Falmouth fails to deliver – again

Such is the series of delays that have dogged the development of the Caribbean’s newest cruise port, it cannot have come as a surprise that the maiden call has been put back another six weeks.
The terminal at Falmouth, Jamaica, should have been opening for business on Friday with the arrival of Navigator of the Seas but after months of development it is still not ready. To add insult to injury, 450 construction workers walked out on strike this week in protest at tax deductions from their year-end bonuses.
Nine Royal Caribbean ship calls will be diverted to Ocho Rios before Voyager of the Seas becomes Falmouth’s first on February 17. Or at least that’s the latest plan.
P&O’s Aurora should have been tying up there in November, and the original schedule had Oasis of the Seas using the new facilities from March last year. It will now be this March at the earliest before Oasis and sister Allure of the Seas start using the terminal.
John Tercek, vice-president of commercial development at Royal Caribbean told Jamaica’s Gleaner: ” The extra time will allow us to deliver a much better experience,” adding that the town still needed some work to get it ready for ships, including landscaping and sprucing up nearby buildings.