Jamaica Honors Top Cruise Travel Advisors at 2026 Awards

Jamaica Vacations Limited (JAMVAC) honored its five leading cruise travel advisors for 2024 and 2025 at the 2026 Regal Rewards Awards on August 29, recognizing their contribution to generating cruise business for Jamaica.

The Regal Rewards program is run through JAMVAC’s Jamaica Cruising brand and rewards travel advisors who sell cruises to the destination. It also provides advisors with marketing assistance and destination resources.

The awards were held as JAMVAC marks its 50th anniversary and seeks to build on five decades of connecting Jamaica with international tourism markets.

Joy Roberts, executive director of JAMVAC, said travel advisors continue to play a key role in these efforts by turning interest in Jamaica into bookings.

More than 70 percent of cruise passengers book their trips through travel advisors, making the travel trade an important channel for increasing demand and helping Jamaica remain competitive in the global cruise industry.

Roberts highlighted the significance of this relationship following Hurricane Melissa, when the resumption of cruise calls helped support the recovery of Jamaica’s tourism sector.

We want more visitors to come through our ports, explore more of Jamaica, spend more in our communities, experience our food, culture and entertainment, and meet the people who make this destination unlike anywhere else in the world,” Roberts said.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett also emphasized the value of the travel trade, noting that advisors help transform interest in Jamaica into visitor arrivals, repeat trips and lasting relationships with the destination.

Bartlett said discussions and planning are taking place regarding new ports, expanded facilities and additional attractions as Jamaica works to offer cruise passengers more destinations and experiences.

According to the minister, the approach is part of efforts to “future-proof” Jamaica’s cruise sector as destinations face challenges including operating costs, environmental concerns, evolving Western Caribbean itineraries and increased competition from private destinations operated by cruise lines.