Bahamas News

The Bahamas is said to be losing big with its cruise ship passengers as figures so far for the year show marked declines in arrivals.

Speaking at a reception for the platinum members of various cruise lines at Fort Charlotte yesterday, Director of Cruise Development for the Ministry of Tourism Carla Stuart said the numbers are looking slim for the cruise ship industry as the world’s economy continues to experience major downfalls.

“This far the figures appear to be slightly down,” she said. “[It’s] probably about six percent, between six to eight percent, but we don’t have the overall figures for the years yet, but we’re very hopeful for this year. We realise that given the global economy, things are turning right now and we should anticipate a degree of decline, but we’re still doing everything we can to ensure that we minimize any declines.”

Stuart said right now The Ministry of Tourism is working very closely with the various cruise lines to ensure that they do all they can to help the cruise ship industry rebound. She said the cruise lines are doing a good job in ensuring that their cruise ships sail with a full load, a move she says bodes well for The Bahamas. Stuart added that while the cruise lines are doing their part to help the business, Bahamians must also pitch in to get the job done.

“The primary thing for us is to ensure that we have a product that the cruise passengers like and continue to tell the cruise line executives that this is where they want to come.”

But President of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Michele Paige said she thinks she knows just why The Bahamas’ cruise ship industry might be experiencing this decline. She said one of the top reasons is that Bahamians aren’t doing what Stuart suggested, in making sure that the product is something the passengers will like.

“You have to understand that when cruise passengers come off a ship they want options,” Paige explained. “They want things to do during the day and if you want the ships to stay later, they want things to do during the night. You have to motivate them to say it’s better in The Bahamas and when you say its better in The Bahamas, you have to mean it and you have to deliver it.”

Paige added that for too long cruise ship passengers have complained about the lack of things to do when they get off the ships, adding that The Bahamas must act fast if it wants to continue being a top tourist destination. The FCCA president said the cruise industry needs to work more diligently with The Bahamas to ensure that there are more tours and other activities for the passengers to take part in, in a bid to keep them interested and to keep them coming back. She added that the figures right now do not show favourably for The Bahamas.

“Historically, less people actually go on tours in The Bahamas than any other place that we bring passengers to,” Paige said. “Historically there’s only about 30 percent of our passengers that go on tour in The Bahamas where it’s as much as 70 percent other places and an average of 50 percent. So the Bahamas is losing an opportunity. But we are working very diligently with your minister to ensure that the people of The Bahamas motivate themselves to be able to offer the cruise passenger more things to do when they’re in The Bahamas.”

Paige said since The Bahamas is a very different place from what it was 30 years ago, the government must act fast to ensure that they do not lose any of their visitors.

Source: Bahama Journal

The return of Norwegian Cruise Lines to Grand Bahama will not only rejuvenate tourist arrival figures for the country, but also revive the stagnant Grand Bahamian economy, according to a senior Grand Bahama tourism official.

While the number of cruise ship visitor arrivals in New Providence has been less than admirable for the second quarter of 2007, Grand Bahama experienced a significant hike in cruise arrivals over the same period.

According to ministry of tourism statistics, Grand Bahama experienced a 55.3% increase in cruise visitor arrivals in July, but a single-figure dip in cruise arrivals in August.

Recently Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) announced a return to Grand Bahama beginning next month.

The company is planning to increase calls to The Bahamas by adding 32 cruises to its group of tours between 2007 and 2009.

Senior Director at the Ministry of Tourism on Grand Bahama, Jeritzan Edwards-Outten, who is responsible for Product Development, said bringing more cruise lines to Grand Bahama remains a top priority.

“We know the cruise ship business really impacts the lives of the straw vendors, the cab drivers and the shop clerks who are in that type of retail business,” she told the Bahama Journal.

Mrs. Outten said NCL representatives were recently in Grand Bahama doing a familiarization tour of the destination.

