A Royal Caribbean Hotel Resort in Freeport, Bahamas???

[alfaeric]

A more fun topic while we are not sailing...

 

Chris Wong posted this video today, pulling info he found 

 

 

So if this is true, it's quite interesting.  Especially if they want to keep cruising out of the Bahamas.  

The description is pretty much any one of the larger ships, except for direct contact with land (and excursions).  We are not resort kind of people, but it's a place I would be interested in trying once- especially if it's run like a cruise- not having to pay for everything, perhaps a premium on some stuff.

The other interesting rumor attached to that is RCI is refurbishing the port at Freeport.  We've never been there, and I know the people who have were less than impressed with it.  But it was hit really hard a couple of years ago with a hurricane, so I'm sure this investment is welcome to the area.

 

Edit- I know Chris has a shared VLOG thread- but this topic seemed to need it's own thread.

Edited April 25, 2021 by alfaeric

[not-enough-cruising]

RCG purchased that property a couple years ago with the intent of refurbishment and creating a new resort. Things have been pretty quiet about it recently, I assume due to a dire financial situation.  

[Jimbo]

Probably similiar to what Disney used to do , 3 or 4 day land vacation, either before or after a 3 or 4 day cruise.

 

Not really an earth shaking idea. Disney has already been done it.

 

Edited April 25, 2021 by Jimbo

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, alfaeric said:

A more fun topic while we are not sailing...

 

Chris Wong posted this video today, pulling info he found 

 

 

So if this is true, it's quite interesting.  Especially if they want to keep cruising out of the Bahamas.  

The description is pretty much any one of the larger ships, except for direct contact with land (and excursions).  We are not resort kind of people, but it's a place I would be interested in trying once- especially if it's run like a cruise- not having to pay for everything, perhaps a premium on some stuff.

The other interesting rumor attached to that is RCI is refurbishing the port at Freeport.  We've never been there, and I know the people who have were less than impressed with it.  But it was hit really hard a couple of years ago with a hurricane, so I'm sure this investment is welcome to the area.

 

Edit- I know Chris has a shared VLOG thread- but this topic seemed to need it's own thread.

 

Kinda old news from what I recall

Edited April 25, 2021 by John&LaLa

[Coralc]

Weren't they going to build one in Antigua too? 

[John&LaLa]

1 minute ago, Coralc said:

Weren't they going to build one in Antigua too? 

 

That might have been just a beach club location

[gatour]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Probably similiar to what Disney used to do , 3 or 4 day land vacation, either before or after a 3 or 4 day cruise.

 

Not really an earth shaking idea. Disney has already been done it.

Actually Carnival did it 20+ years ago.  They bailed out after a few years

 

[sandebeach]

We used to do Discovery Day cruises over to Freeport. We sailed out of Miami and also Ft. Lauderdale. You could pay to stay over at one of the hotels for one or two nights and then take the cruise ship back the following afternoon. 

[Blizzard54]

I believe sometime back I read that this project was on hold along with most capital expenditures.  There has also been some rumors about possibly building accommodations at CocoCay and having some sort of combination cruise/stay packages. 

[pcur]

3 hours ago, Coralc said:

Weren't they going to build one in Antigua too? 

Now, THAT I would be interested in!

[pcur]

54 minutes ago, Blizzard54 said:

I believe sometime back I read that this project was on hold along with most capital expenditures.  There has also been some rumors about possibly building accommodations at CocoCay and having some sort of combination cruise/stay packages. 

 

Cunard used to do this decades ago.  We took two of them:  sail out of Miami on a 7 night Caribbean cruise, get off the ship on Wednesday and transfer to the Paradise Beach Hotel in Barbados (now gone), and the following Wednesday get back on the ship for the last half of the cruise.  2 weeks total; wonderful vacations.  

 

Paradise Beach was a lovely property with an open air dining pavilion and bar on the beach.  We booked the MAP with breakfast and dinner included, and the food was excellent.  Good times.

Edited April 26, 2021 by pcur

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Kinda old news from what I recall

Correct:

 

RCI to $300 Million Cruise Facility in Freeport!! - Royal Caribbean International - Cruise Critic Community

 

 

[alfaeric]

Sorry I'm late to the party.  First time I heard about the resort- I had heard about Freeport, but putting the two together was an interesting combination.

 

Oh, well.  

 

Seems like a nice topic instead of arguing about masks, vaccines, cancelation, isolation, etc.  Guess not.

[livingonthebeach]

Freeport got hit pretty bad by Hurricane Dorian.  The hurricane stalled over the island for about a day with 185mph winds -- lots of deaths and missing people.  It was a Cat 5 storm so the worst one to ever hit the Grand Bahama Island.  That was August of 2019 -- then came Covid and another year of suffering.  

