The Tribune

By Earyel Bowleg

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE a cruise line removing Bimini from some of its scheduled visits, residents are not expressing great concern at the move.

The Carnival Spirit will no longer visit as part of its eight-night itinerary, according to Cruise Industry News, although it will still be a part of the ship’s six-night cruises.

West Grand Bahama and Bimini MP Kingsley Smith said officials are still awaiting a reason for the move but said that Bimini’s economy is “robust”.

He said: “They have more than one cruise line coming to Bimini – Virgin, Celebrity X, Carnival, different ships, etc. So in the immediate, presently, we don’t see anything that would affect Bimini’s economy in the immediate future, but long term we still waiting on response from them as to why.”

According to the Cruise Industry News report, ten sailings removed the Bimini visit next year, including those set to depart on November 8 and 22, December 6, 20 and 28, and sailings in 2026 on January 31, February 14 and 28, and March 14 and 28. The eight-night sailings would include stops in Nassau, Celebration Key and Half Moon Cay or Princess Cays, setting sail from Mobile, Alabama.

Valon Rahming is president of Bimini Vista, the only Bahamian, owned and operated air tram tours that brings tourists in the community.

She said the move has not affected the business at all.

She said: “They’ve put on another vessel that’ll pick up the slack. So the same thing with Virgin. Virgin had one. They now have two. They stopped one again, and the other one just picked up the slack.”

She said that people were not panicking about it “not if they get not if they understand what’s going on”.

Glenrick Rolle, of Bimini Blue Water Taxi, a ferry service between north and south Bimini, said while the removal might affect the island, Bimini people are resilient and this is nothing new to them.

He said: “Bimini survived before the cruise ships and Bimini will survive after the cruise ships. So this is a blessed island, so we’re the closest Island to the United States. A gentleman can wake up in the morning and say, ‘Honey, let’s go to Bimini for breakfast’.

“So I’m not worried about Carnival. If Carnival wants to pull out, that’s Carnival. But I’m saying Bimini is a destination that people come from all over the world. I mean, we survived before them, and we’ll survive after them.”

Another business owner who sells items such as bags, bracelets, and T-shirts said she does not think it is a big deal at all. “Before that was coming to Bimini, it never affected us,” she said.

The cruise company will automatically refund the shore excursions for the cancelled ports of call to the original form of payment.

Attempts to contact Carnival Cruise Line for comment were unsuccessful by the time of going to press.