Spurning The Leviathans

Royal Gazette Opinion, Thursday 23 June 2005

Tucked away at the easternmost end of Bermuda is the Town of St. George. Bermuda’s only World Heritage site, it’s also my home. Most Bermudians may only bother to visit once or twice in their lifetimes, but that suits me just fine. It keeps the narrow, cobbled streets quiet, the historic buildings unperturbed by modernity, the faces friendly and familiar. Nestled on the edge of a comfortably small harbour, whose water glitters in the sun, it’s an idyllic place to live. Until, in April, the cruise ships come.

For the next six months, these gargantuan, smoke-spewing behemoths blockade our docks, obscure our harbour, and disgorge hordes of rampaging Hun into our streets.

Our quaint, narrow alleyways clog with slow-moving, sandal-wearing tourists sporting grey socks pulled halfway up their corpulent calves. Attempting to drive through these slow-witted ruminants is akin to negotiating an English country lane filled with cattle. You’re forced to ease slowly forward, an occasional nudge from your bumper necessary to persuade the duller members of the herd, motionlessly watching your approach, to move out of the way.

The soot from the leviathans settles on our houses, turning white roofs and shutters a sickly grey. The parties on their sterns keep us awake past midnight, especially if the wind is blowing from the south. Taxis become impossible to find, and the buses to and from Hamilton jam with day-trippers.

This doesn’t just alienate ill-tempered locals such as myself. Many of our other visitors don’t like it either. I know several non-cruisers who have echoed former Tourism Minister Jim Woolridge’s recent comment that crowds of cruise-ship visitors are a big turn-off. “The hoi polloi,” one referred to them, disdainfully. If that seems a little snobbish, remember that it’s the discerning traveller that Bermuda is supposedly trying to attract.

I might be prepared to tolerate some desecration of my neighbourhood if I knew that the cruisers were actually spending some money here. But according to the Government’s Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics, in 2004 cruise ship passengers were responsible for only 15% of the total spending by Bermuda’s visitors. In 2003 this figure was 16%; in 2002, 12%; and in 2001 a mere 11%.

Even taking into account spending by the cruise ship crew, that 15% rises to only 17%. The cruise ships’ total contribution to Bermuda’s economy is boosted by taxes and fees, but of course the hotels and the airlines pay taxes and fees too.

As you might imagine, I’m unsympathetic to the idea of blowing up part of Bermuda in order to accommodate mega-ships packed with more of these heathens. We only have 21 square miles as it is. As if the loss of the land wasn’t bad enough, the plans to widen and dredge Town Cut and Two Rock Passage may result in unpredictable changes to waves and currents in the two harbours, and the destruction of some of our coral reefs. Fantastic! Where do I get my dynamite?

Secretly, I think Tourism Minister Dr. Ewart Brown would also like to get rid of the cruisers. Back in January, he set several goals for Bermuda’s tourism industry. One was to increase air arrivals to 400,000 over the next three years. Another was to increase per person visitor spending by 7%. Banning the cruise ships would result in some would-be cruisers arriving by air instead; by eliminating the tight-fisted arrivals, average visitor spending would rise.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. The mega-ships are not without their advantages. Being newer and more expensive, they tend to attract a more upscale customer than those on the older ships that currently dock in St. George’s and Hamilton. The new ships are also better at handling their waste. But with no need for their passengers to seek out food, accommodation, or entertainment on the Island, the economic benefit they would bring is likely to remain slight. Thus I see no reason why we should go out of our way to re-engineer St. George’s and Hamilton to accommodate them.

Dockyard is already capable of handling the mega-ships. So let’s develop it as our primary cruise ship berth. Let’s expand its facilities so it can handle two mega-ships at once. Let’s improve its transport links with the rest of the Island. If ferries to and from Hamilton and St. George’s were fast and regular, being berthed in the West End would be little inconvenience. We’re only 21 miles long, for crying out loud. In the States, people drive that far to get a pizza.

But let’s leave our other ports untouched. If the number of ships that visit Bermuda starts to decline as a result, so be it. We’ll adapt.

And maybe a little serenity will return to St. George’s too.

Comments

[Diane on 23.06.05 at 09:58]

Bravo! and well written description of the "Atilla the Hun" hordes who haven't a clue about the gentileness of the island. I agree 100%...as a non-crusing visitor for over 30 years to Bermuda, mega-cruise ships will ruin the quaintness,peace and beauty of the island. But, is it true, Limey, that Bermudian gangs have taken over St.Georges making it a place that fewer tourists will want to visit???

