The Cruise Junkie Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 https://cruiseradio.net/why-nassau-rejected-port-redevelopment-bid-from-cruise-lines/ gmanager 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Cliff notes: Other bidder provided a larger incentive that will be kicked back to the Bahamas government funded by port fees that cruisers will pay. The Cruise Junkie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Interesting....question is WHAT is it that they are going to do with the port? And I think there are some valid points made....cruiselines are investing way more in their own private islands and Nassau needs to update to keep up with what's out there. That being said, don't ships need to dock somewhere outside the US due to some legal BS so really...any 3 or 4 day cruise is going to end up at Nassau really. Or am I missing something here. The Cruise Junkie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 11 hours ago, monctonguy said: Interesting....question is WHAT is it that they are going to do with the port? And I think there are some valid points made....cruiselines are investing way more in their own private islands and Nassau needs to update to keep up with what's out there. That being said, don't ships need to dock somewhere outside the US due to some legal BS so really...any 3 or 4 day cruise is going to end up at Nassau really. Or am I missing something here. It all started when the Bahamas government stopped giving incentives (kickbacks) to cruise lines to visit Nassau. It could also be argued that they wouldn't need those kickbacks if Nassau was a desirable port of call. Instead of tackling the real issue, the Bahamas government decided it was easier to provide kickbacks to entice cruise lines to go there. What they didn't anticipate was people refusing to get off the ship in Nassau. With that occurring in increasing numbers the kickbacks didn't continue to make sense, so they announced they are stopping them. Now they are trying to go back to the original issue of making the port a desirable stop. They plan to overhaul and modernize the port area in the sense of having a large land area where cruisers can wander freely with a open air auditorium for concerts and such. In my mind I'm seeing a Falmouth type compound free of street vendors pushing their trinkets. The question is, will it create the same "stay in the compound" outcome that we see in Falmouth? Does it really tackle the issue of why Nassau is less desirable or simply push it further away from the cruise line visitor to the other side of a fence like it does in Falmouth? Maybe there will be no fence and it's just lipstick on a pig without once again tackling the real issue. Oh, and that BS law? Nassau isn't needed. NCL has cruises that only go to their Great Stirrup Cay (right beside CocoCay). When the ship visits CocoCay it is cleared and fees are paid to the Bahamas government for every passenger landed. CocoCay is not US soil. It's land leased from the Bahamas government and still counts as a stop in a foreign country. BTW - Canada has those 'BS' laws too, it just doesn't have a cruise industry to speak of so you don't see it in action. In fact Canada is trying to bolster their law aka Canada's Coasting Trade Act. The 'BS' US law created in 1886 was largely based on England's Passenger Vessel Act of 1803. It seems many countries that border the sea have some form of them. The issue of cabotage is also why airlines can't cross borders and transport guests within that country. American Airlines can't land in Toronto, pickup passengers and fly them to Halifax. They can only return to the US with them much like Westjet can't fly to Los Angles and pick up passengers destined for Denver. Virtually all nations have cabotage laws that prevent that from happening. Baked Alaska, The Cruise Junkie and monctonguy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Crush Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 1 hour ago, twangster said: They plan to overhaul and modernize the port area in the sense of having a large land area where cruisers can wander freely with a open air auditorium for concerts and such. In my mind I'm seeing a Falmouth type compound free of street vendors pushing their trinkets. The question is, will it create the same "stay in the compound" outcome that we see in Falmouth? Had a noon to midnight stop there in October, everything except the corporate bars (ex Senior Frogs) was closed and the metal doors were down on all the local-owned storefronts we saws when we tried to walk around at 8pm on a Saturday night. And Frogs was pretty dead. Just a few very drunk kids from one of the ships grinding on the dance floor. I'll give them my business, but they've gotta be open for business while we're there. The Cruise Junkie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobroo Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 3 hours ago, twangster said: It all started when the Bahamas government stopped giving incentives (kickbacks) to cruise lines to visit Nassau. It could also be argued that they wouldn't need those kickbacks if Nassau was a desirable port of call. Instead of tackling the real issue, the Bahamas government decide it was easier to provide kickbacks to entice cruise lines to go there. What they didn't anticipate was people refusing to get off the ship in Nassau. With that occurring in increasing numbers the kickbacks didn't continue to make sense, so they announced they are stopping them. Now they are trying to go back to the original issue of making the port a desirable stop. They plan to overhaul and modernize the port area in the sense of having a large land area where cruisers can wander freely with a open air auditorium for concerts and such. In my mind I'm seeing a Falmouth type compound free of street vendors pushing their trinkets. The question is, will it create the same "stay in the compound" outcome that we see in Falmouth? Does it really tackle the issue of why Nassau is less desirable or simply push it further away from the cruise line visitor to the other side of a fence like it does in Falmouth? Maybe there will be no fence and it's just lipstick on a pig without once again tackling the real issue. Oh, and that BS law? Nassau isn't needed. NCL has cruises that only go to their Great Stirrup Cay (right beside CocoCay). When the ship visits CocoCay it is cleared and fees are paid to the Bahamas government for every passenger landed. CocoCay is not US soil. It's land leased from the Bahamas government and still counts as a stop in a foreign country. BTW - Canada has those 'BS' laws too, it just doesn't have a cruise industry to speak of so you don't see it in action. In fact Canada is trying to bolster their law aka Canada's Coasting Trade Act. The 'BS' US law created in 1886 was largely based on England's Passenger Vessel Act of 1803. It seems most countries that border the sea have some form of them. The issue of cabotage is also why airlines can't cross borders and transport guests within that country. American Airlines can't land in Toronto, pickup passengers and fly them to Halifax. They can only return to the US with them much like Westjet can't fly to Los Angles and pick up passengers destined for Denver. Virtually all nations have cabotage laws that prevent that from happening. Some day I would love to belly up to a Champaign Bar and have you explain to me how Nassau, Bahamas continually manages to suck so bad because I. DO. NOT. UNDERSTAND. The King Louie XIII will be on me. The Cruise Junkie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhageerah Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 After all that is said, I can honestly say that the changes will be interesting to see over time! Been there quite a few times in the past few years and while we have had a nice time there, we would enjoy seeing something else besides Atlantis. Once they make more changes to the port I can say that we will start to venture more off of the ship to see the local culture. I firmly believe that a change should have been made a long time ago. It is way too congested in that gated area when you first get off of the ship! The Cruise Junkie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 35 minutes ago, bobroo said: Some day I would love to belly up to a Champaign Bar and have you explain to me how Nassau, Bahamas continually manages to suck so bad because I. DO. NOT. UNDERSTAND. The King Louie XIII will be on me. Simple. Many residents have a love/hate relationship with cruise line passengers. They love the impact to the local economy. Friends and relatives have tourism driven jobs, people spend money, Nassau businesses prosper. That being said they hate us. Many secretly and not so secretly loathe us, unless they own a business that prospers. The Bahamas is beautiful but you have to look past Nassau to find much of that beauty. SpeedNoodles, Fuzzywuzzy, The Cruise Junkie and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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