Cruising to Guadeloupe

My mother wants to visit and has been looking into cruises that have Guadeloupe on their itinerary. But she's stumbled upon a problem: nobody goes to Guadeloupe. She did her search on Expedia.com, and out of 64 cruises offered in the Eastern Caribbean, only one makes a stop in Guadeloupe.

As I have mentioned before, Guadeloupe is not the destination of choice for Americans vacationing in the Caribbean. Several related factors make Guadeloupe an unpopular cruise destination also. For example, according to a report published in 2003 by the Inter-American Committee on Ports, market share is directly proportional to the distance from US mainland. Therefore, "the islands closest to the US such as Nassau, St Thomas, San Juan and St Martin, experience the highest market shares" (1). In terms of distance from the US, Guadeloupe is not well positioned. The report also notes that "historically, the English speaking destinations have dominated the industry," which is yet another constraint to Guadeloupe.

Beyond the geographical and cultural issues, I suspect that there may be some logistical problems. I've seen the Holland America ships (Maasdam and Staatendam) that dock regularly in Basse Terre, and they are very small (2). The ships sit right against the shoreline so the water must not be very deep. I've never seen the dock or terminal in Point-à-Pitre, but Costa Atlantica (3) dock regularly, so the dock must be a good deal larger than the one in Basse Terre. The dock is only a few years old though.

But, is it possible that the industry itself is turning American passengers away from Guadeloupe?

Costa cruise ships make stops in Guadeloupe. What is peculiar is that only ships originating from Europe make a stop in Guadeloupe. At least, according to the American page for Costa. Checking the French page, there are itineraries for the Eastern Caribbean, originating in the Dominican Republic, and making a stop in Guadeloupe.

It is clear that ships originating in Europe are cost-prohibitive to Americans and so becomes an effective barrier to Americans to visit Guadeloupe. But, apparently, it goes beyond that. When my mother contacted Costa agents by phone and requested the ship with an Caribbean-only itinerary, making a stop in Guadeloupe, the agent told her she could not book her for that trip. My mother would have to call agents in Canada.

It would appear, then, that the cruise industry has decided for American passengers that Guadeloupe holds no interest for them.

(1) Atherley, Kenneth A. "Cruise Industry-Related Challenges Facing Caribbean Destinations." Organization of American States Inter-American Committee on Ports. Sep 2003

(2) For comparison, see statistics below:
Maasdam
Gross Tonnage: 55,451 grt.(One registered ton equals 100 cubic feet)
Length: 720 feet
Passenger capacity: 1,258

Staatendam
Gross Tonnage: 55,819 grt.
Length: 720 feet
Passenger capacity: 1,258

Freedom of the Seas:
Gross Tonnage: 154,407 grt.
Length: 1,112 feet
Passenger capacity: 4,370

(3) Costa Atlantica
Gross Tonnage: 85,619 grt.
Length: 960 feet
Passenger capacity: 2,114