[Monty on 23.06.05 at 09:59]

living in the area, I see where you're coming from. However, until the Gov't. get rolling on a new hotel where Club Med was, this is the main source of revenue for the restaurants & bars. Keeping them open means you & I can enjoy a good meal as well.

[ruby tuesday on 23.06.05 at 10:29]

How dare these people come to Bermuda and not fork over their entire net worth on shoddy local services and goods. Bermuda gets the tourism trade it deserves. Part of the problem is short termism of Bermudians which has created such a restrictive infrastructure.

The other real problem is Ewart Brown. From his hysterically naiive "negotiations" with international airlines to his cosmetic band aid solutions to significant structural problems he fails to understand that tourism cannot be managed as some state sponsored solution but has to be left to free enterprise. If, as he quite believes, he is the smartest memeber of the cabinet then that is a damning indictment of the motley fools he sits with.

[Tiger Bay on 23.06.05 at 10:50]

Free Tiger Bay!

[corpulent calves? on 23.06.05 at 11:42]

I dont spend much money in the shops here so i dont expect the tourists to start buying. We dont have enough interesting merchandise. A tee shirt here and a mug for grandma back home...finito. I like the crowds. After a winter of walking down the street and seeing the same faces I like the change. The tourists seem happy to be here (more than I can say for some Bermudians I know who long to move to the US so they can run to Walmart everyday for kicks). Some of these "corpulent calves" save all year to spend 5 days on the island and have a nice time.

"Taxis become impossible to find, and the buses to and from Hamilton jam with day-trippers."

Taxis are hard to find 365 days a year...not just when the tourists are here. Unless you are on front street or in front of a hotel -GOOD LUCK!

Im glad "day trippers" take the bus that means they arent on a moped killing themselves or me.

Maybe your comments are more directed towards government and their inability to manage the ship situation to your satisfaction. Until Bermuda gets something more than nice beaches and swizzles we will continue to host the grey sock and sandal wearing folk.
.....Maybe a world class casino would help. :D

Diane- "Atilla the Hun" hordes ...????
I guess when you walk down the street while you are on holiday you do so with ballett slippers on? Oh but your staying at a hotel...so you must understand the gentileness...not like those plebs on that ship. And cruise ships will not be what destroys the quaintness and peace of the island it will be our own violence and ignorance.

[Cunard on 23.06.05 at 11:45]

Forward Progression...

Just as Front Street went from packed mud and horse & buggy to paved roads and peugots... Bermudians should moderize and expand to the megaships.

I say blow it up...expand and progress! Let the 21st century Cruise ships come to berth. This will insure tourism growth in Bermuda. Without which quaility of life in Bermuda certainly will decline.

[Fen on 23.06.05 at 12:31]

One of the reasons that I think they should limit the number of cruise ships is because of what I've read about their effect on the coral reefs (which are already stressed by being this far north). The ships stir up the sediment in the seas, which slows the growth of the coral.

However, whilst I know this is a problem in the Caribbean, I don't know how much it affects Bermuda. Does anyone else know more about this?

[Tiger Bay on 23.06.05 at 12:38]

"Just as Front Street went from packed mud and horse & buggy to paved roads and peugots... Bermudians should moderize and expand to the megaships."

You should only do something if there is a monetary benefit. It is not always clear that the revenue derived from cruise ships = the money we spend to market and cater to them.

Accomodating the mega ships is not a bonus if it degrades our own environment and living conditions.

[Two Cents on 23.06.05 at 13:06]

BY HAVING THE MEGASHIPS HERE ACCOMADATION IS ONE LESS THING WE HAVE TO SCREW UP.

I HAVE HAD SO MANY PEOPLE HERE (BOTH FRIENDS & BUSINESS) STAY AT LOCAL HOTELS (YES ..EVEN THE "GOOD" HOTELS) AND I AM FLABBERGASTED HOW BAD THE SERVICE IS; FROM THE "I'D RATHER BE SOMEWHERE ELSE" GIRLS AT FRONT DESK, TO THE IMPOSSIBLY SLOW HOUSEKEEPING SERVICE, TO THE "WHO CARES CAUSE i AM GETTING GRATS ANYWAY" WAIT STAFF. BERMUDIAN SERVICE HAS TRULY GONE DOWN THE CRAPPER.

