A pier for GSC? Lazy river and pools? Two ships at a time?

[FreestyleNovice]

Quite the clickbait title but Cruisehive reports that a construction company announced quite some additions to GSC. I am not sure when this announcement was made by this company NVA2 but here is the original link: https://nv2agroup.com/projects/ncl-great-stirrup-cay-phase-ii/

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/is-norwegian-cruise-line-expanding-and-enhancing-private-island/120228

 

NCL must keep up with the competition, with GSC just being a blurry dot in the past the more recent satellite pictures show much more detail and also a lot more back of the house development than ever before.

[FreestyleNovice]

Luckily CruiseCritic does not has the word CruiseHive on their censorship list otherwise I had to take credit and praise my internet scour Altavista device. 

[www3traveler]

I would rather doubt that NCL would build a pier at GSC.  If it would environmentally possible to build a pier there, they would have done it many years for far less money and much less environmental rules and regulations than there are today.  Given the fact that NCL views itself as an "environmentally friendly company", why would they destroy an environmentally sensitive area to build a pier?  

[FreestyleNovice]

4 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

I would rather doubt that NCL would build a pier at GSC.  If it would environmentally possible to build a pier there, they would have done it many years for far less money and much less environmental rules and regulations than there are today.  Given the fact that NCL views itself as an "environmentally friendly company", why would they destroy an environmentally sensitive area to build a pier?  

 

Understandable and I have to agree but the latest expansion took some good cuts out of the shore/rocks to make new beaches and shores, I am not sure if that's precious coral reef or just hard Bahamian rock but I guess they environmentally can. Ditto for the wooded area, lots extra roads and new buildings. 

So is GSC an protected reef/area or are we believing NCL marketing it is? 

 

Anchoring on the same spot for years in a row can also cause quite some drag damage to the sea bed (if precious/fragile!), so there will always be a reason to spin things around and "justify" a pier I guess.

[Panhandle Couple]

Cruise hive was totally wrong on their listed changes for our recent Panama Canal cruise. 

Perhaps more of a click bait site?  Does anyone hold them accountable when they post wrong information? 

 

For GSC.  The amount of gas and air - water pollution running tenders could be justified to offset damage caused by making a pier.  I'm sure NCL has done a price-benefit analysis in the past, and probably re-looks at it every few years. 

 

A pier is not the end all.  A friend recently had their day at the neighboring RCL island canceled for high winds, which does have a pier. 

Edited January 7 by Panhandle Couple

[www3traveler]

I just "Goggled" Great Stirrup Cay, NOTHING in the many articles listed does it say NCL plans to built a dock.  Some of the articles go back several years and a couple are fairly new with nothing being said about a dock.

[ChiefMateJRK]

I hope this is true.  Not only to increase chances of actually making it to GSC, but also the convenience of walking on/off the ship throughout the day.  

[FreestyleNovice]

"NCL is embarking on design and construction of Phase III at Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. Facilities include a new pier which can accommodate two passenger ships simultaneously, water attractions, pools, a lazy river and new beaches. A new Bahamian Village will be constructed with food and beverage venues for guests as well as dormitories for service staff along with supporting infrastructure for water, sewer, and power systems."

 

It's there, on the website from those who did the previous expansion and not just CruiseHive. Only not sure how old that announcement exactly is. At least it was after Silver Cove. But.. pre-Covid, post-Covid or yesterday..? 

 

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, www3traveler said:

If it would environmentally possible to build a pier there, they would have done it many years for far less money and much less environmental rules and regulations than there are today.

It's right next door to Royal's CocoCay where a pier was added 5 years ago. 🤷

Edited January 7 by luv2kroooz

[mking8288]

This news is a welcoming one for some ... gives NCL a better leverage on docking the fleet of ships there as scheduled (maybe, expand it to allow 2 ships to dock at the same time ... oh Lordy, upwards of 6,000 to 8,000+ pax and crew, not sure if that's a great idea itself but, from shareholder's angles)  

 

It will definitely make it more practical to plan a day at GSC, even if maritime conditions are less than optimal (or, near perfect when tendering is the only option).  For sure, a dock or pier is absolutely NOT a guarantee that ship(s) can safely dock and remained anchored to the berth ... afterall, Prima lost her line at Galveston, TX earlier in the past week due to strong wind.  Getaway is skipping her overnight stop at Dockyard, Bermuda again this week due to maritime forecast ... 

 

 

[www3traveler]

44 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

It's right next door to Royal's CocoCay where a pier was added 5 years ago. 🤷

Each island has a totally different topographies  I have always been told that the water level under a ship's hull is to shallow to allow  for docking.  I have been told this by several Captains and Staff Captains.  I have no reason not to believe them.

[luv2kroooz]

1 minute ago, www3traveler said:

Each island has a totally different topographies  I have always been told that the water level under a ship's hull is to shallow to allow  for docking.  I have been told this by several Captains and Staff Captains.  I have no reason not to believe them.

Yes, it is. They'll have to dredge it.

[macewank]

The pier is happening.  NCL has been working with the Bahamian government on this for a while now because, yes, they're going to have to dredge out a significant amount of coral to get it done.

That said, RCCL continues to improve Coco Cay (which you can plainly see from GSC), and ship after ship continues to miss the island due to un-tenderable weather, so this has become a priority for NCL to resolve.  Glad to see they're making progress.   Hopefully the ecosystem impacts are kept to a minimum.

