The first cruise ship since the COVID-19 pandemic began sailed into Apra Harbor Friday morning, bringing a wave of tourists from distant shores and a fresh boost for Guam’s economy.
The MS Amadea, a 567-foot-long vessel arriving from Pohnpei, docked at wharves F5 and F6, Port Authority of Guam General Manager Rory J. Respicio said in a press release.
Upon arrival, Sen. Jesse Lujan greeted passengers who disembarked to spend the day exploring what the island had to offer.
“It was exciting! When I saw that, I was excited as well. It gave me goosebumps actually. I said, ‘Wow, man, this is great,’ and I took the opportunity to greet as many as I could, ‘Hafa adai, welcome to Guam,’ you know,” Lujan told The Guam Daily Post.
The MS Amadea had 523 passengers and 302 crew members on board when it docked on Guam, bringing a spike of long-awaited tourism to the island.
“It’s fantastic,” said Lujan of the sea arrival. “Just the fact that they got off (the cruise ship) and got in taxis, right there, I mean there was money being generated into our economy because there were a whole bunch of them that were in taxis. So, right off the bat they were going to the different restaurants that are around here, and they were at the museum taking pictures over right there by the church (in Hagåtña). So the whole time that they’re here it’s expenditure, expenditure, expenditure.”
Tourists on cruise ships like to experience the culture at each destination, said Lujan.
“They’ll take in food, mostly, of course, the souvenirs that we have in Guam. So, anything that we can do to enhance that is fantastic. Again, as soon as they get off the boat they’re getting in taxis and Guam’s economy is booming,” he said with excitement in his voice.
He was able to meet several tourists from the ship, and said the majority of those who were walking around were from European countries.
“The couple that I met were from Germany. It’s a whole bunch of them, a whole lot of them. … I knew they weren’t Japanese tourists, they looked European. So I went up there and asked them, ‘Are you from the cruise?’ And they said ‘absolutely,'” Lujan recalled. “They were in front of the church taking pictures. I was the tour guide explaining to them which buildings are what. I don’t know if all of them understood me, but I was pointing it out anyway,” he laughed. “And for those who didn’t speak English, I spoke CHamoru.”
Lujan saw not only Europeans from the ship, but tourists from Korea walking around, too.
“You know, of course, they were older retirees, so that’s great that we are diversifying our tourism. Actually (most of) the ones that I saw looked European, there were a few Koreans that I saw, but they weren’t from the ship. They were just tourists that were coming down here. But the ones that were getting out of the taxi vans were all from the same liner and you could tell because they all had the same color umbrellas that were given by the ship,” Lujan said.
More cruises coming
Lujan noted that the cruise ships have a limited amount of time during which the passengers try to immerse themselves and see as much of the island as possible.
“I think (the ships coming in are) few and far between. We haven’t built up that industry at this point. But I know that the Port general manager is really impressively pursuing that, and I favor that completely 100%. Anything that we can do that is a diverse type of tourism that comes here, … and improve our port facilities absolutely with that, these are really short-time visitors,” said Lujan.
The last cruise ship to come into Guam’s port was the Crystal Symphony back in February 2020, according to a release from the Port Authority of Guam.
“I was able to see a couple of cruise liners come to Guam prior to the pandemic, when they did come, you knew because they came in droves,” said Lujan. “People have the itch to travel again, right, in whatever form is comfortable for them that they choose.”
According to Respicio, once the rehabilitation of Hotel Wharf is complete, cruise liners will begin to be docked and welcomed, which, he said, “will help boost our economy and further establish Guam as a world-class destination.”
“We have been looking forward to receiving cruise ships following a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic,” Respicio said in the release. “We are excited to welcome these international luxury cruise ships back to our shores as our island continues to recover from the pandemic.”
The next cruise ship scheduled to sail to Guam is the Diamond Princess on March 3, bringing an estimated 1,629 passengers and 1,100 crew members. Respicio also stated that Guam can expect a total of five cruise liners throughout the year.
By: Taylor Rose Toves
Source: The Guam Daily Post