AT LEAST BY HAVING THE MEGASHIPS HERE OUR MERCHANTS CAN GO BACK TO GOUGING OUR VISITORS AND SLEEP EASY AT NIGHT WITHOUT RELYING ON BONEHEAD IDEAS LIKE "POP BY", WHICH IS A LUXURY THE SHOP KEEPERS DON'T HAVE FOR 4-5 MONTHS PER YEAR.

FOR ME KNOWING THAT BY STAYING ON A MEGASHIP THEIR HOTEL ROOM WON'T BE ROBBED AT NIGHT BY SOME CRACKHEAD (WHO IS ACTUALLY JUST DISADVANTAGED...MORE CRAP), WILL MAKE ME SLEEP EASIER

[The Limey on 23.06.05 at 13:52]

Diane,

It's a gross exaggeration to say that gangs have taken over St. George's. In my opinion, it's just as safe as anywhere else in Bermuda.

Monty,

I'd be surprised to learn that cruisers are the main source of revenue for St. George's restaurants. Most (all?) cruisers are on all-inclusive packages, with their meals on ship already paid for. I think very few avail themselves of the local restaurants. But next time I eat out down there I'll check.

[former resident on 23.06.05 at 14:22]

Two Cents,
Well Written!!! I agree with you whole heartedly and especially love the comment about the crackhead.

Limey,
You seem to be annoyed with the presence of the tourists and I am sure that you know that BDA depends on them to come here and spend, even if it isn't a huge amount. Maybe you should think about the overall benefit for the masses as opposed to your own personal inconvenience.

[Taggy on 23.06.05 at 14:33]

Economics: for tourism, it's about revenue per head, versus cost per head. If the revenue number is not high enough you either increase the revenue (more individual wallet-share) or increase the heads. Bermuda can't afford to increase the heads - we don't have the space, and what we do have costs a lot.
So, how do we increase the revenue? Attract high-rollers ('whales' to use Vegas parlance) with bigger wallets. How do we attract high-rollers? For most small, exclusive islands (BVI, Maldives etc.) this means beautiful, luxurious surroundings and world-class service. We have the former, but it's under threat from the cruise-ship Huns. We have nothing even approaching the latter. That, in my humble view, is the achilles heel of the Bermuda tourist trade.

[Raptor on 23.06.05 at 15:07]

Sure, the larger the ships, the more churning they'll do.
I just don't see the trade-off from blasting out channels to let these mega-monsters in as being beneficial enough to the island.
Working in tourist-related businesses, I can remember time and time again tourists would drop their shopping to rush back to their ship for lunch (even with the tender/ferry ride to the Great Sound, with the intention of returning to shopping later)!
I think it would make more sense to take the t-shirts out to them on little barges ;).

[Diane on 23.06.05 at 15:12]

Limey,
re: my comment on the gangs in St. Georges...I'm only going by the articles that I read in both The Royal Gazette and the Bermuda Sun. I'm glad if you feel that it is not all that bad, and that perhaps the papers have "hyped" the crime situation.

[chuckles on 23.06.05 at 15:31]

Say all you want about cruisers not spending BUT what exactly is there worth spending on? T shirts, shot glasses? I have been to Bermuda many times by air and I don't buy much of anything any more because there is nothing new worth buying.

St George is truly quaint but it is also BORING!! The only night life is trying to outrun a mugger in King's Square. You complain about cruisers not coming off the boat at night. WHY SHOULD THEY??? What is worth doing that they can't find on the boat? Is there anything unique that would attract them besides being chased by a machete wielding thug?

I seem to remember your present government showing great disdain for air arrivals that made under $135.000 per annum. It seems that they believe that anyone under that amount will not spend lavishly enough to make their presence worthwhile. But let me ask you this,

When was the last time you rubbed elbows with Ross Perot or Gov Bloomburg in the Frog & Onion or Flannigan's? How many friends of Michael Douglas do you see at Horseshoe Bay? You see, people with money will spend but only when they believe it has value.

Bermuda is a beautiful place BUT it isn't what it used to be. Night life used to be abundant whether it be the Forty Thieves or the all night disco at the South P. Now? What is there to attract people? Hawkins Island is nice but one night and your done, now what?

