That competition in the cruise industry is alive and well can be seen not only in the fact that the cruise companies are continuing to invest millions in new ships with new features but also in the fact that the lines are also investing millions in upgrading their private destinations. For example, Royal Caribbean has recently upgraded both its private island at Coco Cay in the Bahamas and its private resort peninsula at Labadee, Haiti. Not to be out done, NCL is in the process of a radical transformation of its private island Great Stirrup Cay or GSC as it is sometimes called. NCL was the first cruise line to create a private destination.
In 1977, it purchased GSC, a small uninhabited island in The Bahamas atoll, in order to be another port of call for its ships doing Bahamas and Caribbean cruises. The idea made a great deal of sense for several reasons. First, the prevailing wisdom in the cruise industry is that most people will choose the cruise with the most ports of call all else being equal. GSC would provide an additional port of call. Second, the cost of going to this port would be much less than going to a port where the ship would have to use pilots and pay to dock. Third, almost all of the money spent by the passengers at this destination would go to the cruise line.
At first, these private islands were little more than beaches that were accessed by the ship’s boats. However, over time, bars and dining facilities were constructed, sports facilities added and facilities for various types of shore excursions constructed. Now, the private destinations are essentially private resorts.
Last year, NCL began a $20 million dollar transformation of GSC. The first step was to build a marina where the tenders that bring the passengers to the shore could dock. Heretofore, passengers came ashore in landing craft, which lowered their ramps onto the beach itself. This was inconvenient for less fit passengers and it also meant that a large part of the beach could not be used for swimming or sunbathing.
Another part of the transformation is the new dining facilities. Gone are the old wooden structures and in their place are more substantial and more spacious places where the food is prepared and where it is consumed.
The sports facilities have also been expanded and NCL now offers jet ski and kayak tours of the area around the island. The transformation process is ongoing. Standing on the deck of a cruise ship anchored offshore one can see that other areas of the island are under construction. These will result in new beach areas and facilities such as a sting ray experience.
Beyondships’ updated and expanded photo tour of Great Stirrup Cay is at http://www.beyondships.com/NCL-GreatStirrupCay.html I have also included a page to show what the island looked like before the current transformation.
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