Dominica is preparing to welcome over 200 cruise calls for the upcoming 2022-2023 cruise season.
Tourism Minister, Denise Charles made the disclosure during a welcoming ceremony for an inaugural call from Disney Fantasy cruise lines earlier this week.
“This translates to approximately 280,000 cruise passengers,” she said. “It is hoped that these figures will increase by the start of the new cruise season in October, considering the recent meetings held with the cruise lines.”
Charles continued, “We look forward to welcoming all our cruise guests to explore our natural wonders.”
The Minister indicated that over the last cruise season, Dominica received a total of 215 cruise calls carrying 139,500 passengers; eleven cruise ships made their inaugural calls to the island.
She commended the taxi and tour operators for doing an excellent job in ensuring that guests are happy, “especially those of you who make a concerted effort to make guest experiences unforgettable.”
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Chekira Lockhart- Hypolite, said plans are in place for the redevelopment of the Dame Eugenia Charles Boulevard.
“This safe zone will offer opportunities for shopping of our local art and craft offerings, food tours, and local music,” she explained. “Unique tours will be made available to our visitors including the bush rum tour which offers a taste of our exotic rums which are essentially a mix of bushes and spices.”
Lockhart-Hypolite also said that plans are underway to create a local magical experience for the cruise passengers.
“This allows more child-friendly tours and one-of-a-kind experiences,” she noted.
According to Lockhart-Hypolite, this now brings to the forefront two major upcoming projects geared specifically to children which will be launched in the near future.
She said one of the projects will be a children’s play area where culture and entertainment will be combined.
“The children will be exposed to our local foods, use the traditional wear, participate in enchanting cultural dances and songs, create stunning clay pots and weave baskets made of local straws with the Kalinagos, our indigenous people,” Lockhart-Hypolite indicated.
According to information from https://dclfan.com/disney-
The Disney Fantasy sailed her maiden voyage on March 31, 2012. She boasts features such as an AquaDuck water coaster, magical children’s areas, world-class entertainment, delightful dining, retreats for adults, and immersive experiences for guests of all ages with beloved Disney stories and characters.
This massive ship features 14 decks and has 1,250 staterooms. As guests have come to expect from Disney Cruise Line, the newest ship combines state-of-the-art technology with the elegance and grandeur of old-time ocean liners.
Every Disney Cruise Line ship has a signature character; the Fantasy is no different. The ship’s atrium is home to a bronze statue of Mademoiselle Minnie Mouse. Keeping in line with the vintage travel theme seen around the ship, Minnie is dressed in fashions from the 1920s and 30s, complete with a parasol and steamer trunk.
Dominican children doh even want to learn the traditional dances like Beleh. What makes them think that a foreign child want to come and learn how to dance to traditional music?
When you travel, is traditional dance you looking for ?
CHUPES
Charles, you claim to have had 215 cruise calls carrying 139,500 passengers. Problem is, this 2 figures don’t tell us anything. How many of those 139,500 passengers actually disembarked in DA? How much did every disembarked passenger spend in DA? What was all this worth to the Dominican economy as a whole? I guess you wouldn’t know, Denise. Would you? Just wishy-washy you guys broadcast.
That’s what they good at, selling BS to their illiterate supporters on a daily basis. 280,000 cruise ship passengers were on the ships that docked, but unfortunately only 500 in total disembarked and spent 10 EC$ each. BETTER THAN NOTHING I hear the Skerrit supporters exclaim. WE love our CM.
Stil delivering a subpar tourism product i see
Denise Charles, Denise Charles. All I hearing is about her. What happened to Colin Piper. Has he been demoted or just lost his voice. What happen there man.
How can a country fulfill its greatest tourism potential when the requisite infrastructure is profoundly lacking. Look at the seaport facilities in the rest independent states in the OECS to that of Dominica.
Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis tourist arrivals make Dominica’s look like child’s play.
Seemingly, the government and its affiliates use specific local and regional news sites to disperse their false assertions and delicious lies. The discerning public knows which ones.
So, Dominica will not “fulfill its greatest tourism potential” because its tourism infrastructure is not on par (according to you) with what occurs in other OECS islands.
Man, your logic is astounding!!
@Ibo
The things you are criticising are extactly the points I’m enjoying so much when coming to Dominica: NO huge terminals, NO huge shopping malls, NO bling bling. For me this is no lacking, it’s a unique selling point.
The total mess that currently is Dame Eugenia Charles Boulevard actually belongs to Dominicans, and not to cruise ship visitors. Here’s a novel thought – how about planning for the future with Dominicans in mind ?