[tong on 23.06.05 at 16:57]

I think the point is that they don't spend enough money to be worth the negative impact they have for the rest of the tourists. Bermuda is built on a unique experience, not some floridian idea of budget holidays. I think that the comments from folks talking about the financial gains just aren't reading the stats. The govt should focus on trying to get people in the beds we have for longer... like the flags I think its just a tool used by politicians to fool the masses into believing they are doing something.

[The Limey on 23.06.05 at 18:02]

Former resident

Pollution. Infrastructure strain. Reef damage. Wave and current changes. A 17% contribution to our economy. Alienating our high-spending visitors.

This is about much more than my personal inconvenience.

[Kate on 23.06.05 at 18:57]

Sounds like a NIMBY to me - it's fine as long as the hordes only inconvenience the people at the West End of the Island

I also detect a large element of the snob here, perhaps we should give the cruise ships a dress code so that these people so not affect your sensibilities, perhaps we should add a weighing scale at the foot of the gangplank to ensure that only people under an acceptable weight get off - we wouldn't want the Limeys dreams being haunted by 'corpulent calves'

[The Limey on 23.06.05 at 19:21]

Kate

I suggested developing Dockyard as our primary cruise ship berth because it is already capable of handling the mega-ships. Expanding its facilities would not involve the same degree of destruction as re-engineering Hamilton or St. George's.

Dockyard also has considerably less residential development than St. George's or Hamilton.

[Some 1 on 23.06.05 at 19:31]

The problem is, Dockyard really isn't favourable with the cruise ships. It's too small, and there isn't enough to do in Dockyard... the hassle of having to hop on a bus to get to a location where more things are happening really puts a knocking on the visitor experience.

Ed Williams and his team along with the Dockyard Chamber Division are making good progress down there, but not enough.. not as quickly as need be.. and no matter what they are able to do, Dockyard is still too small. The cruise ship visitors aren't too keen on venturing too far out to discover things. They're not here long and limited by what they can do in the space of time before having to return to the ship for lunch/dinner.

[Two Cent Charlie on 23.06.05 at 19:51]

Some 1,

The points you make are valid but might also can be seen in a different light that actually would make it sensible to utilize dockyard for the mega ships.

I do agree a lot more needs to be done in developing dockyard but at the same token by whisking the visitors away on the fancy new ferries to such places as St Georges, Hamilton etc. will in effect prevent them from going back on board for their lunches, dinners etc. and spend more time/money off ship.

I don't think Bermudians are really that keen on having massive crowds decend on either Front Street or St Georges Wharf yet we obviously do need the cruise visitors. This way we can control things a little better.

I think smaller cruise ships are all that St. Georges and Hamilton really can afford to handle.

[The Man on 23.06.05 at 21:24]

I think Dockyard has great potential that needs to be explored. Its plenty big enough, and better to fill Dockyard than quaint ST Geo. Transportation would have to improve.... doable with proper planning... and activities and attractions increased... doable... even just outside of Dockyard, Ireland Island can be 'developed' to entertain (not necessarily by building stuff) I'm from the West End and I think there is tremendous potential. There will be minimal effect on the few residents, and possibly benefits in the way of better public transportation, which is progressively being reduced with Mr. Brown's new Ferry plan. The cutting out of the Boaz Island Ferry stop (oh... they'll drive by.... they just won't stop!!) is just a way to save having to build the specialised dock that the new Fast ferry wasn't supposed to need.

Dare we bring up the potential of the Naval Annex in Southampton??!!

[adolomite on 23.06.05 at 21:38]

What about trying to sell stuff that is worth buying?

[ENIGMA on 23.06.05 at 23:26]

Phil,

I am an avid fan of your site and have the greatest respect for the majority of opinions you put forward, even if I don't always agree with them, I am usually able to at least respect them. Todays' column however is far from your usual well reasoned set of arguments. I think I should raise a few 'facts' (in no particular order) that are glaringly absent from your article.

1. You refer to 8 months of "gargantuan, smoke- spewing behemoths blockading our docks, obscuring our harbour, and disgorging hordes of rampaging Hun into our streets."

