Carnival Cruise Line is still working on a master plan for its $200 million cruise port on Grand Bahama, Minister for Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey said yesterday.
Moxey explained that the cruise line recently engaged Grand Bahama residents on the opportunities they will be able to take advantage of at the port.
"The executives just had an a community engagement exercise last week on Grand Bahama Island," said Moxey.
"They really wanted to show them the retail opportunities. After that, they had a one-on-one meeting session at the Ministry for Grand Bahama and the Collab Unit. Plans are, like I said, coming along very, very well. We know that there's a lot of excitement."
Moxey said Carnival is still on track to open the cruise port by the summer of 2025. She said there will be myriad entrepreneurial opportunities that will be available for the community, as well as jobs.
"They have been really engaged in the community. And I know that it's going to allow, you know, a tremendous amount of opportunities for Bahamians," she said.
Royal Caribbean International (RCI) and the ITM group are also planning to build a cruise port in Grand Bahama, but are locked in negotiations with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA). Moxey said she could not comment on those negotiations.
"I know that they are still in discussions on that," she said.
GBPA President Ian Rolle said the proposed $70 million RCI port could bring about one million cruise passengers to Grand Bahama each year.
Rolle said with both cruise lines' ports in operation, Grand Bahama could receive two million cruise passengers per year.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper, who was the keynote speaker at this year's Grand Bahama Business Outlook in March, said the government will be exploring the expansion of the cruise and stay model for Grand Bahama.
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