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Royal announces the Royal Beach Club Collection


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"The company said its first Royal Beach Club will launch in Antigua, along a half-mile of beachfront near Fort James. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Antigua and Barbuda for the project, which is scheduled to open in 2021."

 

https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/1417/royal-caribbeans-new-wave-the-royal-beach-club-collection/

Edited by OfTheSeasCruiser
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I have a feeling it will be like NCL's Harvest Caye, which they built as a partnership with Belize.  I'll bet this means no lunch unless you pay for it at a restaurant, among other extra charges for other stuff.  Really tired of the nickel and diming.  I don't want to traipse all the way back to the ship to get the stuff that is included on the ship, but costs $ at the "private" port.

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Good thing is Antigua has so many other beaches we all will have own choices. :)

IMHO out of so many islands Antigua is one of the last which needs this kind of development.

I would like to see it in St Kitts or Dominica where not many good beaches exist.

At least not close to the port.

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I think this will be great for solo travelers.  I won't get in a taxi by myself on the islands to go to a beach, and the tours through the ship, to beaches, are not always ideal times.  I'm guessing they will have shuttles running back and forth all day to their private beaches, making it much safer for us solos.

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On 10/31/2019 at 12:41 PM, wolfganghowell said:

I had a survey from Royal a few months ago about this concept.  They seemed more focused on Nassau as a location so that might be another location down the road.

 

I would welcome something else to do in Nassau. 

23 hours ago, Biker19 said:

They already have a plan in Freeport at the Lucayan resort there.

 

The beach there is very beautiful already. [or was before the hurricane]

Edited by DragonOfTheSeas
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  • 1 year later...
On 10/31/2019 at 1:49 AM, sandebeach said:

I hope this means that Royal will increase the availability of cruises to Antiqua especially on 7-day cruises. 

Well, the port can now accommodate O class ships, even if the beach club is not done:

 

With completion of the $30m Oasis-class berth at St. John's, Antigua Cruise Port reports bookings for the second half of 2021 and for 2022 are rising.

 

This includes interest from Royal Caribbean International, now that St. John's fifth berth can accommodate its massive vessels.

 

'Based on our current projections, we estimate that some 285,000 passengers could visit Antigua between October and December of 2021, depending on when cruising resumes,' said Dona Regis-Prosper, GM of Antigua Cruise Port.

 

With that in mind, Antigua Cruise Port is collaborating with the government to develop new health protocols to bolster measures that were implemented at the start of the pandemic. 'We want everyone to know that our port and our destination are safe to visit based on the highest global standards of cleanliness and COVID-19 precautions,' Regis-Prosper said.

Homeport ambition

She added discussions have also begun with cruise lines that haven't visited Antigua but are interested 'based on what we have created and on our plans for further redevelopment of the cruise complex. This new business will complement our plan to convert Antigua Cruise Port into a homeport by 2023, an idea which has piqued the interest of several major cruise lines.'

Next up: retail development

Antigua Cruise Port's next area of focus is the $2m upgrade of Heritage Quay Shopping Mall and the $25m commercial development at Pointe.

 

Plans include new retail and food and beverage facilities, plus an additional 50,000 square feet of commercial space to be leased to Antiguans and Barbudans.

'This expansion will create more opportunities for local entrepreneurs, which will, by extension, make a significant impact on the community,' Regis-Prosper said. 'The existing tenants of the shopping complex will, of course, be given priority.'

A triumph in the pandemic

The Oasis-class berth was finalized in November despite minimal interruption from the pandemic. The pier work was part of the $80m agreement signed in 2019 between Global Ports Holding and the government of Antigua and Barbuda to redevelop the cruise complex.

 

GPH has repaid $21m of debt on behalf of the government, which was tied to the construction of the Nevis Street Pier, Regis-Prosper said. 'We were especially thrilled to have maintained our construction timeline and finalized the pier project during the pandemic. Our construction team, port employees and other partners worked tirelessly to ensure that we remained on schedule and finished the job. We are very excited about the results.'

 

'Completing this pier was a huge priority for us,' GPH Chairman Mehmet Kutman added.

'As we expand our presence across the Caribbean, it is of the utmost importance that we follow through on our commitments to the destinations we serve. We believe in the Antigua tourism product and are pleased to have a very positive working relationship with the government, which has made this project much easier for us to complete.'

 

Kutman thanked Regis-Proper and the entire team at Antigua Cruise Port, Meridian Construction and all GPH port partners for making the successful pier completion.

Capacity for 1m cruise arrivals annually

Pre-pandemic, Antigua handled about 800,000 passengers annually. With the port's redevelopment under Antigua Cruise Port through a 30-year lease agreement between GPH and Antigua and Barbuda, the destination will be able serve as many as 1m cruise visitors a year.

 

Antigua's new $30 million Oasis-class cruise berth sparking interest (seatrade-cruise.com)

Edited by Biker19
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If won’t be a private, exclusive beach.  There is a law in Antigua that no beach is allowed to be private.  The Sandels resort there tried to get the beach in front of their resort made private and they couldn’t.  
 

