Carnival Cruise Line welcomed the first 5,000 guests to its $600m Celebration Key private port on Saturday with twice daily calls set to be made on the destination

The cruise line, in a statement, said it has employed 1,200 Bahamians including those who had left Grand Bahama to seek employment elsewhere in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. Dozens more Grand Bahamians are expected to benefit from entrepreneurial opportunities on-site and in the wider Grand Bahama community.

Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president, said Celebration Key’s development “has been an incredible journey”.

“Obviously we started working on this many years ago, and then when the pandemic happened everything stopped, and so the restart, coming back stronger, better than ever, and I think people really appreciate the value and fun you have on a cruise, and a Carnival cruise, to be able to bring people here,” she said.

“All of us at Carnival are very proud that we have hired more than 1,200 Bahamians to help build, and now operate, Celebration Key. And remember, many of these people are coming back home after Hurricane Dorian in 2019 that really ravaged this island.

“So the fact that they are able to come back home means so much to them, and to all of us, because supporting the local community, creating jobs, giving people opportunities to build their businesses here in Grand Bahama was an important objective to us in this development project,” Ms Duffy added.

“I have had the chance to meet many of them who have said this has given them the opportunity to come back home. We are very proud of that. We are very proud of the partnership and collaboration that we have had with the Government and the community, and this is only phase one, so this will continue to grow.”

The Carnival president said Saturday’s opening was “truly just the beginning”. Executives are estimating that Celebration Key will welcome “two million guests this year alone”. Almost 25 years in the making, the destination will be supported by access to a fleet of 20 Carnival ships from 10 different US home ports.

“We believe this is really a game changer for our brand,” Ms Duffy said. “The fact that we are able to bring 20 ships here from 10 different home ports will expose and provide the opportunity that we have already seen with the $600m investment in Grand Bahama. You can imagine the resources and support it took to bring this property to life.”

Ms Duffy said further investments in Celebration Key, along with additional upgrades at Half Moon Cay, will diversify the company’s Bahamian product even more.

“In phase one, we’ve got two berths that can accommodate our largest vessels today, and also the largest vessel we will have in the future, coming in 2029,” she added. “In phase two of this project we will add an additional two berths (June 2026) which are already under construction, and more things for our guests to enjoy.

“We are also investing in our island, Half Moon Cay, so I think that as I say game changer, an itinerary that enables us to have people call at Celebration Key as well as relax away at Half Moon, and remember because we are here at Grand Bahama island, guests also have the ability to leave here if they want to go do a shore excursion, or if they want to go rent a boat, or go shopping in Freeport. So it really opens up a lot of new opportunities for innovation and we think it is really a fantastic collaboration.”

Nuvolari Chotoosingh, the Ministry of Tourism’s general manager for Grand Bahama, described the opening of Celebration Key as a “huge opportunity for Grand Bahamians and Grand Bahamian entrepreneurs in general”. He applauded the Government for “doing all it could to ensure a smooth development of this project”.

“This is a fantastic product. I have walked around, I have seen the visitors enjoying themselves taking in the Bahamian product, but what I found most exciting was some of those visitors actually getting on the tour buses and going out to explore the rest of the island and what we have to offer in terms of our product,” Mr Chotoosingh said.

“We want them to engage with our local people and experience the Bahamian spirit, the Bahamian camaraderie and enjoy some of the other products that we have, and hopefully come back again and again either as cruise or hotel guests. That is something that is very important to us.

“That represents a huge economic impact, and because of what Carnival’s investment means to Grand Bahama it’s certainly going to have a major impact on the economy - not just for Grand Bahama, but the entire country, and so we look forward to continuing to work closely with Carnival. The Bahamas government has done all it can to ensure a smooth development of this project. Hats off to the government and hats off to Carnival.”