The cruise ship season in St. George's begins in the last week of April and ends in the last week of October. Six months only. In that six months there are only 3 days of the week when there are 2 ships in the harbor: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Monday there is 1 ship and Friday there is 1 ship up to midday. 4.5 days of business in total. This year St George's also has 9 Sunday visits from the Seven Seas Navigator which is a very small (less than 500 passengers) very 'high end' ship ($1000+ per cabin per day.)

2. You refer to the cruise ship visitors as "slow witted ruminants" that are akin to "cattle" and that the "duller members of the herd" need "an occasional nudge from your bumper"

Phil, while I appreciate irony as an art form I find your snobbery particularly offensive. Some of the ugliest sights I have ever seen are the 'Beer swilling Brits on their hols' - how soon you forget?

3.Regarding the advent of the megaships. At present St. George's has 2 ships docked Tuesday to Thursday. Each ship has 1600 passengers plus crew giving a total of just over 4000 visitors to the town. By 2007 / 2008 St George's (and Hamilton for that matter) will have only 1 megaship on any given day carrying approximately 2600 passengers plus crew which will represent a significant reduction in the volume of direct visitors the town currently experiences on any given day! This reduction should give you cause to celebrate.

4. "Gargantuan, smoke-spewing behemoths"

In reality Phil, the cruise ships that visit St. George's and Hamilton are the smallest ships in the fleet of the cruise lines. Non of the the major lines have built any ships of this size for years and they are all at the end of their commercial life. The new ships are on average 300 feet longer and 50 feet wider and are far more manouverable and environmentally friendly than anything that is currently visiting Bermuda. To say the least you are distorting the truth.

5. "I might be prepared to tolerate some desecration of my neighbourhood if I knew the cruisers were actually spending some money here"

For years the various statistical analysis of visitor spending has been manipulated by the very strong hotel lobbyists to try to convince us all that those horrible "hoi polloi" cruise ship visitors don't spend any money.

Phil, may I suggest that you take a day off from your job outside of St. George's to observe the spending of the cruise ship passengers. Begin by watching the numerous St. Georgian water tour operators that are operating from Penno's wharf and Ordnance Isalnd with boatloads of paying passengers, then perhaps you should to chat to the St. Georgian walking tour guides who give the "hoi polloi" informative, historic tours of the town daytime and evening. Next the St Georgian horse and carriage drivers who work whenever the cruise ships are in town and lets not forget the government bus tours that arrive everyday to take the "cattle" to the Caves and the Aquarium and St Davids' lighthouse. Then if time allows, find out how much the "rampaging Hun" paid for all of these tours. Non of this money is included in their spending profile because the tours are sold through the ships but guess what? All of those tour operators are being paid, they are all Bermudians and that money is flowing back into the economy and providing jobs for St. Georgians! Don't forget to talk to the shopkeepers in the town, are they there because they don't make any moey? I don't think so. And when you go out in the evening for a drink look around to see how many locals are keeping the bar in business and paying the staff.

6. When you leave St. George's every day to go to work do you ever consider how the other people who live in the town pay their bills. The answer is that many of them rely on the very visitors you seem to despise. Without the cruise ships many St. Georgians would be out of work.

Phil, you are very priviledged and have many choices available to you in life. Many of us are less able to control our destiny. While I appreciate that on a personal level you do live in a beautiful home that overlooks the harbor and you are inconvenienced by the noise from the ships below you there are many other St. Georgians who would be far more inconvenienced if we were to support your views and bite the hand that feeds us. Please try to spare a thought for the whole community before you mandate serenity for the priviledged and unemployment for the rest!

Phil, having said all of the above, I am still a huge admirer of your blog and I will continue to support your efforts in the future.

[jbhvt on 24.06.05 at 00:01]

Personally, I wouldn't choose to spend my vacation on a cruise ship, but if I did, why would I want to pay exhorbitant prices for mediocre food and lousy service offshore when I've already paid for my meals onboard? From what I hear from friends and family who've gone on cruises, the food and service is quite good, even on low-budget lines such as Carnival. It's unrealistic to expect people to voluntarily spend more money than they need to, especially if what they're shelling money out for is substandard.

Tourism as a viable source of income for the government or for a large segment of the population is not realistic with the present infrastructure. I loved living in Bermuda for all the years that I did, but as the spouse of someone in the hotel industry who arrived in the early 80's and left in the mid-90's, I saw the decline as spending and vacation patterns changed with your major market (Americans), the gracious Bermudian hospitality the island was known for was replaced by sullen, entitled workers with little interest in anything other than collecting a paycheck (and mandatory gratuity, added for your convenience), and the international business sector flourished and created jobs that were much more appealing than those in the service industry.

