Cozumel's piers will be able to dock 4 cruise ships per day from October, said Victor Vivas González, head of Cozumel's Port Authority in an exclusive interview with thisiscozumel.com last week.
Passengers have been transferring by ferries since Hurricane Wilma damaged piers, but the International Pier recently re-opened its dock to accept one ship directly alongside per day.
In October, it will be ready to dock 2 ships. Punta Langosta will also be ready for 1 ship to dock in June and then 2 in October as well.
Carnival cruise line's Puerta Maya pier should be ready to re-open in August 2007, said Mr Vivas. He added that an agreement may soon be reached over $57 million in port fees that the Authority claimed Carnival owed them.
Carnival has been offered a large discount on the disputed debt and will be offered cheaper port fees in the future as well, said Mr Vivas.
He said this formed part of an attempt to attract more ships to the island in the summer months. The number of cruise ships coming to Cozumel in the summer is traditionally lower than the rest of the year. This is because many cruise lines run alternative summer routes to destinations like Alaska and New York.
