Carnival Cruise Line to return to Dominica

The Carnival Liberty will make a call to Dominica
The Carnival Liberty will make a call to Dominica

After pulling out of Dominica in 2010, citing increase in fuel prices, Carnival Cruise Lines will officially return to the island for the 2015/2016 Cruise Ship Season. which begins on October 5.

Eleven ships from the company are expected to visit, General Manager of H.H.V. Whitchurch and Company Ltd, Gerry Aird, announced at a press conference held at the Dominica Festivals Committee (DFC) office on Friday.

When the cruise company pulled out, it ended a 21-year relationship with Dominica.

Since then the government have been negotiation with Carnival Cruise Lines to return.

“For the record we have about 11 calls from Princess, we have 14 calls from P&O and Royal Caribbean Cruise lines, that’s the Adventures of the Seas … we have 10 from the Aida and 11 from Tui,” he said. “But for me the nicest thing of all for this season is we have 11 calls from Carnival.”

He said there has been a tremendous call for Carnival to return to the shores of the island.

“Well they are back, 11 times,” Aird noted.

He had a special appeal for Dominica.

“We cannot play games with these people, they are the biggest and when they call at a particular port, others who may have had some doubt will say, well if Carnival is going there it must be worthwhile, we will go there as well,” he pointed out. “So all the bad habits that we are all familiar with, we know exactly what it is, there is no need to mention them today, we need to put them behind us and do not use Tropical Storm Erika as an excuse for our bad behaviour and our bad manners.”

Furthermore he revealed that the country will welcome nine inaugural calls and out of that number, three will be Carnival ships.

“We have the Carnival Sunshine, the Carnival Dream and the Carnival Liberty and then we go on to the latest P&O, the Britannia that carries mostly British passengers…,” Aird noted.

Dominica expects 174 calls and approximately 200,000 passengers for the 2015-2016 Cruise Ship Season.

The season ends in April 2016.

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43 Comments

  1. hashtag
    October 4, 2015

    As a seasoned traveller IMO The streets of Dominica are dirty. Don’t they employ street gangs to cut the grass? you can barely see ahead of you. For a nature isle this country is always dirty.
    new tourist season and the place is so dirty…

    • Francisco Telemaque
      October 4, 2015

      Why would you anticipate the grass and trees along the streets and roads will be , or should be cut when the government boast that Dominica is the only nature island in the world. Living in, or with nature, the island must remain as it was from the day it was created.

      So, do not expect to see a clean Dominica anytime soon in the future! Our people and government chose to be backward, and primitive, thus they maintain a primitive lifestyle!

  2. Anon....
    October 4, 2015

    Well I can only hope that the bay front will be kept clean. I went to market Saturday and walked along the bay front. Totally disgusting is the only words I can use on DNO. Filth everywhere. Plastic cups, bottles, broken bottles (glass), KFC boxes and pizza boxes just to the name the few that are mentionable, that’s without all the disgusting things that are not. I was appalled by the mess. Goodness knows what the people who got off the ferry must have thought. Perhaps a few more garbage bins might help. I counted only 2 down by the ferry port which were overflowing so that garbage was just dumped all around them. And it might be an idea to employ some road cleaners 7 days a week.

  3. BEB
    October 3, 2015

    I would like to know from Mr. Aird, will people be able to embark and disembark the ship in Dominica? My wife and I went on a Caribbean Cruise in October 2010, that was the last time the ship sailed to Dominica, we had choices to travel to Barbados or Puerto Rico but we choose Barbados . In April next year, I would like to be on the ship to celebrate my 70th. birth day in April, I will be accompanied by my wife, is it possible to board in Dominica?

    • Malatete
      October 5, 2015

      As far as I know Dominica is not a destination for embarking on a cruise, unlike say Barbados or Martinique for example. We do not have the facilities for that, above all the inability to provide for long-haul jet liners used as feeders.

