Royal Caribbean and Freeport/Grand Bahama

[kruzerci]

We booked one of the few Explorer cruises that is calling in Freeport at the end of the year. To my knowledge, its one of the very few RCI cruises calling in Freeport.

 

I'm wondering if anybody in the boards has sailed to Grand Bahama on Royal Caribbean and what their experiences were. Is there a reason they seldom stop in Freeport?

 

Should we venture out or enjoy the solarium that day?

 

Thank you!

[GAneedWater]

Grand Bahama is worn-down looking simply put. The port is rather ugly looking. You might just wake up to seeing some machine dredging sand right outside you window or witness a crane lift crates of goods off a cargo ship while enjoying your breakfast in the Windjammer! From what our taxi driver told us, the area was in the process of being built up into something akin to Nassau almost, but then the economy crashed and a hurricane hit. Things never really picked back up. Throughout the island there are several abandoned buildings.

The area right by the ships are ok, but there are your classic tourist traps. The vendors there sell the same things you'll see at the next stop, just at a much higher price. You can pay a cab driver $5 to take you to the Lacuya shopping area, but it's the same thing. I honestly felt like the vendor's in Freeport heckle you more than the ones in Nassau. There was this one woman in the Lacuya who heckled me so badly because I didn't want her to braid my hair :( I felt intimidated after that and we decided to just head back to the ship.

I would say you might enjoy getting off the ship just to check the area out right by the port. There is a Senior Frog's that is less crowded and much more mellow than the one in Nassau there. We didn't check out any of the beaches while we were there, but it might be something worth looking into. Just stay away from Lacuya unless if you have better nerves than me and be able to stand the more abrasive heckling.

Edited January 27, 2014 by GAneedWater

[bilyclub]

On the Indy in December of 2012 Nassau overbooked ships and we diverted to Grand Bahama. Everybody was kind of happy to be heading to a different port until we arrived. A sea day probably would have been better. The only upside was the view of the ships being worked on in the dry docks.

[rushedmom]

We actually went to Freeport last year on Carnival. The port area was very clean and is being redone. Lots of cute shops, places to get food and they had a live band. There is not a whole lot to do in Freeport, we went on a beach excursion and it was quite a distance to the spot. It was a fairly nice beach and we enjoyed the day. The port on the smaller side so not sure if the larger class ships would be able to port there.

[Biker19]

The Bahamas government signed a letter of intent on Wednesday with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and ITM Group for the sale of Grand Lucayan Resort and the redevelopment of Freeport Harbor.

The price for Grand Lucayan Resort is $65m.

Theme park and five-star hotel

The redevelopment project will include a theme park and a five-star hotel, according to Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for Grand Bahama.

An expansion and improvement of Freeport's cruise berths is also anticpated, as earlier reported.

The development is expected to take 24 months to 36 months. An additional 2m tourists are projected following completion.

On hand for the signing were ITM Group CEO Mauricio Hamui and Royal Caribbean's Russell Benford, VP government relations, Americas.

Costa Maya, Puerto Plata, Roatán

ITM are the developers of Puerto Costa Maya; Taino Bay, a new cruise port at Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic; and of Roatán's cruise port expansion.

[Biker19]

Anyone want to guess on how many more sailings will include Freeport in 2022?

Edited March 28, 2019 by Biker19

[John&LaLa]

Works for me

 

Nice resurrection 

Edited March 28, 2019 by John&LaLa

[redfantum]

What good news!  Back in the day Freeport was actually a pretty nice day.  The Princess Casino was the major draw and several day cruises sailed from Fort Lauderdale (Discovery, SeaEscape and Sun Cruises if I recall) every day pumping money into the island.  Then they were hit with a couple of hurricanes in a short period of time, closing the Princess Casino and making the much smaller Lucaya area the major tourist section.  The day cruises shut down, and with no money coming in, they never were able to rebuild.  It became a vicious circle of no attractions, so no income to support attractions.  We got engaged there about a hundred years ago.  I would love to see it hopping again, not just for my own fun but for the betterment of the people who live there.

