PHOTO: The Norwegian Breakaway will sail to Bermuda in 2015.

Seeking to maintain its small but solid seasonal cruise ship business, in 2015, Bermuda is poised to reverse a recent decline in cruise arrivals. The northern Atlantic port will host approximately 366,000 cruise ship visitors in 2015, says Shawn Crockwell, the country’s minister of tourism and transport, in an October address.

Bermuda will host 135 cruise ship calls in 2015, an increase of five over the 130 calls projected for 2014. Last year, cruise ship visits in Bermuda produced 320,090 visitor arrivals, a steep 15 percent decline from the 378,260 travelers who arrived onboard cruise ships in 2012. Crockwell’s office projects Bermuda will have hosted 350,000 cruise ship visitors by the end of 2014.

“Bermuda remains a popular cruise destination in regards to our cruise product,” says Crockwell. “We offer cruise visitors a wide array of attractions and excursions that are of appeal to the cruise lines and their guests.”

Bermuda’s government reports the cruise industry contributes $90 million to Bermuda’s economy, including taxes, local purchases by cruise visitors and crew members, and cruise visitors’ shore excursions.

While it has a long and largely successful history as a port of call for major cruise ships, Bermuda faces challenges that have limited its growth. Positioned outside of the Caribbean in the North Atlantic, the archipelago is distant from Caribbean ports of call, leading most cruise lines to craft Bermuda-only itineraries with relatively narrow appeal.

Bermuda’s position outside of the Caribbean is also responsible for the territory’s milder temperatures, creating a market that traditionally is strongest in the warmer-temperature months between May and October.

Furthermore while large ships can call at Bermuda’s Royal Naval Dockyard facility, visitors must arrange for transportation in order to visit most of the tourist sites beyond the historic Dockyard.

A minor flap involving port transportation played out this past summer as some guests arriving at the Dockyard aboard cruise ships faced long lines for public transportation and confusion over fares. Crockwell admitted that transportation has been a past issue for locals and tourists alike, but that new options will alleviate any delays.

Crockwell acknowledged that cruise passengers’ use of public buses had created transportation issues for both residents and tourists in Bermuda. “Public transportation in Dockyard has always been heavily used by cruise ship passengers, and as such there have always been challenges transporting the high volume of passengers whose preference was, and still is, the public buses,” he says.

Crockwell cited a recently established shuttle as a superior alternative for travel to Horseshoe Bay, a popular beach stop among many cruise tourists.

“[The shuttle service] is faster than the scheduled bus service because it does not make any stops. The shuttle provides approximately 1,000 seats per day, which is more than what the buses were providing and is more than adequate transportation for our cruise ship passengers who want to get to the beach. This option complements the existing bus and taxi services.”

PHOTO: Bermuda offers beautiful blue skies, soft white-sand beaches and lush flora.

Other challenges are tied to Bermuda’s overall tourism downturn in recent years, which Crockwell’s government has sought to address through the launch of numerous initiatives. Yet despite these difficulties, Bermuda offers beautiful blue skies, soft white-sand beaches and lush flora, distinctive and charming residential architecture and numerous historic sites. Combined with its outstanding proximity to winter-weary East Coast markets, the destination has remained an outstanding option for a distinct class of vacationers, including cruise aficionados.

As a result, a handful of ships will offer extended Bermuda seasons in 2015. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s Liberty of the Seas will offer 21 Bermuda sailings from Cape Liberty, N. J., in 2015. The larger Liberty of the Seas replaces Explorer of the Seas on the Cape Liberty, N.J.-departing voyages.

Also Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas will offer an additional 12 Bermuda cruises departing from Baltimore. Meanwhile Celebrity Cruises will offer 19 Bermuda cruises from Cape Liberty aboard Celebrity Summit.

Norwegian Cruise Line will deploy Norwegian Breakaway on 26 Bermuda sailings from New York in 2015, up from the 22 calls completed in 2014. Norwegian will also deploy Norwegian Dawn on 22 Bermuda cruises departing from Boston in 2015.

Bermuda’s 2015 cruise ship schedule also features a diverse group of vessels that have signed agreements for new calls. Holland America Line will offer six Bermuda voyages in 2015, with sailings originating in Boston and docking in the city center of Hamilton, which still hosts smaller cruise ships.

Luxury cruise ships scheduled to visit Bermuda in 2015 include Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Navigator; Silversea Cruises’ Silver Shadow, Silver Spirit and the Silver Whisper, which will each visit once; and Crystal cruises’ Crystal Serenity, which will also make one call.

The contemporary segment will be represented by Carnival Cruise Lines, whose Carnival Pride, Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Splendor will each make one call, and Princess Cruises, which will deploy Caribbean Princess, Ocean Princess and Pacific Princess on one-time Bermuda calls in 2015.

Premium cruise operators MSC Cruises and Oceania Cruises will also offer Bermuda calls in 2015, along with smaller cruise ships, including the Balmoral and Club Med 2.

“The Ministry of Tourism Development and Transport and the Bermuda Tourism Authority have worked closely with the luxury and premium cruise lines to deploy their ships to Bermuda,” says Bill Hanbury, chief executive officer of the Bermuda Tourism Authority.

One contributing factor to this outcome, according to Crockwell, was Bermuda’s 2013 government policy change to allow passenger cruise ship gaming while in port. This, he adds, was a key factor in the return of at least one cruise line.

Crockwell says that in-port cruise ship gaming would benefit cruise lines and Bermuda by increasing operators’ onboard revenue while generating new licensing-fee revenue for Bermuda. Local residents are not permitted to patronize the shipboard casinos. Crockwell said the casinos’ impact on local retailers should be “minimal,” because visitors generally return to their ships by 9 p.m., when most of Bermuda’s retail options are closed.

Smaller ships docked at the Hamilton and St. George’s cruise ship piers, with passenger capacities not exceeding 2,000, would not be charged a license fee, according to Crockwell.

The 2,000-plus passenger cruise ships sailing regularly to Bermuda dock at the Royal Naval Dockyard’s Kings Wharf and Heritage Wharf piers.

“There is no doubt that our willingness to allow cruise lines that overnight in Bermuda to open their casinos while in port was a contributing factor in Holland America Line’s decision to return to Bermuda in 2015,” said Crockwell in an interview on the Bernews.com website.