By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Harbour Island hoteliers yesterday said their cruise concerns were taken on board by a Cabinet minister who pledged to “find a path forward” acceptable to all sides.

Benjamin Simmons, proprietor of The Other Side and Ocean View properties, told Tribune Business that the island’s hotel, marina and vacation rental operators were able to explain their grievances and fears to Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, during a Zoom call with him earlier this week.

“We had a chat with Mr D’Aguilar,” he revealed. “He heard our concerns. We said everything that you reported on. He said he acknowledged them, and that he would go back to Crystal Cruises and find a path forward that works for all parties.

“All the hotel and marina operators said we didn’t feel it’s the right mix for Harbour Island. A few of the hotel operators have already had calls of concern. Everybody is concerned. We explained the issue about the dock, that the Fast Ferry and mail boats are moored there every day, and only one part of the dock is functional and it’s in disrepair.”

Mr Simmons said the lack of fit between Harbour Island and mass cruise tourism was exposed in 2017, when a vessel made a one-off stop. Pointing out that there were no public bathrooms, he added that many passengers who visited “meandered around the island feeling a bit lost”.

Mr D’Aguilar could not be reached for comment despite numerous attempts, but Mr Simmons said: “He heard our concerns and said he would do his best to respond to them and find a path forward.”

Tribune Business reported on Monday how Harbour Island resort operators yesterday warned the government it will hurt “the goose that laid the golden egg” if they try to make the island a cruise tourism destination.

Tom Sherman, owner and partner in the Coral Sands resort, said making Harbour Island a weekly port of call for Crystal Cruise on its 16 seven-night voyages between July and October threatened to undermine the very essence of the island’s tourism model.

Besides an infrastructure that was unable to cope with the up to 900 passengers aboard the Crystal Serenity, Mr Sherman said the absence of mass market cruise tourism was one of the very reasons that had enabled Harbour Island to build up its high-end client base of boating visitors, hotel guests vacation renters and property owners in the first place.

Warning that this was now being endangered, he told this newspaper: “There’s no infrastructure to support the amount of people coming ashore. There’s not even a dock that’s acceptable. There’s no public bathrooms. There’s multiple reasons it’s the wrong thing for the island.

“The island is an attraction because we’ve not had cruise ships. Somebody’s trying to change the landscape. It might be good for Nassau, but not for Harbour Island. I think it was a short-sighted decision whoever made it.

“You cannot make an Out Island a major island. You cannot make a little Out Island, what they call the jewel of The Bahamas, a cruise ship destination,” Mr Sherman continued. “I don’t understand what the minister of tourism [Dionisio D’Aguilar] and the Prime Minister are thinking.

“I understand there’s the economic needs of the country, but if they shoot the goose that laid the golden egg they’ll be hurting themselves..... It’s not particularly good news for us who have investments in Harbour Island, no.”

Mr D’Aguilar previously said he anticipated a minority might push back against the Crystal Cruises plan. He described the company’s plans as “a tipping point” for tourism and the wider economy as it will become the first cruise line to ever home port in The Bahamas through its multi-island schedule for summer 2021.

The upscale, luxury cruise line, which offers butler service for 30 percent of its passengers, will use Nassau and Bimini as home ports for week-long cruises set to begin on July 3. The Crystal Serenity will call on Harbour Island, Great Exuma, Long Island and San Salvador via an itinerary designed to boost to island economies, traditionally not on a cruise industry schedule, that are still reeling from COVID.

Jack Anderson, Crystal Cruises’ president and chief executive, said the Crystal Serenity will “offer a 100 percent Bahamian itinerary through to at least October” with the possibility that its exclusive stay in this nation could be extended further. “I think it’s very likely. No final decision has been made,” he added, when questioned by Tribune Business.

“We’re certain of one thing: These Bahamas cruises are going to sell out very quickly, and that will most likely encourage us to to extend.” Crystal Cruises is capping passenger numbers on the Serenity to 900 guests to ensure compliance with COVID-19 health and safety measures, especially social distancing.

Mr Anderson indicated that Crystal Cruises has selected The Bahamas for its sailing resumption because of the multiple destinations and island experiences it offers, together with the ease of complying with COVID-19 health protocols.