I’ve done a land vacation in Antigua and I absolutely love it.  

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On 10/30/2019 at 5:30 PM, Tatka said:

Good thing is Antigua has so many other beaches we all will have own choices. 🙂

IMHO out of so many islands Antigua is one of the last which needs this kind of development.

I would like to see it in St Kitts or Dominica where not many good beaches exist.

At least not close to the port.


I kind of agree.  There are so many safe, gorgeous beaches on Antigua.  That said the beach they build this one won’t be private.  They will likely have a pool area etc that’s separate, but the actual beach anyone can go on.   

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  • 10 months later...
Royal Caribbean and ITM Group's plans to transform the Bahamas' Grand Lucayan Resort are off but they're said to still be pursuing cruise improvements at Freeport Harbour.

 

Their joint venture, Bahamas Port Investments (BPI), aspired to make the Grand Lucayan into a major destination with additional hotel and conference space, a water adventure theme park, retail and restaurants. It also would be a draw for cruise passengers arriving at nearby Freeport.

Meanwhile, at Freeport Harbour there would be expanded berthing for Oasis-class vessels and a multimodal hub for shore excursions and transport including water transfers to the Grand Lucayan.

 

New government reassesses

The new Bahamas government determined the former administration's Grand Lucayan deal was 'not in the best interests of the Bahamian people' and announced this week that the 2020 purchase agreement with BPI was canceled.

 

Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism Minister Chester Cooper said the government was 'not satisfied with what was proposed or that the project would be advanced in the short or medium term,' elaborating: 'We were not willing to continue on without clear timeline for completion and were of the view that many of the terms were not in the best interest of the Bahamian people. For example, the Minnis administration via Lucayan Renewal Holdings Limited (LRHL) had agreed to lend money to Bahamas Port Investments Limited to renovate and develop the property. In summary, the deal was not a win-win for the Bahamian people.'

 

With the sale agreement canceled, LRHL is now able to negotiate with other suitors. Cooper said 'there are several noteworthy entities that have a credible interest in the property' and talks with other potential investors will 'start shortly.'

Commitment to port upgrades

 

The minister added: 'BPI maintains an ongoing commitment to the development of a world-class port facility in Freeport,' and Royal Caribbean Group 'remains committed to the Grand Bahama Shipyard in which it holds a 40% interest.'

 

Royal Caribbean in a statement to Seatrade Cruise News said BPI’s contract to purchase the Grand Lucayan was terminated on mutual agreement 'after ITM Group made the decision not to proceed with the acquisition.' It added 'BPI will continue with its plans for a cruise port redevelopment project in Grand Bahama.'

 

Royal Caribbean said that following ITM’s withdrawal, it began searching for a new partner with experience as an established operator in the land-based hospitality industry, and it looks forward to participating in the new public bid process for the Grand Lucayan.

 

'The transformation of the Grand Lucayan into a premier entertainment resort will complement our plans for the development of a world-class cruise port facility in Freeport to re-establish Grand Bahama as one of the world’s most popular cruise destinations,' Royal Caribbean continued.

 

ITM Group had no additional comment.

 

Royal Caribbean/ITM out of Grand Lucayan, still talking Freeport (seatrade-cruise.com)

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On 10/30/2019 at 12:01 PM, Knighton said:

 Really tired of the nickel and diming.  I don't want to traipse all the way back to the ship to get the stuff that is included on the ship, but costs $ at the "private" port.

 

Give me a break! This is just complaining because that's all you know how to do.  Right now, if you get off at a port, anything you do costs extra.  But God forbid they create a destination you might choose to go to where the same thing happens.🙄

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On 10/31/2019 at 12:41 PM, wolfganghowell said:

I had a survey from Royal a few months ago about this concept.  They seemed more focused on Nassau as a location so that might be another location down the road.

I'm hoping that RCI will open the private Nassau beach in the near future.  It is right across the water from the cruise port and shuttles could easily be run all day.  The property extends to the lighthouse I think.  It would be easier to get there than going to the main part of Paradise Island.  We are in Nassau in 2023.  

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3 hours ago, SherriZ366 said:

I'm hoping that RCI will open the private Nassau beach in the near future.  It is right across the water from the cruise port and shuttles could easily be run all day.  The property extends to the lighthouse I think.  It would be easier to get there than going to the main part of Paradise Island.  We are in Nassau in 2023.  

The only problem with a private beach in Nassau is it gives RCI two locations relatively close to one another, but more directly, at a latitude too far north to be consistently warm year round.  Being almost due west from Miami, there are times during the winter where a beach day would still be really, really chilly.  This is where Antigua makes more sense. 

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15 hours ago, Sosai X said:

The only problem with a private beach in Nassau is it gives RCI two locations relatively close to one another, but more directly, at a latitude too far north to be consistently warm year round.  Being almost due west from Miami, there are times during the winter where a beach day would still be really, really chilly.  This is where Antigua makes more sense. 

It will give another location for the short 3-4 day cruises out of Pt Canaveral and S Fl. Would give a reason for many to leave the ship too

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