NCL's Great Stirrup Cay - - Photo tour

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.

Photo tour of Royal Caribbean's Labadee

Happy New Year!

With all of the snow in North America and Europe, I thought I would begin the year by focusing on a destination with a much more pleasant climate, Royal Caribbean’s private resort Labadee.

While Labadee is in the northern hemisphere, it is in the Caribbean and thus the winter weather there is warm but not unpleasantly hot. Refreshing cool water laps against the protected beaches on the south side of the Labadee peninsula while one can watch impressive waves roll in from the white sand beach on the northern side.

There is considerable natural beauty at Labadee. Rolling hills covered in tropical vegetation overlook the peninsula and provide a nice back drop to the resort. There are also rock outcroppings on the peninsula that create a contrast to the vegetation and to the white sand. At the tip of the peninsula the coast is rocky and the waves coming in from the sea crash against the rocks in an awesome spectacle.

Labadee is a frequent port of call for Royal Caribbean ships doing Caribbean cruises. The ships arrive early in the day and leave as darkness starts to descend.

Royal Caribbean has done much to make Labadee into a tropical paradise for its guests. It has built dining and drinking facilities as well as populated the area with sun loungers, hammocks, wave runners, kayaks, and other watercraft. It has built attractions such as a 2,800 foot zip line, a roller coaster, an aqua park, and a kids park. There is also a luxury section for the guests staying in the suites on the ships.

Labadee is in Haiti and Royal Caribbean has done much to help that troubled country. In addition to employing local people and making a significant contribution to the local economy, its ships carried over a million dollars worth of relief supplies to Haiti after the recent earthquake. In addition, Royal highlights Haitian culture at the resort, offering a venue for local performers and a place for local artisans to sell their works.

Unlike most cruise line private destinations, guests do not have to tender in the ship’s boats to reach the resort. Rather, Royal Caribbean has constructed a pier at the resort so that guests can just walk ashore. This creates a unique situation whereby guests can easily go to and from the ship during the course of the day. As a result, a guest can go ashore for awhile, come back to the ship for an activity and then return to the resort.

My photo essay on Labadee appears at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-Labadee.html

Princess Cays

Last month, I visited Princess Cays during a cruise on QUEEN MARY 2. Princess Cays is a private resort in the Bahamas developed by Princess Cruises. Today, it is a stop on the itineraries of ships from Princess and other related companies such as Cunard.

A number of the cruise lines have developed their own private resorts. It is easy to see why. On a typical Caribbean cruise, most of the passengers exit the ship when it arrives in a port and head out to a beach or to a resort. By developing their own resorts, the cruise lines play to the demand for this type of vacation experience and obtain some of the revenue that would otherwise be spent at some place not affiliated with the line. In addition, it adds another port to the ships’ itineraries. Since many passengers, particularly first time cruisers, want as many ports as possible crammed into the cruise, it also helps to attract customers.

These private resorts have several pluses for the passengers. First, there is no concern about obtaining transportation to the beach or resort or of not being able to find transport in time to make it back to the ship before it sails. Second, the cruise line provides security for the area. Third, the passenger knows who he or she is dealing with and the cruise lines have an incentive to provide a good quality product. Since cruise passengers are frequently repeat customers, the line does not want to spoil its reputation and the chance that the passenger will book cruises in the future by having a sub-standard resort.

Eleuthera, the island where Princess Cays is located, is a long, thin island. Princess Cays is situated on the shore in a remote, undeveloped section. The beach area is surrounded by foliage and there are palm trees shading the resort itself. It has a nice sandy beach that is lapped by clear water. At either end of the beach area is a rocky shore and there are rocks protruding from the sand in various areas.

There is just about everything that one could want for a day by the beach. In addition to deck chairs, cabanas, and bungalows, there are basketball and volleyball courts and facilities for renting sailboats, scuba and snorkeling equipment, kayaks, paddle boats, aqua bikes, and floats. Several small shops sell island souvenirs.

For refreshment, there are also three bars with live music. Also, there are pavilions where the chefs from the ships prepare beach barbeque buffets.
My photos and commentary about Princess Cays are posted at: http://beyondships.com/Princess-PrincessCays.html