see there now

It is Christmas Day and a happy time for most of us. It is not that we are lazy but we like to lime and holidays provide that for us, and we can’t get enough of it … speaking as an employee. Of course we work our butt off and you can’t find people to do that better than us anywhere, but when it is party time we taking that very serious too. The Party began on Friday 23rd and not ending till January 4th in next year. Only one place on earth that can happen and it is in Sugar City, SKB. We invite everyone to our partying,  and if they can handle it they keep coming back year after year. Whatever we do we pull out all the stops, that is how we do it, because there is no other place on earth like SKN.

Later this week we are pulling out all the stops again when the Allure of the Seas dock at the Port Zante cruise pier on Friday. I am concerned that we are ready, and other people have concerns to, and I hope that somebody, somewhere is reading and listening, because everything may not be as kosher as we may be led to believe. I have been showing [subtly] in photos and blogging [more subtly] about our readiness to welcome the world [of photography] to our shores. Our perspective as Caribbean people are NOT the same as our visitors from foreign lands. What is joke to us may be death to them, and we have to be very aware and “govern ourselves accordingly”. I am of the view that we have not done enough homework, nor are we adequately prepared to welcome all visitors, and we could seriously suffer for that.

This is a link to a recent visitor comment

http://www.cruise-addicts.com/forums/f43/st-kitts-preps-allure-anyone-prepping-passengers-180861/

It is not that we are unaware of what happens at our cruise port. We know full well what is happening, but it is my view that maybe the “[X] in the box” is more important, so we let a lot of illegal, unlawful, and lawlessness prevail at Port Zante. But nothing lasts forever, and could certainly end sooner if we do nothing to sustain and maintain its longevity.

The observation is made in the article about people masquerading as masseurs at Port Zante. That is one of the worst situations ever. I have nothing against people trying to make a living, but the system must ensure that the services they are offering to the public or a very select group of clients, like some cruise ship visitors, are proper and professional. That the persons dispensing the service are suitably qualified and certified by the appropriate local authorities to deliver that service.  I have never seen any of our nationally certified masseurs  down at Port Zante, so how could we allow people to be running around offering standing up massage to tourists? How could we have challenged [special ed]youths offering tourist massage? and sometimes get violent when the tourist rebuff . We in SK must be stark raving mad and pul crazy, or maybe we are just “full of shit”. With all respect to the Tourism Authority “we got to be making joke”.

If you spend any time at Port Zante just watching the action, and putting yourself in the shoes of our tourists, you can appreciate the negative impact that our visitor experience has become for some. I have been watching this for a while and have documented this in photos, but some local people take to abusing me rather than being constructive about the viewing. I personally have nothing to loose, but when the country take a dive downward all of us go down with it. Some of us can jump ship and go to the US, Canada, and back to Caribbean places,  with green card, red card and all color card and papers, but I born here, and I staying here, and you not going to come from where ever to rock up our boat. Some of us could play “jackass”, and sit idle while people who not born here, come here and want to drag out country into the ground. Left to me I would put all of them on a boat and send them back where they come from. So much for “one region, one people”

I was saying, our visitors come to have a great time, but some only get the chance, because they are are shunted directly to the Scenic Railway, catamaran, snorkeling, Kenneth dive, or some other organised recreation.  If your heart is strong you make it to the Museum and the City. That is not good enough, actually it is not good at all.

Quote: “”The St Kitts cruise facility looks colorful,# clean and secure.# Freshly painted buildings along with adequate facilities for even a giant Oasis-class ship and maybe a few other vessels are in place.# It looks to be a great port of call.# But making our way to the shore excursion area on St Kitts last week while on Seabourn Quest revealed quite a different picture.
Walking from the ports Arrival Hall straight through Port Zante, aiming for the Amina Craft Market, we were solicited for “massages” that appeared to be much more than a shoulder rub, drugs, and we’re not sure exactly what from shady locals with monkeys climbing around on them.# Taxi drivers were plentiful and often did not want to take “No” for an answer in reply to their offers for hire.# It was an unexpected and uncomfortable bad-part-of-Jamaica-like scene causing daughter Whitney to fear for her safety and that of her camera gear.””

If we have one person with that experience, we certainly have more, and that ONE is way TO MUCH for us.  I am told that everybody have a designated place on Port Zante where they are expected to be, but nobody staying in their lane, everybody all over the place, and nobody have the BALLS to tell people to “stay in they lane”, that is designated for them.  Maybe we need to bring some “white people” from overseas to run things here, hopefully with no friend and family connection, which could possibly overshadow the rules and regulations, and maybe “law and order” would rule supreme again. Some people will find my suggestion offensive, but we have brought this upon ourselves. If we know what is right and proper, we should do it, and if I don’t like what they do I have a right to talk about it. I can vote, and I do pay VAT … next thing you may come talk about “protocol”.

I know the monkeys scare a lot of tourists. I have seen visitors make a beeline back for the Hall and the safety of the ship. That whole courtyard area is supposed to be free from SOLICITATIONS OF ANY KIND. We even have taxi people down on the rocks  alongside the cruise pier soliciting, “trip to the beach” and “island tour”. If the visitors want to go to the beach they will find the carrier for the trip to the beach in their designated area. What is so hard to understand about that. But everyone else is running the Port, not the Port Management.  It is a very sad state of affairs this season, with the Allure of the Seas on the horizon for Friday.

The question is, will help be requested of the national guard, SWAT, Delta Force, RSS or will Port Zante be “business as usual”, the epitome of lawlessness, on Friday coming. I am going down there early Friday [DV] to document in photos this historic and once in a lifetime occasion.  I suspect His Excellency the GG will be there too. Let us hope that the local entities responsible for our tourism products and the cruise visitor experience can aggree to implement all that they have agreed to on paper, but may have been unable to get ENFORCED for lack of COOPERATION with everyone else. I suspect that some people just come out to sabotage our great thing in their selfishness. That is my opinion, and I hope that I am wrong.

It is Christmas and carnival. I am enjoying mine. Share the JOY, spread the JOY, and let us hope that everyone would find it necessary to do what is right for our country, and come Friday morning I don’t have to sit down on Port Zante and bawl,  “see there now” …