“[They were] extremely impressed with the amount of tours we have available and different sites of interest, and as a result they were able to go back and (add) it to their group of tours on island excursions,” she said.

Mrs. Outten said the ministry would be working very closely with the cruise line over the next year.

The majority of the calls to Grand Bahama – 28 to be exact – will be made by NCL’s newest ship, the Norwegian Gem, which has the ability to hold up to 2,400 passengers.

Mrs. Outten said the return of the cruise line solidifies the ministry’s efforts of bringing more tourists to the island.

“I think over the next year and the coming years we will definitely get our share of the cruise business,” she said.

Mrs. Outten said and one of the things the ministry is working quickly toward is the introduction of a new cruise board.

“That is something on the table that is actively being discussed, and hopefully in the very near future we’ll be able to tell you more about that,” she said.

NCL will expand the Norwegian Gem’s tours to include a seven-day sail with stops in both Grand Bahama and Nassau during the December 2007, February, March, April and December 2008.

The ship will sail the same itinerary from January through April in 2009.

Meamwhile, Mrs. Outten also commented on the recent “clarification” issued by Discovery Cruise Lines (DCL) – the company took umbrage with being characterized in the media as a “casino boat.”

DCL contended that this nomenclature is normally reserved for boats or ships that promote “nowhere” cruises where the principal activity is gambling and the vessel has no destination.

“To the contrary,” says Hanns J. Hahn, General Manager of Discovery, “the primary purpose of Discovery is transportation, and gambling is an incidental activity aboard Discovery. Discovery’s principal activities include three all-you-can-eat buffet meals on the roundtrip cruise, spacious sun decks and swimming pool, games, live entertainment, shows, a disco and much, much more.”

Discovery Cruise Line is the largest tour operator from South Florida to Grand Bahama Island having carried over 150,000 passengers last year and on-target to carry a similar number this year.

“It doesn’t matter really,” Mrs. Outten said of the media characterizations of the DCL.

She said DCL is “a huge, huge benefit to Grand Bahama Island,” and added that “while they are in here I’m sure they don’t have their casinos open. They follow the law.”

The tourism official said the cruise line does “double duty” for Grand Bahama – it brings in both stopovers (people who don’t want to fly) and day-trippers.

“If they could bring a house, they would bring it on that ship,” she said, noting that Bahamians use DCL frequently as a cargo ship.

Mrs. Outten added that DCL brought supplies to Grand Bahama during hurricanes when planes wouldn’t fly.

“They have played a wonderful role with us in terms of a corporate citizen – really the best.”

Source: Bahama Journal

Major cruise lines are rejecting Grand Bahama as a port of call because it has little to offer tourists, according to Minister of Tourism Neko Grant, who met recently with officials of major cruise lines.

Tourism Minister Neko Grant says many cruise lines are saying “no thanks” to Grand Bahama as a port of call.
At a town meeting held at the Foster B. Pestaina Centre on Monday night, Minister Grant told local stakeholders in the tourism industry that after trying to convince cruise lines to make Grand Bahama one of their ports of call, their response was “no thanks”.

He hit local taxi drivers, tour operators, vendors, business persons and artisans with the cold, bitter truth that major cruise lines like Disney said they would never even consider Grand Bahama because their customers feel harassed, ripped off, and say they have nowhere to go.

Minister Grant said the cruise business has declined in The Bahamas and other parts of the Caribbean by three to five percent, while it has increased in Europe by 25 percent.

“Disney…they said ‘Grand Bahama [isn’t] for us. Your ground transportation is a mess. You’ve got to remember that people who sail on our ship go to Disney Land before or after, and Grand Bahama is not a place where we want our passengers to go because if they’ve been to Disney Land, we take them into Nassau, and we’ve got work to do there; we take them to our private island, and we come into Grand Bahama Island. It doesn’t matter what happened before they left Orlando, what they experience in Grand Bahama ruins everything’,” Minister Grant said.

Minister Grant said hundreds of destinations offer the same thing The Bahamas offers and Grand Bahama must do things differently to not only make people want to come here, but to make them want to come back.

