HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The M/V Diamond Princess, the second cruise liner to come to Guam in one week’s time, arrived Friday morning carrying 1,545 passengers and 1,097 crew. Passengers were greeted by cultural dancers and various local food trucks staged at the Port for the day as they disembarked from the vessel.
The Guam Daily Post spoke with several passengers as they came ashore. Some had never been to Guam before, while others were returning to Guam’s shores after a long time away.
But for Larry and Nancy Flann, a couple the Post interviewed, their connection to the island is much deeper, having met on Guam in the 1970s.
“We’re teachers returning (to Guam). We met here 50 years ago and we were teachers on Guam for 9 years up in Yigo. Half of our kids were Air Force kids and half of our kids were island kids. We love Guam so much,” Larry Flann said.
During the time when the couple lived on Guam, they witnessed a rare teachers strike, which news files show occurred in 1980.
“We finally left when there was a big teacher strike after 9 years. I wish we wouldn’t have ever left because I love Guam. It’s so great to be back!” said Larry Flann.
The couple said they were excited to see all the changes that have occurred since the last time they were here, and were happy to be back on the island where they had begun their journey together all those years ago.
“We’re about to go meet the lady that was our matron of honor (for our wedding). She lives here in Dededo,” said Larry Flann. “We were married on Two Lovers Point by (a local judge), so we have many many memories here.”
Another couple, Terry and Mike Cunningham, from California, were visiting the island for the first time.
“We’re traveling,” said Mike Cunningham, who had known of Guam from his father, who had a career in the Navy. “(We’re here) to learn more about the island and discover it.”
Terry Cunningham said the couple didn’t have anything particularly planned for their brief visit to Guam, however, they were excited to go from place to place, person to person, to see what they could find.
“We are going to the Valley of the Latte!” said Sherry Laswell, who, along with her group: Terry Zigler, Chris Zigler, and Bill Laswell, are all seasoned cruise ship travelers, visiting from Florida.
The group said they had been at sea for a total of 9 days, from Hawaii to Guam, and were happy to be on land, “(We chose the Princess) to come to Guam! We learned about the island through history lessons. We never thought we’d be here and we’re so excited!”
They had all been on various cruise ships before, saying that now that they are retired, it is what they enjoy doing.
The group told the Post that they enjoyed meeting people, seeing the natural beauty of different places and creating relationships. They said the time offers them a chance to relax and connect, and said they would “do anything” to see Guam.
‘Rebuild our economy’
Port Authority of Guam General Manager Rory Respicio, was on hand to greet passengers of the Diamond Princess and to make sure everything was running smoothly.
“This is a really good sign that the things that the governor and lieutenant governor, and both public and private sector communities are doing to rebuild our economy to make it what it was pre-pandemic is really evident in what’s happening today,” Respicio told the Post.
Respicio said a tremendous amount of coordination was required for the cruise ship to come into the port, as the area that the ship was docked in was not specifically designed to receive that type of vessel.
“Today, it’s all hands on deck,” said Respicio, who pointed out the various agencies that had to work in concert. Officials from PAG, Guam Visitors Bureau, U.S. Coast Guard and Diamond Princess security were all at the port to handle any challenges that could come up.
“Three more luxury cruise liners are on schedule to arrive within the calendar year,” Respicio previously stated in a PAG release.
Around 1,500 passengers disembarked from the Diamond Princess cruise ship early Friday morning, March 3, 2023, at the Port Authority of Guam. Cruisers had a choice of starting in Tumon or the Micronesia Mall to explore Guam before returning to the ship and departing Friday evening.