  4. island girl
    October 3, 2015

    Dominica recently sustained major catastrophe a catastrophe
    that made us cry ,Now the island is getting by, Cruise ship coming
    after a month .Isnt it a good thing ,What about that is bad
    If we don’t learn from Erika what does it take us as a nation
    to change our hearts and be better person for DOMINICA

  5. jr
    October 3, 2015

    All i will say is he who pays the piper calls the tune . The white man will always have his way. He controles the money so if u doh play by his rules he will pull out his ships untill you come begging like we have done for the past few years since they left . But our pride is greater than thier money cause Aird earns a tone of money from theses ships as agents and tour opperator So he has no problem pointing out the locals bad manners and habits to cover up the unfair practices of these cruise companies . And am not just blowing air i worked on carnival for a few years so i know . But welcome them back and give them the shirts of our backs to cause when you think about it is not the tourist ministry admin that suffers it is us the men on the ground They get thier 15k a month even thou they come our not .

    • Tjebe fort
      October 5, 2015

      Jr, you will always stay junior if you continue thinking this way and put yourself down. What has skin colour got to do with it.? Keep thinking that way and you will never advance and pull others down with you. Ask yourself, who is the President of the U.S.A. today?

  6. William Mc Lawrence
    October 3, 2015

    I am happy to see Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) is back with a number of calls scheduled for the 2015 to 2015 cruise ship season… I do hope things work out for all concerned and this seasons turns out to be excellent so that we can expect more calls next season until CCL regains the confidence and trust to provide year round calls to Dominica once again…

    Let’s not try to reverse this opportunity to the 2010 situation… Give it your best shot Dominica :wink:

    • Titiwi
      October 5, 2015

      William let’s face it. Dominica needs Carnival more than Carnival needs Dominica. Mr. Aird, who has done more for the cruise industry than the entire cabinet combined put it politely but succinctly. We’d better be on our best behavior and do not use the excuse of Erika for not cleaning up the town, its awful smell and its plethora of panhandlers. Tourists are not charity workers, they want value for their dollar and if they co not get it they simply go elsewhere. I really, really hope that message has sunk in and we are not looking at a dismal cruise season because we need the money badly.

  7. Robert
    October 3, 2015

    It’s good to see that Carnival will return to Dominica. Every cent spend by the tourists will help the local economy.

    Just make sure that customs officers are polite and friendly, which is not always the case.

  8. The Real Facts
    October 2, 2015

    This is good news for D/ca. The management should have heard of TS Erika and its devastation and will inform their passengers about it. Therefore, they will have an idea what to expect.
    Pertaining to someone’s comment about D/ca getting help from donors and the visits of this cruise ship, this has nothing to do with that, How much money will be generated under the circumstances? In view of D/ca’s situation, how much could they purchase in D/ca and how many places could they visit while there?
    Pertaining to bad habits, they must have experienced some of that in D/ca. Customer service, those who sell their goods to the tourists and also the attitude of the vagrants. These could give D/ca a bad reputation. If these are addressed and also keeping the vagrants away, their visit should be a pleasant one.
    A year or so ago a tourist was attacked and her chain and probably also her purse were stolen in Roseau. Was this person a tourist on that ship?

  9. No stay-over
    October 2, 2015

    You see the contradictions?

    Wasn’t it spewed by authorities that the country was so devastated, we should take more time to grieve over the passage of Erika, leave the cultural/Social aspects of our recovery out? Cancel our flagship National Event, because hotels get blows, bridges washed away, communities physical appearance re-shaped, people in stress.

    Are all those sites back to their original state? Will the visitors not see damages roads and sites?

    Wouldn’t there be more stay-over visitors, eager to witness Erika’s disaster, be in solidarity with friends, and families, participate in and spend for that specially formatted WCMF? Watered down to suit the times?

    The World would be willing to assist the country, be it in free marketing or with more cash for that Special WCMF. MASSIVE BENEFIT RE. STAGING OF WCMF 2015 and the future.

    But alas !! Carnival. No WCMF. Stay-over visitors not on the agenda? Contradictions a -plenty.

  10. Perfect Idiot
    October 2, 2015

    Before you start to rate my comment please take a look at my name, because it speaks of who I am-A perfect idiot ok.

