Crystal Cruises on the weekend kicked off its first cruise through The Bahamas’ islands, promising to bring thousands of visitors to the country every month.
Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar said it felt “great to say that cruising is back in The Bahamas”.
“Today, we welcome 900 guests as they board Crystal Serenity,” he said on Saturday at a ceremony to celebrate the inaugural sailing.
“The benefits of The Bahamas serving as a home port destination are extensive and reach across the tourism sector. Crystal Cruises’ Luxury Bahamas Escapes are expected to bring a minimum estimate of over 16,500 cruise passengers to the islands of The Bahamas over the four-month period of July 2 to November 9, 2021, and are projected to infuse millions upon millions of dollars on head tax and spend alone.
“Crystal cruise passengers will fly into Nassau, they will ride in our taxis, dine in our restaurants, shop in locally owned stores, participate in shore excursions to explore each of the islands on their itinerary.”
The ceremony, which took place at Pompey Square, featured Junkanoo and other cultural performances.
When asked what the inauguration signifies for Crystal Cruises and The Bahamas, Carmen Roig, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Crystal Cruises, replied, “For Crystal, it’s everything … . After 17 months of not operating, it has been a breath of fresh air working with the ministry. I can’t even begin to tell you.
“It has been flawless, seamless. I think we’re both aligned, right? All of us in the industry have taken such a hit economically. So, for us to be able to come back and home port here and be the first to visit these gorgeous Out Islands, we’re going to show our guests The Bahamas they have not seen. I think it’ll be amazing and very well-received.”
The seven-night roundtrip all-inclusive cruise will make calls on Nassau, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, San Salvador and Long Island.
D’Aguilar described it as “a very unique cruise in the sense that the entire cruise is based in The Bahamas”.
“So, it’s historic in two events; first, home porting and we’ve never done that before,” he said.
“I’m very proud that the Ministry of Tourism has been able to pull off this home porting concept, and second of all, to secure as one of our home porting partners Crystal Cruises that has embedded their entire cruise in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, touching a number of Family Islands.”
D’Aguilar said the money that cruise guests will spend will positively impact the lives of many Bahamians.
“What’s more, in addition to the cruise guests arriving today to enjoy a memorable vacation onboard Crystal Serenity, we expect in the next week 13,000 cruise visitors, as I mentioned earlier, will call on our capital in time for our Bahamian Independence Day celebrations,” he said.
“Expansion of tourism beyond the hub of Nassau/Paradise Island to the Out Islands figures high among the national priorities of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation. The partnership with Crystal Cruises will contribute significantly toward this objective, as weekly cruises will expose hundreds of guests to the charm and beauty of several idyllic Out Islands.”
He told excursion operators and vendors who are not permitted to operate under the current state of emergency, that the ministry is “bringing back our tourism product [and] bringing back our foreign visitors”.
Following the ceremony, D’Aguilar told reporters that the Straw Market Authority recently met with Cabinet.
He said details are being worked out to determine how to safely reopen the Straw Market.
“Now, let’s assume our best-case scenario: everybody’s vaccinated, everybody can go back to work,” D’Aguilar said.
“But I don’t think that will be the case, so you’re going to have to open it up socially distanced. You know, it’s fairly tightly packed inside there, so I’m glad I don’t have this job, but someone’s going to have to decide who comes on what day and how often in order to bring everybody back safely.
“But, as I said, if everybody was vaccinated, then everybody would come back.”
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/crystal-cruises-kicks-off-voyage-across-bahamas-islands-as-cruising-returns-in-grand-style/
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