FALMOUTH, Trelawny

There was a buzz of excitement in this historic town on Tuesday soon after Harmony of the Seas, the largest cruise ship on earth, pulled into the multimillion-dollar Falmouth Cruise Shipping Port on its inaugural visit to Jamaica, with its over 8,000 passengers and crew.

The ship, which forms a part of the Royal Caribbean fleet, is scheduled to berth at the Falmouth port twice monthly.

Harmony of the Seas now joins its sister ships, the Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, in berthing in the historic town of Falmouth.

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said that the visit will provide a major boost for Jamaica’s growing cruise ship sector which, for the period January to September 2016, saw a 9.6 per cent increase in cruise passenger arrivals, with 1,223,608 recorded passengers, when compared to the same period last year.

“I am happy to share that we recorded cruise passenger earnings of approximately US$111 million, up from some US$98.3 million for the same period last year,” remarked an elated Bartlett during a plaque-exchange ceremony on-board the vessel.

“Today is truly a historic day for Jamaica’s tourism industry as we welcome the inaugural call of Harmony of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship to the port of Falmouth and the beautiful parish of Trelawny,” Bartlett added.

President of the Trelawny Chamber of Commerce, Delroy Christie, was equally enthusiastic over the prospects of the boost to Trelawny’s economy that will flow from the mega cruise ship.

“This will contribute significantly to the economic viability of Falmouth; 6,000 guests and 2,000 crew is a significant amount of people, so we have to do what we have to do so that we benefit as much as possible from visits like these,” Christie argued.

Meanwhile, Harmony of the Seas Captain Johnny Faevelen outlined that being wedged between the resort areas of Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, Falmouth is strategically placed.

“Falmouth is absolutely fantastic. It’s really location perfect. And the people here are so accommodating and friendly and the crew members are really happy and they love the food here,” said Captain Faevelen.

Mayor of Falmouth, Garth Wilkinson, expressed similar sentiments.

“Now that we have Harmony of the Seas visiting the port, and will be here every other week, it just goes to show how important Falmouth and Trelawny are,” the Falmouth mayor said.

However, he bemoaned that people from the two resort areas — Montego Bay and Ocho Rios — straddle Falmouth are at times guilty of visitor harassment.

“Persons realise that once you pass the gate [at port], Falmouth is the easiest place to walk in. The people of Falmouth and Trelawny do not harass our visitors. The persons of Trelawny are not the harassers, they [harassers] are persons coming from Ocho Rios and Montego Bay,” Wilkinson claimed.

Nonetheless, the tourism minister is adamant that the harassment problem “has to be solved by interests within Falmouth”.

“… The problem has to be solved overall from internal conditions,” Bartlett emphasised.

Meanwhile, American couple, Hugh and Evelyn Gaskill who arrived on the cruise ship and have been visiting Jamaica since the 1960’s, were happy to be in Falmouth again.

“Beautiful. We have been here many, many times in Falmouth and all over Jamaica,” an enthusiastic Hugh Gaskill said.