Preparations Underway for the Return of Cruise Ships to Belize
After over eighteen long months, the wait for cruise ships is about to end. On Wednesday, the first ship from the Carnival Cruise Lines docks in Belize City. Today, Duane Moody headed out to the Fort Street Tourism Village to find out about the preparations being made to get everything ready and approved for the restart of the industry.
Noriko Gamero, Director of Cruise Tourism, B.T.B.
“Since cruise reopened in the U.S., the first ship that set sail was the Celebrity Edge and they sail from Fort Lauderdale with ninety-nine percent vaccinated. Just this weekend that past, we had the Royal Caribbean Freedom and then the following day, the Carnival Vista. So today, they are actually in Roatan, tomorrow they are with us and the day after, they are in Cozumel.”
With the Carnival Vista calling to port in Belize City on July seventh, final preparations are in full swing at the Fort Street Tourism Village to ensure that personnel inside the gates are vaccinated and businesses are gold standard certified in time to receive tourists from the two thousand eight hundred and ten passengers on board the ship who plan to disembark at the port.
Noriko Gamero
Noriko Gamero
“It feels so unreal after being shut down for so long, the preparations that have come into place just to make tomorrow a reality. Just seeing the excitement in all the operators, the vendors…it just goes across the board to say that all eyes are on us to make sure we do it safely, but at the same time very excited to be making some money again. We’ve done our gold standards across the board when we started the reopening for the airport. So we implemented the same protocols, a nine-point checklist for all the operators, all the vendors, all the gift shops within the port, the port itself, the tender operators. So at any point of contact throughout the cruise experience, we have implemented gold standards.”
Duane Moody
“I’m standing just outside the gates of the Fort Street Tourism Village as the country prepares to welcome back cruise ships in less than twenty-four hours. While there are preparations being made inside these gates for COVID-19 protocols, just outside there are vendors who are also preparing their boots in anticipation of cruise ship tourists.”
Glenford Stamp
Glenford Stamp, Vendor
“Since COVID, the business gone pan halt, everything lock down; no money noh make. So that is the situation right there.”
Duane Moody
“Cruise tourism di come back; effective tomorrow a first ship di come. What do you expect? Your anticipation?”
Glenford Stamp
“Well whatever fi be wah be. I noh expect nothing much and like I say, whatever fi be wah be. If I get wah dollar wah two dollars, I’d appreciate that. I come out today come try clean out the place because one year and change we noh come out yah. So I come out today come try prepare – see weh gwen on tomorrow.”
Duane Moody
“Yo think yo wah ready in time for tomorrow?”
Glenford Stamp
“Well if yo no even ready yo hafto get ready.”
Like Glenford Stamp, Cynthia Myvett has been working in the tourism industry for ten to fifteen years. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the business, but she and her husband since May of this year have been setting up behind the former Mirab building in Fort George earning their keep by selling their products to Belizean Americans and other tourists staying at nearby hotels. Wearing their masks and sanitizing regularly, they are ready to welcome back cruise ship tourists.
Cynthia Myvett, Vendor
“Yes I wah see more traffic and people around, but I noh really believe we might get sale from the people dehn because the inside lock in the people dehn. Yes one or two ah dehn is come out cause dehn want know what happening on the outside, plus we more cheaper than the inside cause we make most ah we own things dehn. So yes, I will see people around.”
The B.T.B. met with the vendors as well as tour operators outside the gates of the village to ensure that they are gold standard approved. But Myvett says that there are some concerns.
Cynthia Myvett
Cynthia Myvett
“We mi expect dehn wah come and give us wah lee help fi clean up the place and buy weh lee discilin and thing fu we work for tomorrow that tourist di come. Dehn come and say they wah give we lee hand washing thing and one or two masks, but no paint fi clean up the place. The place really want a clean. No toilet – the most important thing, we need wah toilet and this dah noh only now, this dah before we di beg dehn fi a toilet and no help.”
Director of Cruise Tourism, Noriko Gamero says that the team has been working with all stakeholders in the cruise tourism industry to ensure that everyone is safe while economic activity resumes.
Noriko Gamero
“Our team has even worked with the vendors and the artisans at the NICH sites, the vendors and the artisans outside of the port in efforts to get them gold standard. We’ve worked with even printing and laminating some of the signage for them and then they put their masks and necessary P.P.E.s. So it really has been a lot of the ground work just to get them prepared. All of the tenants, all the employees have also been vaccinated. And yesterday, I really just want to thank the Ministry of Health because they engaged in a full swab on experience of everybody that is going to be operating tomorrow and I am happy to report we are a hundred percent negative.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
