A race is now on to find a replacement ship following the last-minute cancellation of Carnival Cruise Lines, Government said today.
The cruise line announced on Wednesday that it would only visit the Island once next year, instead of an expected 12 times.
Said Transport Minister Terry Lister: “We were surprised to only learn of the cancellations on Wednesday. This has put us in a unfortunate position for next year, because it will be difficult to find suitable replacement ships at such a late date.”
He continued: ‘We are extremely disappointed by this late notification by Carnival Cruise Lines, but we will make every attempt to fill some of the empty berths with ships from other cruise lines. It is highly unusual for cancellations to occur so close to the beginning of the season.”
Cruise ship applications are usually finalised a year to 18 months in advance of actual sailings, a Government spokesman said.
The 12 Carnival cruises for 2012 were approved in late 2010.
Carnival was notified of the approval soon after they applied for the berths.
Transport officials are now “attempting to gain clarification from Carnival concerning the late notice of cancellations while also working to find alternative ships for the available slots”, the spokesman added.
Source-royalgazette