    Mr. Gerry Aird warns that we must not play games with carnival, because they are the biggest. It was in that same breath he went on to spell the games: STOP “all the bad habits that we are all familiar with, we know exactly what it is, there is no need to mention them today, we need to put them behind us and do not use Tropical Storm Erika as an excuse for our bad behaviour and our bad manners.”

    Should I not conclude that the reason that was given for pulling out in 2010 was more than high fuel, but it had to do with our bad habits, bad behaviors, and bad manners?

    Didn’t Norris Prevost tell us it was more than fuel and blamed the government? https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/tourism-publicity/prevost-blames-govt-for-loss-of-carnival-cruise-line/

    Didn’t the ex mayor tell us Roseau was the cleanest city in the Caribbean and blamed it on gas?…

    • Tourist Dollar
      October 3, 2015

      Very interesting point my friend. Carnival pull out in 2010 was not due to the fuel issue alone but also due to the poor port ratings from the cruise passengers. These include the hustling of passengers, undercutting prices, short changing passengers of the some of the private tours offered, compounded with very little to see and do, poor condition of side walks, lack of proper signage etc etc in Roseau.

      I hope we do not have to learn the same lesson twice…

  11. Go to Hell
    October 2, 2015

    “We cannot play games with these people, they are the biggest and when they call at a particular port, others who may have had some doubt will say, well if Carnival is going there it must be worthwhile, we will go there as well,” he pointed out. “So all the bad habits that we are all familiar with, we know exactly what it is, there is no need to mention them today, we need to put them behind us and do not use Tropical Storm Erika as an excuse for our bad behaviour and our bad manners.”

    Mr. Aird you must tell those fellers to stop lying to us because they told us it was high cost of fuel that caused carnival to leave. Those guys told us to “Go to Hell” but they seem to be leading the way with their lies.

    Here is the chorus of Lord Nelson’s song about the fate of liars:

    Yuh hear lie, Dat is lie
    Lie , yuh hear lie
    Teacher Percy say if yuh tell ah lie
    You going to hell as soon as yuh die

  12. The Prodical Son
    October 2, 2015

    “So all the bad habits that we are all familiar with, we know exactly what it is, there is no need to mention them today, we need to put them behind us and do not use Tropical Storm Erika as an excuse for our bad behaviour and our bad manners.”

    So after 5 long years of lies and cover up, Gerry Aird is finally telling us that the authorities lied again to us in 2010, when they told us high fuel cost was the reason for Carnival pulling out eh. Gerry told us in no uncertain terms that it was for our “Bad habits,” bad behavior, and bad manners.

    I wonder if those bad habits, bad behaviors and bad manners have been addressed

  13. Sams Gutter
    October 2, 2015

    It bugles the mind. Are there any intelligent people in Dominica?

    • island girl
      October 3, 2015

      I claim to be one of thousands lol

    • Me
      October 5, 2015

      “boggles!” Sam. It boggles the mind! To bugle would be to blow a horn.

  14. Dominican
    October 2, 2015

    Hahaha those blue bug upset eh when things going good in the country, what are you all afraid of? The same ones would have been complaining if the news was opposite, this is getting old folks, give it up

    • October 3, 2015

      Don’t you keep believing to your self that any one who disagrees with you or government is blue am redder than you but just not blind as you and can see lots of things thst are going on in our country is not right and we have to be able to tell someone when they are wrong. Which our governments are most of the time and we are scared to hsve a voice.,that’s one of the reasons that we wont stride. Because we the reds don’t agree when we are wrong.

    • Francisco Telemaque
      October 3, 2015

      In Dominica there is a patios word ” soot.” The definition of the word in English means a black substance formed by combustion or separated from fuel during combustion, and adhering to the sides of chimney’s. The term in patios means stupid.

      If I declare that you are simply soot, I believe you are just another Dominica idiot one deeply delusional! What thing do you consider going well in Dominica! If you were not soot, the events of the past weeks, and days would have opened your eyes to the fact that Skerrit’s cunning tactics have mesmerized your minds ; keeping idiots like you in darkness unable to see miserable state in which he has the country.

