In recent months, the Norwegian Getaway has been a common sight at Tortola’s newly expanded cruise ship pier, but that won’t be the case next summer, according to Norwegian Cruise Line.
In response to lagging demand for Caribbean destinations, the Getaway will call in the Baltics next summer rather than the Caribbean, NCL CEO Frank Del Rio said recently, according to Travel Weekly.
The change will directly impact the Virgin Islands: According to NCL’s public relations office, “there will be a slight reduction in BVI visits during the 2017 summer months.”
However, calls to the VI from Norwegian’s other ships will more than make up for the Getaway’s departure, said BVI Ports Authority Acting Managing Director Al Henley.
“Yes, there will be a slight reduction in visits. However, the passenger count remains intact,” he said. “Escape’s capacity is almost double that of NCL Gem and Spirit, with Escape making most of the calls in 2017.”
Mr. Henley added that while many of the territory’s neighbours are experiencing a downturn in cruise shippers, the VI is on track to see record numbers this year — a record 516,436 cruisers came here last year, and about 700,000 are scheduled to come this year.
“Additionally,” Mr. Henley said, “our confirmed calls for 2017 based on confirmed bookings to date will also be at these levels.”
Margaritaville?
Meanwhile, after being tight-lipped for months, officials have released a reason for why construction on the final pier park building hasn’t resumed since at least February, though the reason is still sparse on details.
According to Ministry of Communications and Works Information Officer Nekita Turnbull, the building is being redesigned.
“They had to change something from the original concept and design,” she said. “No decision has been made: That’s why it hasn’t moved forward.”
Ms. Turnbull said Tortola Pier Park officials did not elaborate to her exactly what is being changed in the building’s design.
The final building was originally planned to house an international chain restaurant — in the past, leaders spoke about negotiations with Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville — but officials are still mum on any potential deal with restaurateurs.
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