Edited January 7 by macewank

[JoeTec]

2 hours ago, FreestyleNovice said:

"NCL is embarking on design and construction of Phase III at Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. Facilities include a new pier which can accommodate two passenger ships simultaneously, water attractions, pools, a lazy river and new beaches. A new Bahamian Village will be constructed with food and beverage venues for guests as well as dormitories for service staff along with supporting infrastructure for water, sewer, and power systems."

 

It's there, on the website from those who did the previous expansion and not just CruiseHive. Only not sure how old that announcement exactly is. At least it was after Silver Cove. But.. pre-Covid, post-Covid or yesterday..? 

 

I remember seeing an article posted here on CC right before the pandemic hit.

[FreestyleNovice]

One more thing, the CruiseHive article mentions this:

 

"From an economic perspective, the project is expected to create significant employment opportunities during its construction phase. Moreover, the anticipated increase in guest volumes – from 286,357 in 2019 to a projected 714,000 after the new pier has been constructed – will have a positive effect on the local economy,"

 

Which I can't find in the original NV2AGroup's announcement.

 

The local economy's benefit after construction probably has to be taken with a grain of salt, perhaps a double revenue in straw hats for the lucky few who get to have a stable on the market. Unless it becomes like the out of control tradesmen at Labadee (RCCL).

 

I do welcome a pier but "the local economy" and a cruise line's private island on steroids, hmm.. 

Edited January 7 by FreestyleNovice

[macewank]

1 hour ago, FreestyleNovice said:

I do welcome a pier but "the local economy" and a cruise line's private island on steroids, hmm.. 

While there aren't traditional "port fees", there are still taxes. Here's a somewhat recent article that talks about what the Bahamian government is planning to do:  https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Bahamas-raise-cruise-passenger-taxes

Suffice to say... 714,000 passengers annually is a pretty stout chunk of change fed directly into the local economy 🙂

[FreestyleNovice]

"A dock at Great Stirrup Cay?
As for Great Stirrup Cay, NCL has been granted permission to build a dock there but Herrera wasn't ready to discuss specifics or a timetable."

 

Nov 30 2023 https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/ncl-still-vested-caribbean-eyes-further-bahamas-development 

[Liljo22]

On 1/7/2024 at 12:02 PM, luv2kroooz said:

It's right next door to Royal's CocoCay where a pier was added 5 years ago. 🤷

Sure but do you know if there is a coral reef off the coast of GSC that is blocking ships from docking here?  It looks like there might be.

 

Edited January 10 by Liljo22

[luv2kroooz]

11 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

Sure but do you know if there is a coral reef off the coast of GSC that is blocking ships from docking here?  It looks like there might be.

 

I would have no first hand knowledge of what may or may not be off the coast of Great Stirrup Cay. Since there is no pier, my guess is that there may be a reef there. Sounds like the approval has been received, so, like CocoCay, there must be a workaround in order.

Edited January 10 by luv2kroooz

[Panhandle Couple]

6 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

Sure but do you know if there is a coral reef off the coast of GSC that is blocking ships from docking here?  It looks like there might be.

 

There is another lagoon off your map to the left.  They run kayaks and wave runners from there.

 

The dock location could be in that area.  The construction would not interfere with the current operation very much.  They might need some land based people movers, but those are much easier to run and support than tenders.

 

Also, NCL could support building up an artificial reef in another location to offset anything they remove here.

[FreestyleNovice]

I am no nautical engineer either but anything south of GSC is too shallow, it must be on the north side of the island (to the north east the reef expends too much) and I assume it will feed directly into the guest area so on the left side of the tender port? Or near Silver Cove?

[omahabob]

There are reef areas off the north shore, but the coverage is spotty. There is a spot to the north of the current tender docks that would allow a dock to cross reef slope, and then transition a very small area of coral reef to reach deep water. Obviously there would be more considerations, but it seems possible to do it with very minimal reef impact. You can look at this reef map, but it doesn't correctly match the land contours, so the accuracy may be somewhat suspect:

 

https://www.allencoralatlas.org/atlas/#15.00/25.8236/-77.9159

[CruzinMel]

I wonder. . . sea grass comes to mind.  I was doing some continuing education about environmental offsets for corporations, and it suggested that the Bahamas (being the major owner of most of the sea grass areas) was selling the rights to their sea grass.  Bahamas got a revenue boost, and corporations got credits to offset against their carbon footprints, happy happy happy, and maintaining the sea grass meant that the corps had to look out for sea turtles, too, because the sea grass was their main diet and they were vital to the food chain, etc.

SO - that said - perhaps NCL is offsetting somewhere/something else for any damage they might do to reefs to build the dock?  

[FreestyleNovice]

For those posted here and/or anyone's future reference, @Beezo's thread has some excellent info, including some incredible renders:

 

 Probably best if we keep that one and discuss it there but I thought that thread was started on April 1st when I first saw the renders of those mountains.. 

 

🔒

[BirdTravels]

Yes. But that thread is mostly discussing an architect’s concept drawings and not what NCL formally announced. The NCL announcement is far less than the early “what if” concept drawings,,, for now. 

Edited April 14 by BirdTravels