Carnival's new Bahamas port will allow 2 large ships at the same time.

[firefly333]

Hopefully I'm allowed to post this.

 

https://cruisefever.net/carnival-cruise-lines-new-port-can-have-two-ships-a-day-visit/

 

 

[NCTribeFan]

"...the port destination will offer Carnival guests a uniquely Bahamian experience..."

 

No thanks.  I prefer to get out there and see the "actual" Bahamas (and other islands) and the inhabitants.  I have no desire to hang around in a made-for-cruisers area with 10,000+ other passengers.

 

Yes, they will employee locals.  That's the only upside to these developments, imho.

[Badfinger]

Any chance they could put in someplace else besides the Bahama's?  

[firefly333]

Nassau has never been as popular as coco cay. Some obviously like the private beach experience. Idk.

 

Bahamas is a flat ugly brown island, so it's a upgrade to me. I'd go to the private island and check it out., 

[tidecat]

I'm not sure why this is news. This was reported when the development was first announced.

[Buck64]

Even though I don't care for Nassau, the Bahamas probably has the clearest water we've been to.  I'm actually looking forward to the new port in Freeport.  Being man made  doesn't bother me.

[mz-s]

I'm sure it will be very nice. I actually don't mind stopping in Nassau frankly. Maybe I'm one of the few.

 

3 hours ago, Badfinger said:

Any chance they could put in someplace else besides the Bahama's?  

 

The whole point of this port is the ships can practically blow over from Florida. There are already other ports in the Caribbean if you want something different - Amber Cove, Grand Turk, etc...

Edited August 2, 2022 by mz-s

[CruizinSusan70]

Can't see two Excel Class ships there on the same day though.  The Jubilee will not be visiting there from Galveston and there is no fourth Excel Class ship in the pipeline.  So that means that the Mardi Gras and the Celebration would have to visit on the same day.   Just because that many people could possibly visit on the same day doesn't mean that it's a smart thing to happen.

[mz-s]

3 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Can't see two Excel Class ships there on the same day though.  The Jubilee will not be visiting there from Galveston and there is no fourth Excel Class ship in the pipeline.  So that means that the Mardi Gras and the Celebration would have to visit on the same day.   Just because that many people could possibly visit on the same day doesn't mean that it's a smart thing to happen.

 

It may not happen any time soon, may not ever happen, but the point is it's possible.

[Joebucks]

15 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

"...the port destination will offer Carnival guests a uniquely Bahamian experience..."

 

No thanks.  I prefer to get out there and see the "actual" Bahamas (and other islands) and the inhabitants.  I have no desire to hang around in a made-for-cruisers area with 10,000+ other passengers.

 

Yes, they will employee locals.  That's the only upside to these developments, imho.

 

That's ironic, because nearly every Bahamas post turns into dozens of "I stay on the ship" posts. All of a sudden, it's this place of beauty when it is being changed.

 

I am actually very excited for this new port. As much as I try to get off and each port and have a good time, I do understand why Freeport is not popular. Being dropped off at that industrial port isn't the most exciting. I also can't stand having to take a taxi to go anywhere decent.

 

Personally, I might be more inclined to take additional short cruises including Grand Bahama if this is done right. Sometimes, its nice to have a simple day where you just walk off, hit the beach, and have other options nearby as well. You'll notice that quite a few popular ports like HMC and Grand Turk follow similar sentiment from cruisers. Perhaps there's a correlation! 

 

Plus, if you want to see the rest of the "real Bahamas"  you still can! (A future visit for me will likely include Gold Rock Beach). How is this not a win-win?

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

20 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

"...the port destination will offer Carnival guests a uniquely Bahamian experience..."

 

No thanks.  I prefer to get out there and see the "actual" Bahamas (and other islands) and the inhabitants.  I have no desire to hang around in a made-for-cruisers area with 10,000+ other passengers.

 

Yes, they will employee locals.  That's the only upside to these developments, imho.

Considering we have been to the grand Bahamas a multitude of times. We will really enjoy this for a nice change and easy access tot he beach. Now you pay and take a 1/2 hour ride just to go to a pay beach. A very large area fro a nice walk also.

[NCTribeFan]

I'm sure lots of people will love it.  It's just not my thing. 

 

I'm not a fan of the Grand Turk development, or Amber Cove, or the new place nearby at Puerto Plata.  Or at Costa Maya.  I'd just rather take a taxi to a locally-owned establishment and spend my money there.

