The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Princess Cruises will resume calls to its Eleuthera private island today, almost a week after a fire damaged several buildings at the property.

The cruise line, in a statement to Tribune Business, said: “Princess Cruises will resume calls to its private island, Princess Cays, in Eleuthera, Bahamas, with the first scheduled call by a Princess vessel on February 4. No Princess Cruises itineraries were impacted by this incident.”

The company added: “A fire on January 28 damaged several operations buildings on the south side of the island, but no guest-facing facilities were impacted except one of several available public restrooms.

“All guest facilities have been inspected, and reported safe and operational. In the staff-only operations areas, work is already underway to restore the affected buildings and equipment. There were no guests at Princess Cays at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Stephen “Hank” Johnson, the MP for central and south Eleuthera, had previously expressed serious concern that any prolonged shutdown of Princess Cay could adversely impact the South Eleuthera community and the 101 employees working at the private island.