He said cruise lines were told about the things the government will be doing to correct the problems in Grand Bahama, especially with regard to ground transportation and tours.

“They said ‘good. Call us when you fix it. Save yourselves the embarrassment and call us when you fix it’,” Minister Grant said.

He said that recently, Carnival Cruise Lines had to refund thousands of dollars to disgruntled passengers who visited Grand Bahama and had an horrific experience.

“The question is, if we continue our nonsense, will they continue to come?” he asked.

Director General of Tourism Vernice Walkine told tourism stakeholders Grand Bahama has the best potential of any island, but she said most tourists aren’t getting good service.

“Disney Cruise Lines has said to me, ‘I’m not coming back to Grand Bahama ever, ever, ever, full stop’. How do you respond to that? What am I supposed to say to them? They aren’t wrong. They are absolutely right because their guests have the worst experience on their entire itinerary. Carnival has said the same thing,” Ms. Walkine said.

“We rank lowest in terms of satisfaction out of all of their ports of call. Why? What’s wrong with us?” she asked.

Ms. Walkine said The Bahamas must take note of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative put in place by the United States because this put a different twist on the local tourism market.

Under the new rules, Americans traveling from the region by air must present passports upon their re-entry into the United States.

Ms. Walkine noted that for many years tourists did not need a passport in order to re-enter the United States from the Bahamas.

“So, for years we have had the very good fortune to be the destination that Americans would think of first when they want a quick get-away,” Ms. Walkine said.

“They could get up on a Friday morning, pack a couple of things in a bag, grab their driver’s license and hop on a plane with no problem. Well, that changed. They now have to have passports and this has had a dramatic impact on our business, and in particular Grand Bahama.”

She said that now that they have passports to travel, the Americans can now travel anywhere in the world.

“So all of a sudden our competitors are not just the Caribbean, it’s the world. Americans are exploring all over the place. The Caribbean has been popular for many, many years but it’s like ‘been there, and done that’,” Ms. Walkine said.

Source: Bahama Journal

Gaming in The Bahamas is poised for an expansion, according to Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe who referred to a number of new proposals on the drawing board.

Mr. Wilchcombe, who has Cabinet responsibility for gaming, told the Bahama Journal that the government is actively trying to assist hotel developers with what the he called “the amenity of gaming,” but within limits.

The minister said that The Bahamas has been “progressively moving” in gaming, pointing to the fairly recent introduction of sports betting – which he said has been going “quite well.”

He also indicated that an expansion in the gaming offerings available within The Bahamas is soon to come.

“Atlantis has new proposals they are discussing with us right now, and you’re going to continuously receive applications. For instance, in Grand Bahama we have Fortuna seeking a casino license,” he disclosed.

“So every day there are new groups looking for new opportunities because gaming is a big attraction. But you know, in The Bahamas it has been more of an amenity than an industry, and that is the question we have to grapple with as we move forward.”

There are concerns about the legislative environment. Mr. Wilchcombe acknowledged the worries about the regulatory regime that would ensure that no laws are broken.

“Of course, whatever we do is always with limitations because (you must answer such questions as) how are you going to manage it, how are you going to monitor what is going on? So yes, we are aware that there are requests coming in almost every day for different forms of gaming by the hotel establishments,” he said.

“And we’re certainly looking at them,” he added.

He said even some of the more developed societies are still having to grapple with difficulties of monitoring legislation and ensuring the enforcement of whatever regulatory laws exist in a particular jurisdiction.

“We are not as advanced, but certainly we’ve been working with our advisors in London to determine how far we can move now, and what we have to do progressively to get to the stage where we can offer some of the new attractions to the amenities that we do have in The Bahamas,” Mr. Wilchcombe said.

The minister said the government is aware of circumstances in which laws may be infringed by players the gaming industry, though he would not cite specific instances.

