Brades, Montserrat, GIU --- 4 Dec. 2006 --- The Government of Montserrat is in talks with Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, Cunard and Princess Cruises to have the island included as a destination on their schedule.

Mr. Graham Davis Manager of Caribbean and Atlantic Shore Operations for Princess Cruises and Cunard and Mr. Patrick Schneider Executive for Shore Excursions and Explorations Royal Caribbean International Celebrity Cruises are on island assessing Montserrat’s tourism product, tourist amenities and infrastructure to help them make a decision.

They were invited to Montserrat by the Honourable Chief Minister, Dr Lowell Lewis who is also responsible for Tourism, Culture, Sports, Finance and Economic Development.

The Honourable Chief Minister said:

“Today we have made a case to the two representatives of the Cruise Ship lines for Montserrat to become a unique and special destination for their customers. When we combine the Cultural Centre productions with the proposed “ Heritage Site Car’s Bay Plantation, the multi-purpose recreation area, safe harbour/marina, Silver Hills Trail, Rendezvous and Little Bay, Public Market and new Government and Commercial buildings, Little Bay will be a special place for day visitors from cruise ships. Whatever happens, ours will be a controlled tourism programme, two or three days a week only, with exclusive contracts to one or two lines, so that we retain the special features of the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean.
For the next few years, not only will visitors be able to see a live volcano and the destroyed town of Plymouth, but also witness a completely new town in the making.”

Mr. Graham Davis Manager of Caribbean and Atlantic Shore Operations for Princess Cruises and Cunard said:

“Montserrat is a unique destination, the volcano will definitely be a draw for our cruise passengers, along with some of the other things we have seen so far, but we are suggesting that a number of things be put in place to ensure that when we bring passengers to the island they have things to do and we can safely offload and reload passengers.”

Mr. Patrick Schneider Executive for Shore Excursions and Explorations Royal Caribbean International Celebrity Cruises said:

“We are always looking for new destinations and Montserrat with its lure of the volcano definitely has something to offer cruise passengers, but we’re not in a position to promise anything just yet, it’s just a fact finding mission and when we get back to Florida we will sit down and then make recommendations to the Government on what is needed for us to include Montserrat as a destination on our cruise schedule.”



Mr. Graham Davis Manager of Caribbean and Atlantic Shore Operations for Princess Cruises and Cunard and Mr. Patrick Schneider Executive for Shore Excursions and Explorations Royal Caribbean International Celebrity Cruise