 

I'm not against private islands at all.  It's the developments at the piers that discourage people from seeing the "real thing" that I don't like.

 

For those looking for a different private island experience, take a look at MSC and their Ocean Cay.  I was there in April.  There's still lots to be done, but when it's finished and the vegetation grows in, it should be great.

[CruizinSusan70]

17 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

It may not happen any time soon, may not ever happen, but the point is it's possible.

But slamming a man made area with 10,000 cruisers is not good.  It's a different animal if it's Nassau or Cozumel where there is much more to see and do.

[BlerkOne]

21 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

 The Jubilee will not be visiting there from Galveston ..

Why not? The Dream goes to Freeport now. 

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

Why not? The Dream goes to Freeport now. 

All of the Jubilee's sailings are doing the same  Coz, Costa Maya, Roatan port stops with 7 day sailings from 12/2/23-7/27/24 to the Western Caribbean.

The occasion 8 day on the Dream visits the Bahamas, but why would Carnival put 3 different Excel Class ships in the same area with two of them possibly visiting the new port stop on the same day.  The Celebration and the Mardi Gras have the Eastern ports covered, no reason for the Jubilee to go there as well.  If they want to switch things up and turn the Jubilee into having 6/8 sailings, the 8 should go south.

 

[BlerkOne]

59 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

All of the Jubilee's sailings are doing the same  Coz, Costa Maya, Roatan port stops with 7 day sailings from 12/2/23-7/27/24 to the Western Caribbean.

The occasion 8 day on the Dream visits the Bahamas, but why would Carnival put 3 different Excel Class ships in the same area with two of them possibly visiting the new port stop on the same day.  The Celebration and the Mardi Gras have the Eastern ports covered, no reason for the Jubilee to go there as well.  If they want to switch things up and turn the Jubilee into having 6/8 sailings, the 8 should go south.

 

The new port won't open until Nov 2024 at the earliest. I bet the LNG ships do a dance before then.

[DrSea]

Honestly, I was expecting 3 to 4 ships to be docked there daily. I thought it would be much bigger.

 

But it's an improvement from tendering to and from Princess Cay. 

[tidecat]

10 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

The new port won't open until Nov 2024 at the earliest. I bet the LNG ships do a dance before then.

I bet they don't. Mardi Gras will have been in Port Canaveral for three years, Celebration will have been in Miami for two years, and Jubilee will have only been in service for a year from Galveston.  Most importantly, there hasn't been a newbuild announced for after the Jubilee.

 

Not to mention if there's anything Texas-themed on Jubilee, similar to the Miami theme on Celebration, we can expect the LNG ships to stay awhile.

[BlerkOne]

25 minutes ago, tidecat said:

I bet they don't. Mardi Gras will have been in Port Canaveral for three years, Celebration will have been in Miami for two years, and Jubilee will have only been in service for a year from Galveston.  Most importantly, there hasn't been a newbuild announced for after the Jubilee.

 

Not to mention if there's anything Texas-themed on Jubilee, similar to the Miami theme on Celebration, we can expect the LNG ships to stay awhile.

Right now, there are limited LNG ports. Ships don't spend a lifetime in one port.

 

By your logic, Mardi Gras should move to New Orleans.

 

It is premature to build new ships until you are profitable again. I bet some cruise lines delay or cancel some of the ships they have on order.

[mz-s]

deleted

Edited August 3, 2022 by mz-s

[CruizinSusan70]

8 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

I bet some cruise lines delay or cancel some of the ships they have on order.

Like Princess with their Sphere Class.

[BlerkOne]

11 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Like Princess with their Sphere Class.

or Virgin or....

[DrSea]

9 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

or Virgin or....

Or MSC or....

[Joebucks]

23 hours ago, DrSea said:

Honestly, I was expecting 3 to 4 ships to be docked there daily. I thought it would be much bigger.

 

I was expecting the same thing too. When I think about it, that could be 14 Carnival ships docked there a week. They probably don't need that many more ships there.

[mz-s]

On 8/3/2022 at 8:28 AM, DrSea said:

Honestly, I was expecting 3 to 4 ships to be docked there daily. I thought it would be much bigger.

 

But it's an improvement from tendering to and from Princess Cay. 

 

It's starting out to be about the size of Amber Cove but eventually I'm sure they could add more docks (or even tendering operations) for a third vessel if demand exists. There is plenty of land in this area. I guess they just don't want to bite off more than they can chew at once.