Cruisin’ around in Port Royal

It was with much excitement that Port Royal, the quaint little village, located at the end of the Palisadoes peninsula that partially encloses Kingston Harbour, welcomed its first cruise ship, the Marella Discovery II.

Some people are happy about it, others are not – for various reasons. But its arrival is certainly a turning point for cruise tourism in Jamaica in particular, and the story of Port Royal in general. It was a historic moment.

It’s indeed a storied place with the most famous story about it being the 1692 earthquake, which tossed a major part of the settlement, then known as ‘The Wickedest City on Earth’, into the sea. It is replete with history, heritage and romance, and has been the subject of many debates for several decades.

Its development, or lack therefore, is what people love to talk about with much passion. Everybody seems to have a plan for it; some were proffered, others are still embedded in the brains of the conceptualisers.

But it was the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) which took the mantle of leadership, establishing a cruise port on nine acres of land at the Old Coal Wharf, a section adjacent to what was historically known as the Royal Naval Dockyard. It is situated between Morgan’s Harbour and the Plumb Point Lighthouse.

The interesting thing about the port is that passengers will go to and from the ships via a floating pier (sea walk). “This method eliminated the need for piling and dredging,” the PAJ says. However, some people believe the establishment of the said port was a bad idea, and that infrastructurally, Port Royal cannot sustain a cruise tourist industry by itself.

So, how will this destination be marketed? For, as aforesaid, it has an internationally known history and heritage, is a major seafood destination for locals, and has a complex ecology consisting of very interesting flora and fauna. The PAJ is now promoting it as a ‘cultural and heritage hotspot’ and with entertainment in the mix. What then, is in this hotspot? What are the tourists expected to see and do?

As is, though the town is popular with seafood lovers, it is not a place where people frequent for its entertainment spots. So, it is left to be seen how it will evolve into an entertainment Mecca. And without doubt, it is big on heritage, with many sites scattered over the peninsula and the town proper.

history

The most famous of such sites is Fort Charles, whose construction started in 1656. Lord Nelson was briefly in charge of it in 1779. In the 18th century, it became the headquarters of the Royal Navy, and carried a full complement of 104 guns.

The fort was never attacked, but it was a very busy place. Many of the legendary British admirals were stationed there. It consists of Nelson’s Quarterdeck, the Victoria and Albert Battery and Giddy House, the old Royal Artillery Store that was tilted by the 1907 earthquake.

The research also revealed that the Fort Charles Maritime Museum is in the private quarters of Lord Nelson, and that the Archaeological Museum and Conservation Centre was once housed in the Old Naval Hospital, a two-storey structure originally made of prefabricated iron sections brought from England in 1819. A museum is part of the current plans.

From the hospital to the Naval Cemetery, on the outskirt of the town, the dead would be taken. Many died from yellow fever in the early 1800s. And it is said that Henry Morgan, former pirate and twice lieutenant governor of Jamaica, was interred there.

Another version said Morgan’s remains were laid to rest in a nearby cemetery, which was washed away by the tsunami that followed the 1692 earthquake, which Lewis Galdy, a Frenchman, survived. His remains are said to be lying in the churchyard of St Peter’s Church, which was destroyed three times before the current structure.

Other sites include the Plumb Point Lighthouse, the second-oldest in Jamaica; a monument erected to mark the spot where the first coconut tree was plant on the strip, in March 1869; the ruins of Fort Rocky; and the old gaol on Gaol Alley.