 

I really hope the Royal Caribbean project goes ahead and that some sort of normalcy is reinstated on this poor island -- they could use it.  Don't know if all the casinos have reopened but if you're into gambling and water sports and activities, it's a nice place to visit.  

 

[cruise wizard]

11 hours ago, Blizzard54 said:

I believe sometime back I read that this project was on hold along with most capital expenditures.  There has also been some rumors about possibly building accommodations at CocoCay and having some sort of combination cruise/stay packages. 

 

At what they charge for the daily use of a Villa on Coco Cay..............nope it will cost more than a cruise!!!!!!

[cruise wizard]

1 hour ago, livingonthebeach said:

Freeport got hit pretty bad by Hurricane Dorian.  The hurricane stalled over the island for about a day with 185mph winds -- lots of deaths and missing people.  It was a Cat 5 storm so the worst one to ever hit the Grand Bahama Island.  That was August of 2019 -- then came Covid and another year of suffering.  

 

I really hope the Royal Caribbean project goes ahead and that some sort of normalcy is reinstated on this poor island -- they could use it.  Don't know if all the casinos have reopened but if you're into gambling and water sports and activities, it's a nice place to visit.  

 

 

Last time we were in Freeport was in 1996 on the Nordic Empress and docked next to The Big Red Boat. This was the first time that I was informed about the terms "ship" and a "boat". We were on an outer deck looking down at the BRB and an officer told us "Empress is a SHIP" and the much smaller BRB was a "BOAT".

 

If I remember correctly - not much there at the time and the port was more "industrial". We do have a couple of cruises on Serenade in December of 2022 that will be stopping at Freeport and Bimini (first time for us). Looking forward to a re-visit.

[livingonthebeach]

1 minute ago, cruise wizard said:

Last time we were in Freeport was in 1996 on the Nordic Empress and docked next to The Big Red Boat. This was the first time that I was informed about the terms "ship" and a "boat". We were on an outer deck looking down at the BRB and an officer told us "Empress is a SHIP" and the much smaller BRB was a "BOAT".

 

If I remember correctly - not much there at the time and the port was more "industrial". We do have a couple of cruises on Serenade in December of 2022 that will be stopping at Freeport and Bimini (first time for us). Looking forward to a re-visit.

 

You're right -- there isn't much there to visit.  If you're not into casinos and water sports, there is not much to do.  Good luck with your Serenade cruise.  BTW, I think I met you on one of my transatlantic cruises -- you were the "trash" card game king!

[cruise wizard]

1 minute ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

You're right -- there isn't much there to visit.  If you're not into casinos and water sports, there is not much to do.  Good luck with your Serenade cruise.  BTW, I think I met you on one of my transatlantic cruises -- you were the "trash" card game king!

 

That's me....................good memory!!!! Have you played TRASH since???

 

Come on along on the Serenade from Tampa and join us. Prices were good and some nice B2B's with different ports on each.

[livingonthebeach]

1 minute ago, cruise wizard said:

 

That's me....................good memory!!!! Have you played TRASH since???

 

Come on along on the Serenade from Tampa and join us. Prices were good and some nice B2B's with different ports on each.

 

Good to know -- sounds like a good cruise -- might take you up on it. 

[cruise wizard]

11 hours ago, pcur said:

 

Cunard used to do this decades ago.  We took two of them:  sail out of Miami on a 7 night Caribbean cruise, get off the ship on Wednesday and transfer to the Paradise Beach Hotel in Barbados (now gone), and the following Wednesday get back on the ship for the last half of the cruise.  2 weeks total; wonderful vacations.  

 

Paradise Beach was a lovely property with an open air dining pavilion and bar on the beach.  We booked the MAP with breakfast and dinner included, and the food was excellent.  Good times.

 

Maybe RCCL will buy or have an arrangement with Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line (out of West Palm Beach)..............might make sense - another outlet for older RCCL and Celebrity ships (get rid of the old Costa one).

 

https://www.bahamasparadisecruise.com/cruise-and-stay.php

Edited April 26, 2021 by cruise wizard

[cruise wizard]

12 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Good to know -- sounds like a good cruise -- might take you up on it. 

 

We board on 11/26 and stay on until 12/31.................our Christmas present to each other.

[kwokpot]

Carnival did this YEARS ago, and look what happened:

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1992-01-23-9201040643-story.html

[sandebeach]

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Carnival did this YEARS ago, and look what happened:

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1992-01-23-9201040643-story.html

We went over to Crystal Palace to gamble back in 1992, we were  cruising on Empress and had a Port Day in Nassau. 

[Blizzard54]

4 hours ago, cruise wizard said:

 

At what they charge for the daily use of a Villa on Coco Cay..............nope it will cost more than a cruise!!!!!!

I agree that it would most likely not be something that they would probably price out of the range of something  we would do.