Chris Owen Has Just Posted the Following:

Allowing casinos to be open while in port when calling in Bermuda seems to be a deal-breaker for cruise lines.# Bermuda government officials are getting that message and casinos on cruise ships could soon be operating in Bermuda ports.
“Bermuda is one of the few ports in the world where ships routinely have multiple night stays and currently the requirement is that the casinos and shops must remain closed while the ships are in port. This has a huge effect on onboard revenue ”Minister of Transport Derrick Burgess said today.
Burgess told the Bermuda Sun that a series of meetings with top-level executives of six cruise lines in the US last month. Almost all raised the issue of on-board revenue.
“The possibility of opening the casinos in port is an option that I will explore with my Cabinet colleagues – perhaps a late-night option from 10pm to 5am” added Burgess.
Also calling for Bermuda store owners to consider Sunday openings to make shopping on-island easier for tourists, Burgess said that casino operation would not only make Bermuda more attractive to cruise lines, but that some would consider extending their stay on the island for an additional night, boosting income for the island as well as the ship.
“That option could possibly be on the table sometime in the not too distant future as there is always the complaint from the passengers that neither the shops in St George’s or Hamilton are open on Sundays.”
Last November, Holland America announced that Veendam, their ship that made 24 trips from New York to the island in 2011 would not make a scheduled visit to Bermuda until 2013.# That move was just weeks after Carnival announced it would be slashing its calls to Bermuda from 16 trips by four ships this year, to just one in 2012.
We guess they got the message.
Related articles




Click here to view the article.