Sign the Petition - No Cruise Ship Pier in the North

[Ron Lee]

If the cruise lines were smart they would put a port on the mainland instead of this proposed disruption of the north end. Make Cozumel the first stop and mainland second. That would open up many more activities such as Chichen Itza, Ek Balam and a cenote.

People could drop off on Cozumel and do a really long day then come back to board the ship when it docked on the mainland the second day.

Or run it in reverse.

There is so much to do on the mainland that a two day stay in the area would be great.

 

[ggunn]

If the cruise lines were smart they would put a port on the mainland instead of this proposed disruption of the north end.

There already is one:
Calica - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
but it can only handle one ship at a time and I rarely see any docked there when we go across for fishing.

 

[bilboinsa]

I signed several back in the early nineties when they were going in then. It didn't help. I hav signed this one. I hope it has more effect.

 

[redacted]

How much $$$ does each cruise ship leave in Cozumel? What is the value of the lost property and diving?

I doubt if a northern pier would have any effect on my dive trips to Cozumel.

 

[El Graduado]

How much $$$ does each cruise ship leave in Cozumel? What is the value of the lost property and diving?
.

So far, it looks like there will be no "lost" property. If they want to negotiate for the land next to the planned pier, I feel sure the property owner is very well able to negotiate for herself.

There were over 3 million cruise ship passengers arriving at Cozumel's ports last year. The average amount that each passenger spent in port is a number that is hard to pin down (due to the individual ship's secrecy), but the industry says it was over $80.00USD per passenger. A big portion of that gets spent on shore excursions, but then, the cruise lines get a very large cut of that money back. Another big chunk goes to taxis.

That $80 is not counting the port fees, supplies taken onboard, and other expenses the cruises lines themselves spend upon arrival. I doubt that the island's diving income comes anywhere close to all that. Although diving helped "put Cozumel on the map," the big bucks are now from the cruise industry. Unfortunately, it's just not spread out among the Cozumel residents very evenly.

 

[ggunn]

Although diving helped "put Cozumel on the map," the big bucks are now from the cruise industry. Unfortunately, it's just not spread out among the Cozumel residents very evenly.

True that. The restaurants, hotels, dive businesses, etc. don't see much of that revenue.

 

[Sue Sue]

Unfortunately, the cruise ships are pulling out of port earlier than they did in the "old days" They used to stay way into the evening and leave around 9 PM.....or even later perhaps... Now, come 4-6 PM the ships, their tourists and their tourist dollars are leaving port . Of course then, the cash that might have been spent in town would be available to spend on the ship for booze, photos, souvenirs and especially the Casino. Add this to the fact that with the piers now equipped with all a tourist needs for shopping and restaurants there is enough there to keep passengers busy for the the day. This could be one reason why the in town local economy does not benefit as much as it used to as well. Now, I did see where Carnival is running a handful of itineraries called Carnival Plus. These schedules have extended times of departure for some ports which includes Cozumel. With the extra time the town may see an increase of more folks who will venture out a bit and actually see what is beyond the cruise ship pier. Hopefully, this becomes a trend and not just a temporary marketing move.

As far as yet another pier....sadly, if the powers that be want it, as we have seen in the past, the peoples desire to stop it will not be considered one bit....But, if you don't try then you can count on 100% failure... So... No to another cruise ship pier.
Double S

 

[ggunn]

As far as yet another pier....sadly, if the powers that be want it, as we have seen in the past, the peoples desire to stop it will not be considered one bit....But, if you don't try then you can count on 100% failure... So... No to another cruise ship pier.

Maybe it's a seasonal thing, but cruise ship traffic to Cozumel was down significantly during my 12 days there a couple of weeks ago. There were a couple of days that were not Sundays where the port was empty of them and only once do I remember three at once down near El Cid.

 

[ggunn]

If the cruise lines were smart they would put a port on the mainland instead of this proposed disruption of the north end.

Somehow I doubt that what the cruise lines are planning is a result of their being stupid or uninformed.

Or maybe you should apply to them for a job...

 

[deepsea21]

Just what Coz needs... another 15,000 cruise ship tourists on top of what is there now packing into an island with infrastructure that was built before anyone in the island had ever seen a cruise ship. Luckily, if this goes through it will be at the north end and won't impact the southern reefs as much. When Carnival expanded the southern port and added another pier, Paradise reef paid the price with all that dredging and silt stirred up and carried north in the current over the reef. Lots of critters moved on. Where they went is anyone's guess. Hope they will be back someday.