[Maraprince]

You can go to the casino and visit  nearby areas with lots of shops.  You take a local taxi, pay for round trip up front, and are told where to find the return taxi to the dock and the schedule for the taxis.  Return to the pier is usually right in front of the casino where you were dropped off.

 

You can also get a taxi to the beach if you so choose.

 

We were told that when Nassau has too many ships there the overflow ships are sent to Freeport instead (2 max).

 

Glad we decided to get off the ship and have a look around the port area as well as going to the casino.'

 

MARAPRINCE

[poncho1973]

27 minutes ago, Maraprince said:

You can go to...

 

Biker, of the beating dead horses fan club Bikers, brought this back up to talk about the resort Royal just bought there.

 

The person you were helping sailed about 5 years ago, so let's hope your tips can travel back in time.

 

 

 

 

 

Valid resurrection, Biker.  Nice tie-in.

[Biker19]

3 hours ago, poncho1973 said:

Valid resurrection, Biker.  

What's an invalid one?

[molly361]

Is Royal going into the hotel business now as well? 

[sandebeach]

I am excited about this hotel and resort development! We had some great times in Freeport sailing there on Discovery cruises. Then everything just went downhill, Sea Escape and Discovery went out of business, and Freeport never recovered from a hurricane. Glad to see this is happening, this will help the Freeport economy. 

[pstone1]

If anyone is interested in a fun excursion in Freeport, try booking an electric bicycle tour with Coconutzcruisers.com

 

A group of us booked and had so much fun effortlessly riding around the island! There are lots of stops - we. went to the beach, a dolphin sanctuary, had beachfront lunch (included) and later enjoyed freshly made (in front of us) conch salad.  There's actually a lot to see and do on Grand Bahama!  We all had a great time and would definitely do it again if we get the chance to go back to Grand Bahama!

 

 

[cb at sea]

To enjoy this stop, you MUST leave the port area!  Do some research before your cruise...find out what there is, and HOW to get there!  The Bahamas aren't inherently bad....but Freeport is a working port area....not much unless you leave the actual port!  Totally doable, if you do your research!

 

[aggieguy93]

I am very excited about this news.

I have a place on Taino Beach and i have been doing land based vacations there since 2004.  the island has been hit with 3 hurricanes since then and the economy has suffered.  

The property they bought is where the casino was so it will be interesting to see if that is part of the new master plan that RCI has for that.  (it is a very nice property already, just needs to be cleaned up from the last hurricane)

I have lots of friends that live on the island and they are excited as well.  they say it will bring an additional 2 million visitors to the island annually.  and with 4 berths, it will seem to be a new busy spot (NCL and Carnival also sail into Freeport)

There are tons of things to do on the island and some very nice beaches.  I love Freeport and i cannot stand Nasty Nassau
 

It won't happen overnight, but Freeport could flourish from this in the next 5-10 years and i can't wait to see that

 

[Tapi]

Grand Bahama Island, where Freeport is located, is vastly larger and more sparsely populated than New Providence where Nassau is. Yes, the ship docks in an industrial area, and the infrastructure isn’t as developed, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a dump. Grand Bahama has great choices for nature lovers and for people who like venturing off the beaten path.  It has several breathtaking beaches, and best of all, secluded. 

 

If you're someone who doesn’t like to venture too far from port, then Freeport will be a disappointment for the reasons mentioned in previous posts. But if you do some research, plan accordingly and get ready to explore, you will enjoy this island.

 

Carnival and NCL have been going there for many years. Bahamas Paradise Cruise Lines operates 2 night cruises to Freeport from Palm Beach and recently added a second ship to the route. I also read that Carnival has plans to develop a “private island” experience on another part of Grand Bahama. It’s great news to read that Grand Bahama Island is poised to make a comeback fueled by Royal’s announcement ! 

Edited March 29, 2019 by Tapi

[John&LaLa]

15 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Grand Bahama Island, where Freeport is located, is vastly larger and more sparsely populated than New Providence where Nassau is. Yes, the ship docks in an industrial area, and the infrastructure isn’t as developed, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a dump. Grand Bahama has great choices for nature lovers and for people who like venturing off the beaten path.  It has several breathtaking beaches, and best of all, secluded. 