“But each time that we become aware, what we do is we ask the Gaming Board to pay closer attention to what is going on. Our first obligation is to make sure that the hotel establishments that are participating in gaming are fulfilling their obligations and they are maintaining their high standards. That’s the expectation of our jurisdiction,” Mr. Wilchcombe said.

“So, to that extent we’ve had no difficulties. But of course we know that there is always someone trying something new.”

Looking at the competition, Mr. Wilchcombe pointed out that Macao outperformed Las Vegas in earnings last year, and has moved into the more modern gaming industry.

“It just tells you,” Mr. Wilchcombe said, “as long as we’re in the tourism industry, we have an obligation to maintain our progressive thinking and we cannot shun our minds from any new thoughts that are being considered.”

“And so on each occasion, we have to look at them and see how we proceed.”

He said there was a paper on his desk “right now” that speaks to moving the gaming sector of The Bahamas’ tourism product from “an amenity” to “an industry,” but since he hasn’t discussed it with the London consultants it hasn’t made it to Cabinet for discussion yet.

The world’s largest open-air manmade marine habitat houses over 50,000 marine animals, contains a state-of-the-art laboratory and hospital, an education centre and sits in our backyard.

Atlantis unveiled its latest facility, Dolphin Cay, Monday during an exclusive media tour over Paradise Island.

Currently, there are 20 dolphins and 11 California Sea Lions at the facility.

Dolphin Cay provides each dolphin with 250,000 gallons of Bahamian ocean water and each guest the opportunity to get up close and personal with the mammals.

Millions of gallons of seawater are filtered, decontaminated, chilled or heated depending on the temperature outside, in order to get it to the optimum temperature.

Officials say Dolphin Cay was created with the goal of enlightening visitors about the ocean’s inhabitants.

The new dolphin habitat is also home to 17 displaced Hurricane Katrina dolphins and is the first rescue and rehabilitation facility in the Bahamas.

The dolphins were displaced from their previous home in Gulfport, Mississippi after being swept to sea during the hurricane’s devastation of the Gulf States. The Katrina Dolphins were the first residents of the 10 million gallon state-of-the-art habitat at Atlantis.

The 11-acre lagoon contains three 10-foot deep coves for interaction with the marine mammals in a lush, tropical setting.

Guests to Dolphin Cay will experience an informative introduction to dolphin behaviour, physiology and the importance of marine life conservation before entering the water for their intimate experience.

Atlantis also offers two dolphin interaction programmes. The shallow-water interaction takes place in waist-deep water with one dolphin, two trainers and 10 guests. The deep-water interaction consists of a group of six guests who are allowed to swim with the dolphins in the centre of the cove for closer, more natural contact.

The interactions last for 30 minutes with the complete experience lasting two hours.

Officials also unveiled the state-of-the-art Education Center to learn more about dolphins and marine life conservation.

While guests are not allowed to bring in personal cameras and camcorders, they can order a personalized photo and video of their experience and purchase it at the gift shop at the end of the interaction.

According to officials, a portion of the proceeds from the dolphin programmes will be donated to the Kerzner Marine Foundation.

In addition to the interactive coves, the facility serves as the first marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation centre in the Bahamas.

The dolphins will live in seven interconnected resident pools containing more than six million gallons of crystal-clear seawater.

The pools will also provide space for quarantined or stranded dolphins and other marine mammals, medical procedures and care for pregnant and nursing mothers.

Teri Corbett, vice president of Marine Mammal Operations, said Dolphin Cay prides itself on the care of its animals.

“We believe that the first thing is to take care of the animals and we feel very strongly about teaching people to care for the dolphins and other animals in general. That falls in line with our conservation effort,” she said.

“Obviously we want it to be an intimate experience, so we allow the guests to check in very similar to a hotel, so they come in at a specific time and they check out. We have a concierge desk to answer any question and ready to assist people.”