      You are so soot, you cannot even understand that the truth why the ship pulled out in the first, all you can see is Blue! Dominica is a bankrupt country, concern yourself with that rather than talk rubbish: fool!

      How can things be going good in Dominica when the government is bankrupt?

      • Me
        October 5, 2015

        Franciso, the local, creole- patois word is “sot” and not “soot”….and you don’t have to be black, or Dominican to be “sot”.

      • Francisco Telemaque
        October 5, 2015

        In any event it still means stupid!

        And remember I am a Wesley boy born, so I doh know how to spell in patios, never mind talk patios eh!

    • originaljahguide
      October 3, 2015

      @ Dominican! You are such an empty red bug

  15. REAL!!!!
    October 2, 2015

    Good News but the others things to support tourism product are not in place.
    1. Farm lands are not accessible to provide produces
    2. Road and bridges are not fully restored to the tourist site.

    I do not think the majority of tourist will come off that Carnival Cruise line

    • October 3, 2015

      How do u expect farm roads brides up storm just past

    • Setup
      October 3, 2015

      Why don’t you do something to help. Instead of letting of negative vibes. Put politics aside, and start working for to better Dominica. Didn’t you learn anything from Ericka?

      In order for things to get better it starts with each one of us. Politicians lie all the time. Men lie all the time. Men cheat and they lie. Who convicts them for lying.

      If you have something profitable for your country, just do it.

      May Yahweh bless Dominica, and protect all of us from all tragedies and catastrophes.

  16. Governance
    October 2, 2015

    Good people, why these negative comments. To Mr Air, well done, Sir. The international community will be pleased to note and see that Dominica is attempting to help itself and will be more inclined to assist us.

    God helps those who help themselves. If your child is willing to overcome all the obstacles to succeed, I take it you will be delighted if someone recognises the limitations and assist your child.

    It is up to the tour operators to be honest and truthful with the tourists explaining Erika. The tourists are not stupid. They see and hear of disasters all the time. Their own countries suffer from diasaters.

    The onus is on us to provide good customer service, be clean in our attire, speak proper English, be polite and thank the tourists for visiting Dominica as they have other options to go to other places.

    Hospitality is every Dominican’s business.

    However, each of us must be hospitable to every Dominican.

    • Setup
      October 3, 2015

      Well said Governance.

  17. Dorival John
    October 2, 2015

    Gasp!!

    What will international donors say when they realize we are accepting cruise visitors while they are gwayaying to raise funds to send to us? :mrgreen:

    • Jaded
      October 2, 2015

      Dorival – What a stupid question!!

    • Roseau River
      October 3, 2015

      International donors will look at DA as a nation pulling itself up from the aches and not as nation simply sitting back and waiting for a handouts.

    • BEB
      October 3, 2015

      Are you suggesting that they should keep the cruise ships away?

      • Me
        October 5, 2015

        Well, I don’t think our P.M. cares one way or the other seeing that he makes his money elsewhere, particularly the sale of passports. If that was not so, our capital city Roseau would not be in such a deplorable state.

  18. sweetpea
    October 2, 2015

    That’s indeed welcoming news!

  19. Really
    October 2, 2015

    Thank you PM Skerrit for getting Carnival to return,we apprdciate it very much and we will do our best to be of good service.

    • Titiwi
      October 2, 2015

      That has bugger all to do with Skerrit. Please understand, the cruise industry is a hard-nosed business and they will only call at Dominica if it is profitable for them. The return of Carnival is welcome but it is not to be compared with the weekly tuesday call of the past.

  20. Shaka zulu
    October 2, 2015

    Oh no no cancel the cruise ship our roads and bridges not complete yet. We cannot have the outside world see us with cruise ship touring while was asking for aid. They will believe all is well. Smdh.

    • ME
      October 2, 2015

      Seriously??……………..So we arnt supposed to do ANYTHING for ourselves….Cruises mean income…. dont take the income and continue begging?? are u even thinking?

    • eheh
      October 2, 2015

      you cannot be serious!!

      • Shaka zulu
        October 2, 2015

        Cmon I was just being sarcastic. Guess you did not read previous post. We need all the cruise ship we can get.

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