 

If you're someone who doesn’t like to venture too far from port, then Freeport will be a disappointment for the reasons mentioned in previous posts. But if you do some research, plan accordingly and get ready to explore, you will enjoy this island.

 

Carnival and NCL have been going there for many years. Bahamas Paradise Cruise Lines operates 2 night cruises to Freeport from Palm Beach and recently added a second ship to the route. I also read that Carnival has plans to develop a “private island” experience on another part of Grand Bahama. It’s great news to read that Grand Bahama Island is poised to make a comeback fueled by Royal’s announcement ! 

 

MSC sails there as well. Really nice ships. 😇

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by John&LaLa

[poncho1973]

12 hours ago, Biker19 said:

What's an invalid one?

 

If you resurrected this post to talk about tipping?  Or shorts in the MDR?

[vickiw0318]

On 1/26/2014 at 8:53 PM, bilyclub said:

On the Indy in December of 2012 Nassau overbooked ships and we diverted to Grand Bahama. Everybody was kind of happy to be heading to a different port until we arrived. A sea day probably would have been better. The only upside was the view of the ships being worked on in the dry docks.

I was on this cruise.  ('twas back in the days of Diamonds in December.)  It was the Indy's first time to the port and my first time to experience the a welcome with the fireboats and the wonderful water spraying display.  The people working in the port area were on top of the seawall dancing us into port.  It was quite a joyous occasion.   With very little time to book activities, there weren't a lot of choices, so I just walked the port area.  As has been said, this was pretty lackluster.

 

Anyway, all that to say that I am happy to hear that there is going to be a development that will bring more opportunities for those that welcomed us so warmly.

[Erwin Family @ Sea]

Royal Caribbean has signed a Letter of Intent with the Government of the Bahamas to purchase the Grand Lucayan Resort on Grand Bahama, according to The Bahamas Weekly. The government purchased the property about a year ago for $65 million and is selling it at that same price.

The purchase will see Royal Caribbean and partner ITM, who have successfully collaborated on projects in the past, invest in upgrades both to the property as well as the surrounding areas. A large part of that investment will go towards revitalizing Freeport Harbor. The eventual goal is to turn the harbor into a choice port of call for cruise ships.

Minister of State for Grand Bahama Senator Kwasi Thompson said, “The $195 million investment earmarked for the first phase of the project over a twenty-four month period will include the purchase price of $65 million and the creation of approximately 2,000 jobs.” This will come as a huge boon for the local economy and will open other opportunities for locals as the destination continues to grow over the coming years.

According to Thompson, in addition to the redevelopment of Freeport Harbor as a cruise port of choice, the venture will also transform the Grand Lucayan resort into a theme park. The park is set to feature water-based recreation activities as well as dining, gaming and five-start hotel accommodations.

[KmomChicago]

This is very interesting - Carnival has also announced plans for a big development in the same area.

 

With the popularity of the Atlantis resort over in Nassau, this seems like an obvious attraction for RC's customers.  Since both of these companies also control multiple cruise brands across a broad range of demographics, a large proportion of the cruising public will have access to these areas.  Will we see a big decline in the use of Nassau? I would think so.  It's closer to Miami and Ft. Lauderdale so there would be potential fuel and time savings, especially for short cruises.

 

I have to wonder whether RC will renew its agreement in Labadee when it expires in 2050.  Seems a long way off of course, but it must be something they consider in their long term strategic plans.

 

Also I wonder what this will do to Bahamas Paradise Cruise Lines.

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by KmomChicago

[KmomChicago]

Interesting and seems long overdue.  Fort Lauderdale is only what, 60 miles or so from Freeport?  Potential efficiency in travelling a short distance, especially for 3 and 4 night cruises. 

[Clarea]

On 3/29/2019 at 7:15 AM, vickiw0318 said:

I was on this cruise.  ('twas back in the days of Diamonds in December.)  It was the Indy's first time to the port and my first time to experience the a welcome with the fireboats and the wonderful water spraying display.  ...

 

We were on that cruise too.  I remember because Enchantment was in dry dock in Freeport.  They were also adding satellite antennas to Indy on boarding day.

[nelblu]

Wonder what cross benefits we as C&A members will accrue.