By Rogan M Smith
The Bahama Journal

The Grand Bahama Human Rights Association says it notes “with alarm” the expression of a new “policy” by the Immigration Department which purports to “clarify” the Immigration Department’s “procedure for foreigners applying for work permits to perform volunteer work”.

“This new policy is illegal,” the Association claims.

A public statement by Immigration in the wake of the recent arrest of a British female volunteer worker, states that: “Any non-Bahamian wanting to do volunteer work in the Bahamas would require a sponsor, charitable group or organization to write into the Immigration Department requesting permission for the individual to work.

“The request must specify the terms and type of work that the person will be doing, and that after the request is reviewed and meets the satisfaction of the Immigration Department, the individual or organization would be given the ok”.

But the Association says that there is absolutely no provision in the Immigration Act, which in any way supports this new dictate by the Immigration Department.

Section 28 of the Act provides that no person shall engage in any “gainful occupation” unless such person is in possession of a work permit, the Association notes.

The volunteer expatriate workers are precisely that – volunteers – and they are not paid and therefore they are not engaging in “gainful occupation”, the Association says.

It contends that certain immigration policies continue to be abusive.

“Given our limited human resources, our pro-foreign investment policy, the real estate development profiles of the Bahamas, our vigorous tourism sector and our international banking and insurance business, immigration forms the bedrock of any foreign or Bahamian business,” the Association says.

“Thus, it should be taken out of the hands of partisan political control so that, firstly, the powers under the Act cannot be abused as they have historically been and, secondly, the opportunities of ministerial corruption and patronage are taken away.”

The Association once again calls for a reform of the Immigration Act and challenges both the FNM and the PLP on the eve of a general election to make reform of the Immigration Act an election issue.The Association calls on both parties to commit to the enactment of a new Immigration Act which: promotes positive growth and development; is independent of partisan political control; sets out modern, sensible and reasonable criteria for the grant of annual residency, work permits, permanent residency and citizenship; outlines procedures that are open to public scrutiny, accountable and transparent; provides for reasons to be given for refusals; provides for efficient and timely consideration of applications ; and provides for appeals by quick review of any decisions of the Board by an Immigration administrative judge or tribunal and thereafter reviewable by the Supreme Court.

“The Immigration Board under Section 5 should no longer consist of Cabinet Ministers with the Prime Minister chairing the meetings. Our Cabinet Ministers should have better things to do than consider whether the spouse of a Bahamian, a Haitian gardener, an Italian chef, or Jamaican maid should or should not get a work permit. These are mundane administrative matters which any competent civil servant can efficiently perform,” the Association says.

“It is time to take immigration out of the direct partisan control of the Cabinet so that it cannot be used for intimidation, victimization or abuse when expedient against either foreigners or Bahamians.”

Courtesy of The Bahama Journal

High prices are being charged for the sale and lease of marina slips associated with new resort and residential developments, but the government is collecting very little revenue for the use of its waters and seabed, according to Malcolm Martini, who heads a task force that has drafted a proposed Marina Policy.

“Final numbers are not in, but government revenue from marinas is most likely well under $1 million [annually],” he said.

Mr. Martini pointed out that some slips have been sold for as much as $1 million.

He said the new Marina Policy will raise the bar for marina operations in The Bahamas.

“The purpose of the Marina Policy is to respond to changes in the demand for marina space in The Bahamas,” Mr. Martini said.

The government appointed a task force last year to conduct research on the way marinas were sited, how permits were issued and the fee structure for using Bahamian waters.

Members of the task force include: Port Director Captain Anthony Allens; Director of Fisheries Michael Braynen; Dwayne Curtis of the Department of Environmental Health Services; Director of Sustainable Tourism Earlston McPhee; Rochelle Newbold of The Bahamas Environment Science and Technology Commission, and Mr. Martini who’s also a consultant within the Ministry of Energy and the Environment.

