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Tender Operators Say Carnival's Messages Mixed

The Carnival Triumph cruise ship with almost three thousand guests has cancelled a call on Belize tomorrow - reportedly because satisfactory tender arrangements cannot be worked out.
That's after some upheaval in the local tenders association which saw former point man Stanley Longsworth resign on Friday. Today we received a release saying that Jason Marin is the new designate for the association.

That group issued a lengthy release today explaining that what Longsworth called the moving of the goalposts continues - despite an intervention by the Prime Minister late last week. The PM had gotten confirmation from senior Carnival Executives that the arrangement with the local tenders would stand until October 21st.

But according to the association, on Friday January 14th, they were told that only vessels with passenger capacity of 150 and more will be required to service Carnival ships that arrive this week. the Tendering needs requests are unclear and consistently changing. That later increased to tenders with a capacity of 200 passengers.

Today's release, says, quote:

"The Association continues to be misled�.by the continuous changing and adjusting of requests for the Tendering needs, making the Association have doubts about Carnival's intentions to have a working relationship with the local boat operators."

In fact the release goes a step further, it says that the local operators are, quote "being deliberately railroaded" to ensure that a deal between them and carnival will not be attainable.

They add that they are unclear as to "who is making the calls on behalf of Carnival and what their exact needs are." To try and find a way forward, meetings were held this morning with the Tourism Board and the Ministry of Tourism and there are reports that a delegation will
be travelling to Miami on Friday to speak directly with Carnival executives.
Channel 7

Carnival Cruise lines dissatisfied with local tendering operations

We can report tonight that Carnival Cruise lines will not be calling on port this Tuesday. The reason is that the local tendering operations are not satisfactory to the cruise line. That's the latest word coming from the newly formed Association of Tender Operators, which is now being led by Jason Marin after the sudden resignation of Stanley Longsworth on Friday. The tendering issue remains topsy-turvy and last week Monday, after his return from a Miami trip, Prime Minister Dean Barrow said that the cruise lines had agreed to direct tendering once the association was formed. From what we have been told, the association met today with the BTB and also plans to travel to Miami to meet with the cruise line executives.

Channel 5

Dance, or else.

Think we should sit this one out and hope everyone in Placencia understands now do not make the rules. The ship does.

Carnival intends to cancel stops in Belize on Thursday

There's another development in the two week old tendering dispute. There's word that Carnival intends to cancel stops in Belize on Thursday and that Royal Caribbean along with Norwegian Cruise Lines are bound to follow suit. As it stands tonight, an agreement on the price to transport tourists from the cruise ships to the Fort Street pier has not been worked out. Local tenders have put their price at seven dollars per head, but Carnival and Royal Caribbean are only willing to pay five dollars per tourist. The deadlock has prompted negotiations between Martha Williams from EuroCaribe as the go-between for the local tenders and the cruise lines. Williams already held the tendering contract with Carnival, but all that was up in the air when Carnival announced that it would be changing its tendering policy. That's how it stands now, but we'll never know what tomorrow will bring in the ever changing dispute.

Channel 5

Tenders "Chicken"?

For the past two weeks, the situation with the local boat tender operators has been dominating the headlines, and, every day, it seems like the story changes.

One day, they're being pushed out of business, the next day, the PM works out a compromise, the next day, that compromise is a sham, then it's not a sham, and on and on�.and while all this swirls in the world of "neither here nor there," two Carnival cruise ships' calls on Belize have been cancelled. The Carnival Triumph was cancelled on Tuesday, and 7news has learned that the Carnival Legend has been cancelled for tomorrow, while another, the Valor may also be cancelled tomorrow.

Carnival says it won't come back until it can get the price it wants for tendering - which is reportedly $5.00 US per head, and the local tender association says it can't go lower than $7.00 per head. And, according to our sources, it's not only Carnival holding that line; royal Caribbean and Norwegian are right there with them.

That deadlock and government's hard line response was to have been the subject of a prime ministerial press conference at noon today, but at 11:30 - that press conference was cancelled. Why? Things had changed again�.

And so here's where it's at this evening. The tender operators are now in negotiations with Martha Williams at Eurocaribe. If the name sounds familiar, it should, because that's where this all started. Eurocaribe was Carnival's agent, had been for many years, and is the company that would hire the local tenders to ferry passengers from Carnival's ships. But on January fourth Eurocaribe told those tender operators that Carnival didn't want them anymore - which is what got the whole thing started.

And now it looks like its ending right where it began�.

Reliable sources tell us, Carnival has indicated its readiness to do business with Eurocaribe once again. And so, the tender operators are working with her to see if they can come up with a mutually satisfactory price formula..

That's where it stands tonight - and while we suspect it may still move some more, with Carnival cancelling ships left and right, a firm deal with Eurocaribe or some firm decision from government has to come forth quickly�.

Channel 7

Carnival Cancels One Call; Tourism Zone In Disarray

Today three cruise ships made a call on Belize, the CARNIVAL VALOR, the AIDA LUNA and the SEVEN SEAS NAVIGATOR - with a combined total of 6,500 guests. But there should have been two thousand more, because the Carnival Legend cancelled, reportedly because the difficulties with tenders could not be suitably resolved.

We went out to the tourism village to see how the absence would affect the overall flow of thing - and found out that, overall, there was no flow! Andrea Polanco reports:�..

Bernard Talbert: Sells Tours
"Well it affects in a major way because we haven't sell anything since morning and we are still trying to get a load, but it looks like it's not going to happen for the day."

Andrea Polanco
"How is it going this morning?"

