The cruise industry’s first full year of sailings since the pandemic is turning out to be highly successful for Nassau in the Bahamas. The port expects to reach a staggering 1,100 cruise ship visits this year.
It also comes as the port welcomed more than 20,000 cruise ship passengers in a single day for the first time since it reopened in 2021.
1,100 Cruise Ship Calls In 2022
Besides homeports such as Port Canaveral, Port Miami, and Port Everglades, not many ports can boast of having 1,100 cruise ships visit this year. The first full year of sailings since the restart of operations is proving very successful indeed for the Nassau Cruise Port.
At the same time, the port welcomed more than 20,000 cruise ship visitors on the same day, on the first anniversary of the return of cruising to the holiday destination. Six cruise ships visited Nassau on June 12, 2022โNorwegian Sky, Carnival Conquest, Carnival Magic, Carnival Freedom, Freedom of the Seas, and Independence of the Seas.
Mike Maura, the chief executive for the poor said: โWe 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. We have welcomed 553 calls so far this year, which is 145 calls more than we received from June to December 2021.”
โThis 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.โ
In 2019, Nassau Cruise Port welcomed 3.6 million cruise ship passengers, a record that the port intends to break. However, as ships are not sailing at absolute maximum capacity, this will not happen this year. By 2023, Maura aims to welcome 3.8 million cruise passengers to Nassau.
Nassau Cruise Port Continues Innovating
To ensure guests continue to be drawn to Nassau, the port committee and the local government are ensuring they keep innovating and creating a welcoming space for guests. That process started in 2019 and involved several steps to completely transform the area around the port.
Nassau Cruise Port is being made into one of the world’s great waterfronts through a $300 million redevelopment project. This includes the repair and expansion of Prince George Wharf and the addition of a sixth berth that gives the port the capacity to accommodate three Oasis-class cruise ships simultaneously.
There will also be a new arrivals terminal, a museum, and a Bahamian Market: โWe 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. As those who live and work in the area can see, we are making excellent progress on the construction with the Arrivals Terminal and Junkanoo Museum,” Maura continued.
By the end of the project, the Nassau Cruise Port hopes to be able to welcome a staggering 33,000 cruise ship passengers each day of the week. The total ship capacity will simultaneously increase to at least eight ships per day.