By Deandre Williamson
The Bahama Journal

“Nothing is more powerful for your future than being a gatherer of good ideas and information. That’s called doing your homework. Do as much research as you can because nothing beats being prepared.” - Glenn

You can’t turn on your radio or television, whether to local or international stations without hearing about Anna Nicole. While you maybe captivated by the salacious details of what’s going on, you may also be tempted to go on with your life without giving a second thought to what’s happening - even feeling secure that it can’t happen to you. But wait a minute, there are some lessons that you may want to learn from Anna Nicole!

Anna Nicole at 39 is dead. That is the first lesson: you are never too young to die. You may not want to think about this but if your family were left without you today, how would they make it? If they had to make arrangements for you, would they know what to do? Perhaps even more importantly, if you were the one left to make arrangements for your loved ones, would you be prepared and know what to do? Probably not.

The fact is, there will come a day when your family will need your guidance and you won’t be able to provide it. Therefore it is important for you to take some time now and answer some very important questions that will be invaluable to your family in your absence. Your taking the time now will not only minimize the emotional but also the financial strain your family will undoubtedly face without you there to guide them.

The second lesson from Anna Nicole is that you don’t want to leave your wishes unknown. This is extremely important when you have young children. It is your responsibility to remove the guess work from how you would like your affairs handled. Don’t allow your family - besides dealing with the sad feelings associated with your loss - not to have the knowledge of what to do or how to do it.

The third lesson from Anna is, if you don’t handle your affairs now everyone will get into your business after you are gone, and you won’t be able to do anything about it.

Now that you have the opportunity don’t put it off another day. Don’t you love your family enough to want to guide them at a time when they need you more than ever? Don’t you want the benefit of your loved ones’ advice that could be of benefit when you are left to make arrangements and carry on without them? Go ahead answer the questions:

1. If something happened to you, would your family be financially secure?

2. Do you review your insurance annually, as well as when your situation changes significantly such as getting married, finding a new job or having a child?

3. Did you include the amount still owing on your mortgage or considered how much income your family will need when you bought your current life insurance?

4. Do you have an up-to-date inventory of your possessions and are they fully protected by your current coverage?

5. Based on your lifestyle, do you have adequate protection if you were disabled by an accident or illness?

6. Do you have an ‘Enduring Power of Attorney’ if you become mentally or physically incapacitated?

7. How will you pay your medical bills if you have a major illness or accident?

8. Have you taken advantage of all your insurance and pension options at work?

9. Is your Will three years old or less, and is it kept in a safe place along with your other important documents?

10. Are you saving and investing regularly for your retirement?

As painful as this may be, it is a reality of life: you don’t know what will happen to you. Learn from Anna Nicole and prepare yourself and your family today!

Courtesy of The Nassau Guardian

Just off the North Abaco mainland sits historic Green Turtle Cay where loyalists settled in the 17th and 18th centuries. This quaint Bahamian settlement comes alive this weekend when its most famous son, artist Alton Lowe, opens his 36th annual art exhibition on Saturday.

The show, which has been staged at Nassau Beach Hotel for 32 years, is being held at Green Turtle Cay for the first time. Lowe made the decision to hold this year’s exhibition at his private gallery for the first time due to the redevelopment at the Cable Beach complex. “But I will be back in Nassau in 2008,” he assured. The exhibition will consist of 28 art pieces, all with a Bahamian floral and historic motif. There are paintings of marine life; historic scenes of Harbour Island, Cherokee Sound, San Salvador and 17th century Nassau. The biggest collection is of the Bahamian flowers. “I have great interest in the environment, protecting and preserving the old houses in Nassau and the Family Islands. One way to do some of this is to bring it to the public attention,” said Lowe. “I started going into the forest of Abaco and started painting the wild flowers…trying to show people how beautiful they are. We have these beautiful flowers, not just the orchards, but many other wonderful flowers. ”

Some of his floral paintings have been reproduced on postage stamps. “I have included some of the very old Bahamian flowers such as the rubber vine and some of the newer introductions to The Bahamas …to show the world that our country is truly a gardening paradise,” said Lowe, who is also an avid gardener.