Marcial Graniel: Tour Guide
"Well, you see I am here sitting down nothing happening out here."

Norman Young: Sells Tours
"Oh that is affecting us a great deal for instance we have about 12 splash waves work men and women out here and as we come to work, right now it's going on the past four days we come out here to work and the cancelation of the ship and these thing they are doing are really hitting us hard, because we depend on this."

Andrea Polanco "You sell any tours since morning?"

Norman Young: Sells Tours
"Since morning, one that about five to six people."

Andrea Polanco
"All right, so normally how much tours would you sell?"

Norman Young: sells Tours
"Would have sell maybe a five boat load, we are talking about, maybe about 125 people and right now 2 weeks straight they are cancelling, they really, really harming use hurting us, they are starving us."

Andrea Polanco
"Alester, tell me something today, 2,000 plus tourists are not out here, how is the business looking so far this morning."

Alester Barrow: Horse & Carriage Operator
"BAD, I'll tell you real bad, bad as you can see all of us are fighting, right now out here it's very competitive and they are messing us up big time, because I have a daughter to feed I have kids to feed, I owe $2,000 right now I have to pay that, you understand me and I need money, yes we need some money right now , people, i am telling you "man" you understand me, this is what I am feeling and I am feeling, I'll "bun fire pan dem" until I die "I done give"."

Andrea Polanco
"Legends is not here so 2,000 plus tourist are not here today, how is the business looking for you today?"

Roy Craig: Taxi Operator
"Today we will not eat only the government representative will eat and the Mayor Moya will have a fest again to conspire again on deposit."

Andrea Polanco
"Since a lot of the tourists are not out here today mean have you gotten any tours since morning?"

Micheal Pollard: Tour Guide
"Yes, I have done a job this morning yes."

Andrea Polanco
"That is only one, normally how many would you get?"

Micheal Pollard: Tour Guide
"Well, normally i would do like two and three jobs but the crowed the people are not out here for us to get the job so we are just hoping for better."

And around 11 this morning thing got pretty heated with the taxi operators. Police had to intervene and lock the gates, because the taxi operators were making incursions inside. A defiant President of the Tourist Village Taxi Service said that they've complied with BTB rules.

John Pollard: President of Taxi & Transfer Service
"The gates get close just now simply because the members from this association said" men" this is not working so let us go to the gate and standup. We are following the rules and regulations every minute and nothing is happening so let all of us go to the gate and standup. So everyone went to the gate and the gate got close because everyone was at the gate. "Man" I said we are not eating. Look on reds right here, i have 24 members at terminal 4 right here and every jack single person are still out here right now you understand me, it's now 11:10 local time and i say no one still haven't move from this location yet, this trip leaves from here 3 o'clock, every person out here have families to feed."

And why only the absence of one ship means somewhat less business for the operator the zoning is still a big issue and only adding to their problems and complaints.

John Pollard: President of Taxi & Transfers Service
"You all see what is happening division and all those things that they are trying to put on us. All those people that are making money in there."

Alester Barrow: Horse & Carriage Operator "We are out here fighting for what we want, for what we need to eat because all of us have kids out here all of us need to eat as much as how they need to eat, so I am telling they better tighten up because. well they move them from out here, all of them that they call street venture that were out here, they move them and put them inside there because they want to make money for themselves, It's all about themselves they it's not about us, we are poor we need to fight."

Andrea Polanco
"So tell me, did you get any runs this morning?"

Interviewee
"I am still here "mamy", if i had gotten a run i would not be here again i would have gone but all the taxi man have gone all of them have gone."

Andrea Polanco
"And then 2,000 plus tours are not here today so it makes it worse."

Interviewee "Hum, tell me about it."

John Pollard: President of Taxi & Transfers Service
"They tried a dispatch system that is not working i said that dispatch system is not working. Why? Because the dispatcher are giving the job to the people who they want to give the job them. I am saying that my friend we went and we tried everything that they asked us to try, enough is enough."

They believe that the authorities need to fix the problem.

Roy Craig: Taxi Operator
"Because we are at the limb now to start a riot and we don't want to start a riot we want the government work towards their word of promises, the government promise one out of every four Belizean to be working out here and they got us off at tourism and oil, any other productiveness, just to come out here and when we come out here there is no job so they lie."

John Pollard: President of Taxi & Transfers Service
"They are saying that the people in authority it's time to listen to us now, we follow everything that they said to follow and the things they said to follow "man" it's not working. As the Taxi personnel's it's not working, as the Tour Guide personnel's if they want to voice their opinions they can voice their opinion but I am saying as the Taxi personnel " this no did work"."

And for these folks outside the gates it was a slow day indeed, as vendors sat at their stalls some horses and carriages remain park on the street side, but the President of the hair braiders said that threw it all they'll remain hopeful as we meet the with there first client for the day at around 11:30.

Andrea Polanco
"How many customers you had since morning?"

Ruth Smith: President of Hair Braiders
"Well, just one but at sometimes the one person can make your day."

Andrea Polanco
"So you're just working with what you have."

Ruth Smith: President of Hair Braiders
"That's right."

And while the zoning situation remains volatile, that's quite apart from the tendering situation which, it appears, has reached some kind of functional accord - for the time being at least.

As we understand it, the boat tender operators have been working with Martha Williams at Eurocaribe and presumably they worked jointly to offload the Carnival Valor today. The negotiations are secret and the negotiators, secretive so we can't say for sure what arrangement has been worked out going forward, but we do know that the Carnival Dream and the Carnival Glory are scheduled to arrive in Belize next week, so we'll see how that goes�. Channel 7