The ministry has credited the influx to a number of high-level cruise company meetings held with the Port Authority and the Ministry of Transport and Works in Europe last month.

The increased traffic will take shape later this year and into 2010, the transport ministry said.

The busier schedule has been boosted by Mexico's misfortune of being the epicentre of a global outbreak of the H1N1 virus, better known as swine flu, which has forced some cruise operators to reroute travellers who have changed plans.

These new developments are part of a drive to rev up activities across the island's cruise shipping piers, where expansion works and new facilities are on the agenda.

Full seasons

Among the cruise lines now confirmed to call at Montego Bay is Pullmantur Cruises, operating out of Madrid, Spain. The company has booked for two full seasons - 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 - with a total of 32 calls planned over the period.

Similarly confirmed is Fred Olsen Cruise Lines from Ipswich, England, which has a total of 17 calls planned for the port over the 2010/2011 winter tourist season, including four turnaround (home-port) calls.

From Rostock, Germany, AIDA Cruises has confirmed 11 partial home-port operations for the 2010/2011 winter season. The liner to be used is the AIDA Luna, the largest ship in AIDA's fleet, with a capacity of 2,500 passengers.

There are at least two other England operators which have expressed interest for the 2011/ 2012 winter season.