Adventure of the Seas was the first cruise ship to call after the shutdown. (See a photo of that arrival here.)
Six-ship day
This year, Nassau Cruise Port welcomed six ships on the same date as the 2021 restart – Norwegian Sky, Carnival Conquest, Carnival Magic, Carnival Freedom and two Royal Caribbean vessels, Freedom of the Seas and Independence of the Seas.
'We could not have asked for a better way to commemorate the restart of cruising than a six-ship day with over 20,000 passengers in port,' said Mike Maura Jr., CEO of Nassau Cruise Port.
The port has chalked up 553 calls so far this year, 145 more than from June to December 2021.
On track for more than 1,100 calls in 2022
'This puts us on a healthy track to finish the year with over 1,100 calls. As of last Sunday, more than 1.8 million passengers have visited Nassau since June 2021 and the numbers continue to climb,' Maura added.
In 2023, Nassau Cruise Port aims to welcome over 4m passengers, 200,000 more than the 3.8m who visited the port in 2019.
Maura expressed gratitude to employees, cruise line partners, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and other government supporters, port stakeholders and passengers. 'We have come a long way since March 2020, and we have much to celebrate as we complete the reimagining of the waterfront and bring even more passengers to little Nassau,' he said.
Construction progresses
Maura reported 'excellent progress' on the construction, with the arrivals terminal and Junkanoo Museum steadily rising above the port. The general contractor has laid the foundations for the new Authentically Bahamian Market boutiques for 50 local small retailers and other parts of the Port Plaza that will feature Bahamian businesses.
The company aims to complete construction of Nassau Cruise Port by April 2023.
Downtown recovering
'Downtown Nassau is still recovering from the COVID shutdown, but most of the stores have reopened,' Maura continued. 'Hundreds of people are back at work, and on a six-ship day like last Sunday, the downtown core is as busy and vibrant as ever. With the promise of our project and other potential activities for downtown on the horizon, our future remains extremely bright in Nassau.'
Nassau Cruise Port began operations in October 2019 as part of a consortium comprising Global Ports Holding, the Bahamas Investment Fund and the Yes Foundation.
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