Disney comes to Falmouth today
Published:Tuesday | October 8, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Richard Morais, Gleaner writer
FALMOUTH, Trelawny
The popular Disney Wonder cruise ship is expected to make its first call on Falmouth today. It is to make one more trip on October 22, two in November, and another in December, stirring anticipation for its arrival to the town.
Mayor of Falmouth, Garth Wilkinson, is upbeat about Disney coming to the town and hopes that a deal can be sealed to have the vessel returning for at least a few years. He said that the more ships the port town accommodates, the greater the benefit, which he apparently finds less than impressive now.
"The benefits of cruise shipping to Falmouth is not huge, therefore it has not been maximised," he said, adding that the expansion of the town has not been at the expected pace.
Craft vendor Audrey Smith is "ecstatic" about the ship's coming. "I don't know exactly what to expect," she said, "but I am anticipating something positive since the ship is very popular." She is hopeful that this family-oriented vessel will find favour with Falmouth.
The 2,400-passenger capacity Disney Wonder will be in the Caribbean for seven days, on this run. The cruise starts in Galveston, Texas.
Disney Wonder is operated by Disney Cruise Line and is one of the four ships operated by this company. It began its run in 1999 and has 11 public decks along with a crew of approximately 1,000.