People from other parts of The Bahamas and all over the world are expected to converge on Green Turtle Cay for the exhibition which runs through March.

Alton’s career in art began at a very early age. Said he, “My father drew beautifully and he made wonderful Bahamian ship models. Many evenings he would sit at the dining table and draw these ships on the high seas and I would try to copy them. It wasn’t until I went to high school that I learned how talented my father (Albert Lowe) was. His drawings were so beautiful.”

The Albert Lowe Museum on the cay was established in memory of his father.

At nine he started studying art with an American couple who lived on the island at the time. “They invited me along with 14 others to come and study art after school every day and on weekends. Eventually I was the only one left; they slowly dropped out,” Alton recalls.

He sold his first painting in the 1960s for $12 to the late Edward St George of the Grand Bahama Port Authority. “I thought I was rich, he recalled, “I spent every penny on more art supplies.”

After he finished school in Green Turtle Cay at 16, Alton moved to Miami Beach with his American benefactors. He worked and studied at their art gallery for two years.

“I arrived there June 10, 1961. My entire world changed. I met a lot of famous people who came to the gallery - Charlton Heston and a lot of the actors. Every day I went to my lessons and then I went to art school ( Frank Reilly School of Art) in New York. It was the greatest experience of my life.”

Alton spends an average of three weeks on a painting. “I paint in the traditional style (more detailed), which takes a lot longer than if it were impressionist. Sometimes I combine the two styles in the same painting.”

In conjunction with the exhibition the Abaco Cultural Society presents ‘A Magical Evening of Musical Memories’ featuring Jim Mastin, Joy Martone, T.L. Brown, Luisa Black and Mel Arnold Saturday evening at 7:30.

By Norman Rolle
The Nassau Guardian

After being offline for nearly a month, Royal Caribbean International’s cruise ship ‘Majesty of the Seas’ this month resumed its year-round three- and four-night cruises between Miami and The Bahamas.

The 15-year-old ship was the beneficiary of what Royal Caribbean representatives term a “bow to stern” renovation, which included an overhaul of the guest suites and staterooms among other areas.

Lisa Bauer, Royal Caribbean International’s Senior Vice President of Sales, said the renovation was aimed at raising the ship’s standards for innovation and quality.

“We consistently see an attraction toward shorter trips as the perfect weekend getaway or for corporate incentive travel, so it’s natural to ensure that our ships consistently offer guests what they have come to expect from us,” Ms. Bauer said.

Majesty is the third ship in Royal Caribbean’s Sovereign class of ships to be refurbished; Monarch of the Seas got a face-lift in 2003, and Sovereign of the Seas got one in 2004.

Among the specific changes for the ‘Majesty’ were the installation of a new casual dining concept, called the “Windjammer Marketplace,” which features Asian, Latin, Mediterranean and American fare in a casual atmosphere.

Two dining rooms were redone and renamed; the Starlight and Moonlight rooms got new décor from the walls, columns and seating upholstery to new carpets and drapery.

Majesty of the Seas now features Wi-Fi access in the staterooms, and new flat screen televisions mounted to the stateroom walls.

The renovated Majesty of the Seas resumes its service at a critical time in the cruise industry, known as the “wave season,” and perhaps presages a banner year for the industry.

The Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA) has released projections that 12 new ships – totaling 22,039 beds – are expected to come online in 2007.

The new ships will offer vacationers innovative onboard facilities and amenities, new worldwide itineraries and ports, and outstanding experiential enrichment programmes that appeal to an ever-burgeoning and diverse portfolio of travelers, according to CLIA.

All tolled, the increase in ship capacity translated to a steady growth in available berths, from 227,837 in 2005 to 246,759 in 2006.

CLIA member lines have invested more than $15 billion in 30 new vessels that will enter service between 2007 and the end of 2010. This translates into 73,562 more beds – a 29.8 percent increase from 2006.

By Quincy Parker
The Bahama Journal