individual elements (safety, cleanliness of site, and tour guides/site employees as Excellent. A Net Promotor Score of over 80% for all the sites combined, indicates that visitors are extremely likely to recommend the sites to their friends and relatives.
The 2018/2019 cruise season was deemed successful, as many cruise stakeholders earned a livelihood following the tremendous loss sustained from the passage of Hurricane Maria. Monitoring was done throughout the season to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for cruise visitors. Spot checks were undertaken at cruise sites and cruise ports to ensure that service providers adhered to the tourism standards.
A Cruise Visitor Satisfaction Survey was also conducted among cruise passengers during the season. The majority of respondents (82%) said their overall stay was either “very enjoyable” or “enjoyable”. The overall onshore experience and tour Experience, both received favorable ratings of 81% and 85% respectively. The majority of respondents expressed the possibility of coming back to Dominica either on a cruise (85%) or land-based vacation (70%).
In efforts to increase cruise arrivals to the island, more particularly to secure summer calls for the 2019/2020 cruise season and beyond, the Ministry of Tourism & Culture along with the Discover Dominica Authority and Dominica Air and Sea Ports Authority, continued discussions with the Lines throughout the season. In addition special pre-scheduled meetings were held with cruise lines such as Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, TUI Cruises, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises and Wind Star Cruises, during Dominica’s participation at two major cruise events.
The ongoing efforts to increase cruise calls included attendance at the 15th annual Cruise360 Conference hosted by CLIA, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the 35th Annual Seatrade Cruise Global Conference and Tradeshow, held at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Representatives of the Discover Dominica Authority networked with the critical travel agent community at Cruise 360 Conference. This afforded the destination the opportunity to update them on the recovery and improvements undertaken since Hurricane Maria and to reinforce the readiness for visitation. The four day Seatrade Cruise Global Conference catered to professional players within the market, to provide insight into the cruise industry and provided the opportunity for one-on-one meetings with cruise executives.
As at January 18, 2019, the projected cruise calls for the upcoming 2019/2020 cruises season was 164 cruise calls. This translates to 286,470 cruise passengers. It is hoped that these figures will increase by the start of the 2019/2020 cruise season in October, in light of the recent meetings held with the cruise lines.
DDA solicits the cooperation of all tourism stakeholders in ensuring a welcoming and enjoyable experience for the cruise visitors for the upcoming 2019/2020 cruise season. The Government of Dominica will continue its effort in promoting Dominica as a desirable cruise destination so as to increase cruise calls to Dominica.
For more information on Dominica, contact Discover Dominica Authority at 767 448 2045. Or, visit Dominica’s official website: www.DiscoverDominica.com, see Dominica’s updates on the tourism sector post Hurricane Maria: www.dominicaupdate.com, follow Dominica on Twitter and Facebook and take a look at our videos on YouTube.
