Minister of Tourism and Ports Kenneth Bryan is considering allowing cruise ships to keep their casinos open while moored in the Cayman Islands, if the public votes in favour of building a cruise berth in the upcoming referendum.

Cruise ships are currently prevented from opening casinos while in Caymanian waters, but a change to the rules covering cruise ships has been suggested by the minister as an incentive for the vessels to stay longer in port or even overnight.

Earlier this month, the minister told Parliament that George Town could be given a new lease of life if ships were allowed to stay overnight, saying, “If we had a pier, ships could even consider overnighting in our ports. Can you imagine what an uplift that could do to downtown George Town?”

He added, “Most of us in this room is old enough to remember a time when George Town used to be the liveliest place in this country. Now after the sunset, it’s a ghost town. Maybe having a pier can be that one thing we talk about [regarding] the revitalisation of George Town.”

Bryan told the Compass this week that he had had discussions with cruise ship operators about the possibility of allowing gambling onboard while in Cayman’s territorial waters, having initially been given the go-ahead to suggest it by former Premier Wayne Panton.

Gambling would be strictly limited to cruise ship passengers, with no chance of people boarding the ships from the island.

“We’ve had discussions about allowing them [cruise ships] to have their casinos open in the harbour, because it’s illegal right now,” Bryan said.

Asked whether the idea was a still a real possibility, he said, “I personally think I can convince my colleagues to support that. I don’t think that would be too controversial. But we would only do that if there was a true benefit in it for the Cayman Islands.”

Bryan added that the incentive for ships to say overnight “would have to be the allowance of the casinos to be open, but obviously only for persons who are onboard ship.

“The pier would give them enough incentive so they can still make money and can stay overnight, because people can get on and off safely at night and potentially have a two-day stop rather than a single-day stop. I think it’s definitely doable,” he said, adding he was  going “to try and confirm that possibility” at the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association conference, which runs from 22-25 Oct.

‘Financial factor’

“It’s about an economic formula which makes sense to the cruise lines,” Bryan said. “These are people who are trying to make money, and any decision has a financial factor. I’ve spoken to the cruise ships about the casinos and I’ve said that the conversation is about anything which will allow you to spend longer in port.”

Under the proposals, cruise ships wouldn’t be able to open their casinos until a certain time, for example 3pm, Bryan said, adding, “We want to make sure that they weren’t allowed to open until passengers have had a good opportunity to come off ship.”

Gambling is illegal in the Cayman Islands but these proposals would only allow cruise ship passengers to gamble onboard ship. Any suggestions to the contrary were firmly shut down by the minister.

“I have not entertained that concept, I wouldn’t even go down that road,” he said.

Security on cruise ships is generally very tight, with passengers having to show their electronic cruise passes to be scanned when boarding the ship, and the port area as well is strictly controlled.

There was a cautious note of welcome for the idea from pro-berth groups. When asked about the possibility of cruise ships being able to offer gambling to passengers in port, former legislator Ellio Solomon, speaking on behalf of the Association for the Advancement of Cruise Tourism (ACT), told the Compass, “ACT is advocating for the advancement of cruise tourism, inclusive of pier infrastructure, to give our cruise guests the same kind and professional welcome as those who come by plane. Whatever government is elected in 2025 will have the mandate to build pier infrastructure, and to explore whatever enhancements they believe the country needs and our community will support.”

Regarding the more general idea of cruise ships staying overnight, Solomon said, “Considering that Mr. Bryan is the minister for tourism and has also been heading up the regional tourism association for the past year, I believe we can all have a level of confidence in his comments as to what is possible,” he said.

Troy Lockwood, president of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA), commented, “CITA supports the cruise industry and its benefits to businesses and the local economy. As an association we are advocating for our members and the community at large to be educated and informed. CITA is actively pursuing dialogue and public forums to facilitate discussions surrounding the benefits and challenges including, but not limited to the projected economic impacts as a result of inaction.”

Anti-berth campaigning group CPR Cayman declined to comment on the casino concept, but on the issue of cruise ships choosing to stay overnight, Michelle Lockwood of CPR Cayman told the Compass, “⁠It seems unlikely, given the need for ships to reduce speeds to meet emission-reduction requirements, the distance between Cayman and the next stop on cruise itineraries and the trend for cruise line integration efforts to capture increasing shares of passengers’ money.”

‘A matter of national importance’

Parliament unanimously voted earlier this month to go ahead with the cruise berthing referendum, which will be held at the same time as the general election next year.

In Parliament’s first sitting of the 2024-2025 session, MPs voted in favour of government’s proposal to hold a referendum on whether the Cayman Islands should develop cruise-berthing infrastructure.

Legislators from across the political spectrum approved the motion, which was proposed by Bryan. Introducing the motion, Bryan called it “a matter of national importance that we do not take lightly” and warned that “the ripple effects of a decline in cruise tourism would be felt right across our economy”.

A recent Economics and Statistics Office report, ‘The Economic Impact of Cruise Tourism in the Cayman Islands‘, pointed to the recent drop in cruise passengers, which was largely attributed to the lack of a cruise pier.

By not having a cruise port, Cayman lost between 17,621 and 419,026 visitors in 2024, the report said, stating, “This is expected to worsen as cruise lines increase the number of larger-class vessels in their fleet.”