I still think that Bermuda is one of the loveliest places on earth, and I've traveled around the world, but for value for money, it can't compete. Unfortunately, the majority of the world's population doesn't have the brain power to be a Chartered Accountant or an Underwriter, so how the average Bermudian is expected to make a living within the international business sector is a conundrum.

[Bill Cook on 24.06.05 at 09:39]

Limey,

If you are a snob then we need a lot more snobs just like you with a view to preserving our precious infrastructure.

Your plan to use Dockyard just makes good sense as they need the business can handle the ships and have facilities there inc. that nice little beach and bar that many Bermudians dont know about.

We in BDA need to first recognise our limitations and have more realistic expectations as things have changed, and we do not have cheap labour like the underpaid Asians who work on the cruise ships which makes everything cost more and the service industry generally speaking only attracts those who are unable to find better paying jobs in other areas.

We will never return to a viable bouyant hotel industry not EVER.
Face it and adapt accordingly,stop flogging a dead horse.
We can have small boutique hotels catering to businessmen and good guest houses and a couple of large hotels catering to the convention business as the SPH does very successfully, but quite frankly our infrastructure is at a breaking point at this very moment without additional stress.
We have a flawed transport system dangerous roads,rapidly increasing crime, a monster drug problem probably the largest per capita in the entire world, bulging prisons totally out of control and hospitals struggling to cope,

So before we attract tourists we need to have a more suitable country to do so.

Wealthy cruise passengers will spend money if they have something to spend it on,but with the closure of Triminghams and Smiths what is left ?

We approach problems with band aid solutions and often cause irreparable damage to our environment in the pursuit of more money.

[Diane on 24.06.05 at 12:06]

Well said, Bill Cook. Why is everyone who wants
to maintain higher standards considered a snob? Does that make every environmentalist a snob, because he wants to maintain standards for water, air and land ? The trend today is to sink to the lowest common denominator for one reason only: to make money.

[The Limey on 24.06.05 at 14:02]

Enigma

Thank you for your comments.

You are correct that the St. George's cruise ship season is only six months long. Eight months is the total length of Bermuda's season, which starts at the end of March and continues until the end of November. I apologise for the error.

While I wish it were otherwise, I have little patience at the best of times and absolutely no tolerance for those I consider to be idiots. Cruisers who stand still in the middle of the street and motionlessly watch me drive towards them, as regularly happens to both myself and my wife, drive me nuts. Clearly that's not a reason for banning cruise ships. But encounters like that inevitably colour my view of them.

I deliberately exaggerated the attributes of the cruise ships for effect. I understand that the vessels in St. George's are the smallest in the fleets. Nonetheless, that doesn't make them small. When there's a cruise ship docked at Ordnance Island it dominates King's Square and blocks out most of the harbour.

If the cruise ships stopped coming to St. George's it would not necessarily mean unemployment and financial ruin for the businesses that operate there. As I stated in my article (and Fred Barritt repeated in his column in the Bermuda Sun today), provided we put in place regular, fast ferries between St. George's and Dockyard, many of the mega-ship cruisers would still make the trip to St. George's. If Dr. Brown succeeds in his aim of increasing air arrivals to 400,000, many of those extra visitors will come to St. George's too. The walking tour guides and the horse and carriage operators are not restricted to serving cruisers. If and when the old Club Med is replaced by a new hotel that will also furnish new customers for the businesses in St. George's. There are many things we could do to keep a steady flow of visitors to our town, even if fewer cruise ships dock there. I do not accept that accommodating the mega-ships is our only option.

[The View on 24.06.05 at 14:41]

Limey,

I agree with Enigma. I read these posts from time to time and normally respect your views but this time I can not agree.

When you are in large city have you ever stared blankly at a subway map or waited for the Walk sign when all around you are crossing the street or stopped to get your bearings and hold up the pedestrians around you. It happens when you are in surroundings you do not know intimately. To describe these guests in our country as "idiots" is harsh to say the least.

