Cruise ships are returning to the Caribbean and two major ports managed by Global Ports Holding Plc (GPH) will take part in restarting cruise tourism in the region in June and July.
Crystal Cruises' seven-night "Luxury Bahamas Escapes" round-trip cruise series from Nassau will launch on July 3, 2021, aboard the Crystal Serenity.
Royal Caribbean announced the relaunch of its Caribbean cruise service in June. Each voyage on this itinerary will also begin and end in Nassau, Puerto Rico. The international cruise giant has released a summer schedule of seven-night cruises aboard the Adventure of the Seas, which will include visits to Nassau, Grand Bahama, Perfect Day at CocoCay (a Royal Caribbean private island destination), and Cozumel, Mexico.
“We are very pleased to be participating in the relaunch of cruises in the region,” exclaimed Mike Maura, Jr., regional director of Global Ports Holding for the Americas and CEO of Nassau Cruise Port Ltd.
“This opportunity could not have been achieved without a strong commitment to the trilateral partnership among the main contributors to this process: Nassau Cruise Port Ltd., the Government of The Bahamas, and our cruise line partners,” he remarked
He confirmed that “at its peak, the ships that call here will potentially bring thousands of new passengers to Nassau annually, which is significant not only for us, but also for other players in the local industry.”
According to August 2020 data provided by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), the Caribbean lost at least 8 million jobs due to the pandemic last year. “COVID-19 brought bustling ports like Nassau and Antigua to a complete standstill,” Mr. Maura Jr. noted. “It is our duty to do everything we can to bring those jobs back to our communities, to restore confidence in the industry, and to demonstrate our support for the cruise lines as we work together to return the industry to its former glory, voyage by voyage.”.
Mr. Maura, Jr. added that “NCP has been accredited with a Safe Travels certification that was awarded by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) in August 2020. In addition, as part of the Global Ports Holding port network, NCP is implementing GPH’s health and safety protocols for operations.
Colin Murphy, Head of Business Development for GPH in the Americas, commented: “GPH has extensive experience in home port operations at many of its Mediterranean ports. We are sharing the expertise these ports possess with our Caribbean teams to help develop port-specific protocols, and the teams in Nassau and Antigua now have the opportunity to expand their experience and grow professionally as we carry out this knowledge transfer.”
Mr. Murphy noted that “we have recently received interest from several cruise lines regarding providing homeport services in Nassau and Antigua. As our discussions with the cruise lines progress, we continue to explore opportunities to expand our reach in the Americas and bring more business and opportunities to other communities in the region.”
