The Tribune

The Bahamian investors behind the Blackbeard’s Revenge attraction generated significant interest at the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association’s (FCCA) recent 26th annual conference.

Blackbeard’s Revenge, a ship that mirrors the design of pirate vessels from the 1700s, launched its day and evening tours of Nassau Harbour earlier this year complete with a cast of colourful pirates.

Its parent company, Pirate’s Revenge, is now aiming to secure its bounty from attending the FCCA conference through discussions with several cruise lines that have expressed interest in selling the tour to their customers.

Those cruise lines include Norwegian Cruise Lines, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Disney Cruise Lines and Carnival Cruise Lines.

Anthony Knowles, Pirate’s Revenge’s founder, who travelled with tourism officials to the FCCA conference said he feels business is about to significantly increase.

“It was a very successful trip and I am happy that we did it. I feel that the business is about to turn around in the right direction,” he said. “It was very encouraging, and the ships really warmed up to us. I think the trip was a defining point for the future of Blackbeard’s Revenge.”

Mr Knowles said he hopes his success will lead to a rebranding of pirate tours in Nassau.

“We are hoping to have a tour where visitors can follow the footsteps of where pirates walked. There really is growth in that area. We want to hire more people and build another boat to stage a war at sea,” he said. “We have to adapt to the demand that we are looking to come our way.”

The FCCA Conference is a four-day event designed to improve understanding of how the cruise industry works, and to help attendees improve the business they attract from the industry.