[Tom on 24.06.05 at 17:24]

Interesting subject, one which many Bermudians are reluctant to discuss or comment on publicly. Having lived in Bermuda in the early 60's I have had the privelege of enjoying the very best Bermuda had to offer and recently the worst Bermuda had to offer. About ten years ago it became obvious that Bermudians were not happy with cruise ship passengers taking over the island from Monday thru Thursday. Now there are cruise ship passengers on the island every day of the week and it has now come to the point of open discussion. Besides the social problems and the poor value for my dollar, another reason I don't come back to Bermuda as often as I used to, is I don't like the overcrowding as a result of the large numbers of cruise ship passengers. There are many on-island visitors and cruise passengers who will not return to Bermuda because it is over crowded with cruise ship passengers. The cruise ship lines will milk Bermuda for all they can until it is no longer a popular and inexpensive destination. I think it is great that so many people got to enjoy Bermuda thanks to the cruise ships, but the Government and the cruise lines will ruin that too. All the tourism consultants and Department of Tourism people still don't understand that to survive, Bermuda has to have a healthy balanced mix of on-island and cruise ship visitors. So, dredge up the channels, bring in the mega ships, piss-off the residents more, drive away more on-island visitors and soon there will be nothing left. The Government has no plan for the future, all it has is a knee-jerk reaction to whatever comes up tomorrow. Good luck!

[The Limey on 24.06.05 at 17:37]

The View

When you are in large city have you ever stared blankly at a subway map or waited for the Walk sign when all around you are crossing the street or stopped to get your bearings and hold up the pedestrians around you.

Of course I have! I'm the worst idiot I know. I frequently amaze myself by how much of a dumb-ass I can be.

Thankfully, on those occasions when I don't realise I'm being a dumb-ass, when I stop to tie my shoelace right outside the entrance to Triminghams or do something equally asinine, I usually have my wife to point out my stupidity to me.

Doesn't stop me being irritated by others who do the same though. ;-)

[Two Cent Charlie on 29.06.05 at 13:25]

"Although it was the highest level of first quarter expenditure since the year 2000, out of the total $44.7 million spent by visitors a whopping $44.6 million was spent by air passengers, with only $100,000 was spent by cruise visitors."

This from today's RG. These are tourism's estimates and if they are correct then I suggest we not spend another nickle on accomodating cruise ships in any way shape or form. (I actually find it hard to believe they only spent $100,000. I sincerely hope that's a mis-print.)
Heck at that rate it's costing the island more than it takes in.

[Raptor on 29.06.05 at 14:27]

It seems impossible that cruise ship visitors spent only $100,000! RG, where are you?!

[The Limey on 30.06.05 at 18:17]

That $100,000 figure is correct. Remember, though, that's only for the first quarter, and it all came from a single cruise ship.

See http://tinyurl.com/dd27h for the full details.

[Two Cent Charlie on 30.06.05 at 18:59]

Thanks for the update. I figured as much but I'm still not very impressed. That's very little expenditure per person if the total amount of people is 500 visitors. $200 over three days maybe?

If this represents 1% of the total yearly vistor expenditure by cruise ships then can we estimate a total of about $10 Million for the year?

Bermudians will spend 5 times that or more off island. No wonder Trim's is shuttered. You park 50,000 people next to the store and they still can't survive.
The locals had better start buying more Bermuda T shirts.

[Tiger Bay on 01.07.05 at 15:51]

News conference by Dr. Sizzle. Dockyard to be the major cruise ship port - building new pier for megaships. May still obliterate Town Cut to allow bigger ships to park on Phil's porch. Yadda yadda yadda.

http://www.bermudasun.bm/archives/2005-07-01/01News03/

[Tiger Bay on 01.07.05 at 15:58]

Correction: they intend to obliterate Town Cut to allow bigger ships into Penno's Wharf "in an environmentally sensitive manner".

He is also pushing for relocation of the Hamilton docks to allow megaships in town. Evades mentioning Two Rock - but says it will improve town by having only one ship instead of two cluttering the waterfront.

He's appointed a task force that has the heads of the banks plus the usual PLP synchophants.

[The Limey on 03.07.05 at 12:14]

I received the following comment by email a couple of weeks ago from one of our non-cruise visitors:

As a regular visitor to St. Georges, I applaud your article regarding expansion of the town cut. We dread Tuesday morning and the cruise ship arrival, the end of the our beautiful view of the harbor. We can only dream of St. Georges without cruise ships. What a paradise that would be.