By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Nassau Cruise Port yesterday handled a “record-breaking” six cruise ships that brought some 10,000 passengers to downtown Nassau and other New Providence-based attractions.

Marques Williams, the port’s operations manager, said the facility’s ability to handle six ships that docked simultaneously showed it was “ready to receive the biggest and best cruise lines”.

Based on the more than 10,000 passengers on those combined ships, Mr Williams suggested that the Government had collected $180,000 in taxes alone. He added: “This means a lot for the Nassau Cruise Port. The Bahamas government has a head tax of about $18. That’s what the Government receives for every one of those passengers.”

A further 15,000 cruise passengers will be arriving next Wednesday, and Mr Williams said: “We have another couple of six-ship days coming for the month of March, so we should see this happening a couple of more times.”

As to Prince George Wharf’s ability to handle six cruise ships at a time, he added: “It all depends on the size of the vessels and the configuration. But we’re looking at six very large ships at one time. Bigger ships are coming on board, and we expect the largest ship in the world to be coming in a few days, the Wonder of the Seas.”

“The number of passengers just keeps growing and growing as we come out of this pandemic situation. We at Nassau Cruise Port want to be the catalyst for the growth and rebirth of downtown Nassau. So I think this is now sending a clear message to the homeowners and business owners of downtown that we are investing in this redevelopment, and we want to see Nassau grow again.”