PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten -- Carnival Cruise Lines' Fascination will
drop St. Maarten from its southern Caribbean itinerary, effective
April 21, to concentrate on shorter trips out of Miami.
Carnival plans to send a new ship, Spirit, to St. Maarten in
November 2001.
The line dropped St. Maarten "to make way for less-touristed
ports, including St. Kitts and St. Barts. The decision is not due
to any problems in St. Maarten," a Carnival spokeswoman said.
The announcement followed passenger complaints lodged earlier
this year with the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) that
vendors harassed them during St. Maarten calls.
The island welcomed almost 500,000 cruise passengers from
January through June this year, a 25% increase over the same period
last year.
The FCCA refused comment on the findings.
"Some vendors were sort of harassing tourists, but we put a stop
to that [in August] by implementing a cruise police force," said
Regina LaBega, St. Maarten's director of tourism.
According to LaBega, the cruise police "will be quite stern"
regarding enforcement of the antiharassment policies.
"We value the cruise lines and we are in contact with them
regarding any problems that might arise when they are in port here.
We try to keep their passengers happy," LaBega said.
Tourism officials encourage ships to remain in port through the
evening hours by arranging passenger activities in the port
area.
Disney Magic remains in port until 11 p.m. during its weekly
call at St. Maarten.
St. Maarten's recently expanded port features a new pier that
can accommodate up to four ships at a time, including two
mega-class vessels.
The area also includes a welcome terminal with information
booths, ATM machines, a post office, restrooms, restaurants, stores
and offices. Conference and banquet space will follow.
The entire facility, including the pier, will officially open
Nov. 12, although the pier has already welcomed several ships.
Still to come as part of the expansion project is Waterside
Complex, a shopping and entertainment venue at the pier, scheduled
to open in December 2001.
The complex will contain duty-free shops, an open-air market,
restaurants, bars, live music and a tour bus and taxi terminal.