By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor

Grand Bahama’s biggest resort is being sold — to a unexpected buyer.

Cruise giant Royal Caribbean International, in a joint venture with Mexico’s ITM, has signed a letter of intent to purchase the Grand Lucayan Resort.

The deal is expected to transform the resort and develop the harbor in Freeport into a destination product centered around water-based adventure theme parks, according to the government of The Bahamas.

The move comes less than a year after the Bahamas’ government purchased the Grand Lucayan from former owner Hutcinson Whampoa, pledging to save the jobs of the nearly 400 Bahamians who worked at the property “until it was ready to be sold again.”

And that’s precisely what the government did.

“We have done what we said we would do – in the face of much criticism the Government of The Bahamas purchased the Grand Lucayan Resort for $65 million dollars and we said that we would hold it for the shortest period of time and sell it for $65 million dollars – and we have done exactly that,” said Bahamas Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar.

“I am pleased to announce to the people of Grand Bahama and to the entire Bahamas that the much-anticipated sale of the 217-acre Grand Lucayan resort has finally been agreed upon,” added D’Aguilar. “The development that will roll out in Grand Bahama over the next 24-36 months will go far in restoring the island’s economy to its former glory days.”

The Grand Lucayan.

Bahamas Minister of State for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson said the first phase of the new project would entail a $195 million investment, including the $65 million purchase price.

The plan is to both redevelop Freeport Harbor and transform the Grand Lucayan into a theme park that includes a five-star hotel, along with dining, gaming and entertainment options.

“The redevelopment of Freeport Harbor is anticipated to include significant increase in cruise ship arrivals, bringing an additional approximately two million passengers annually, with the addition of multiple cruise lines calling on Grand Bahama,” Thompson said.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean said the decision like a “perfect fit.”

“This is an incredible project and I want to thank the Bahamian Government for giving us this opportunity in Grand Bahama,” said Russell Benford, vice president of government relations for the Americas at Royal Caribbean. “We are honored to have been chosen from some really great people and companies around the world for this project.”

“We understand what Grand Lucayan means to the Government of The Bahamas and to the people of Grand Bahama and so you have our commitment that we will do this project right and we will do right by the government and the people of The Bahamas,” he said. “We build spectacular world class products and we will bring that same excellence and dedication here to this project in Grand Bahama.”

The move is being undertaken in a venture with ITM, a Mexican travel giant behind several major cruise ports in the region, including Costa Maya and the Port of Roatan in Honduras, among others.

The move also reinforces the Bahamas’ push to solidify its position as a global leader in the cruise industry, coming a month after the announcement of a high-profile plan to transform the Port of Nassau.

The post Royal Caribbean Is Buying the Bahamas’ Grand Lucayan Resort appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

By the Caribbean Journal staff

True to the history of the Virgin brand, Sir Richard Branson’s new Virgin Voyages adults-only cruise line is planning a major focus on music.

That will include a full-fledged record shop aboard its Scarlet Lady cruise ship, featuring personal listening stations, limited-edition vinyl collections and a performance spot for live DJ sets.

The ship will have its own karaoke lounge called The Groupie.

The ships will also include a karaoke, gaming and movie lounge called “The Groupie”; a series of high-profile DJ “residencies,” from Mark Ronson to Marc Kitchen to Sofi Tukker.

Virgin also said it was developing a “Creative Collective” responsible for developing the background music across the ship and for securing DJs for the brand’s planned beach club in Bimini.

Virgin Voyages will kick off its first-ever Caribbean cruises in April 2020.

— CJ

The post Virgin Voyages Plans Big Focus on Music appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

… Puerto Rico,” said Cruz. As of Wednesday, 1.3 million Puerto Ricans … were enrolled in the NAP program, an official from Puerto Rico … of Puerto Rico. NAP is the Puerto Rican equivalent … additional funding for Puerto Rico, including infrastructure …

Powered by WPeMatico

By Alexander Britell and Guy Britton

They came here for the water, for the fresh pond surrounded by maritime birds and and waving reeds.

The early settlers eventually built Mission House, a two-story wooden home, a place that became a haven for Presbyterian missionaries.

Today, the beautifully preserved home is a draw in Bodden Town, the first settlement in the Cayman Islands and its original capital.

They came here centuries ago, but the view is just as serene.

Bodden Town, on the southern coast of Grand Cayman, is a slice of the Old Cayman, a gentle, breezy village where history is served up with a side of sand.

Step across Bodden Town road from the wetlands and you’ll find a very pretty, very long, uncrowded stretch of beach that is a throwback to a different time in the Caribbean.

Mission House.

It is a place where you can discover another personality of Grand Cayman, where you can come for the day or for a week and experience a vastly different environment than the deservedly popular Seven Mile Beach corridor, and a place where, if you squint, you can see the early stages of a renaissance.

It’s where you’ll see the Turtle Nest Inn, Bodden Town’s charming little boutique hotel, a closely-guarded secret with a lovely sliver of beach and refreshingly warm, family-run service, equal parts English bed and breakfast and Caribbean beach retreat.

Travelers flock here for the soaps, made using local ingredients.

Look across the road and you’ll discover Beach Bubbles, a colorful shop run by Nina Squires that has people journeying from across the island to get their hands on her locally-made soaps.

Next door, there’s the new Cayman Cigar Company, a full-fledged cigar factory producing locally-rolled puros and soon, they say, cigars made from tobacco grown right here in the Cayman Islands.

That’s adjacent to new art gallery showcasing the best of Caymanian art, including works by celebrated local painter John Clark.

The plan is to turn this little mall into an artisan plaza, Squires says, and to help to transform Bodden Town as a tourist destination.

A torcedor rolls cigars at the Cayman Cigar Company.

“By next season, this place should be jamming,” she says, admiring a new sea turtle mural by local artist Carlos Garcia.

As one travels down Bodden Town road, the component parts of a vibrant beach town emerge: the weekly Grape Tree Fish Fry; the cheekily named Bodden Town Truck Stop and the fresh jerk at the Pirates Eatery.

There are no crowds here, just the kind of Caribbean beach village that’s rather hard to find these days.

You get your own beach at the Turtle Nest Inn.

Further up the road, Roxanne is serving up cold Caybrew and locally-made Governours Reserve rum at the White House, a new beach club, where the cruise visitors come several mornings each week.

In the late afternoon, it’s hard to beat the White House.

On the other days, though, or in the late afternoon, this place becomes your own private beach club, with an overwater bar and a restaurant and a pool, and some of the most sparkling turquoise shoreline you’ll ever see.

Because you still come to Bodden Town for the water.

– CJ

The post In Cayman’s Bodden Town, a Classic Caribbean Beach Village appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

By Alexander Britell

As you drive along the central highway toward the southern coast of Martinique, there are few notable views — save one.

There’s a stunning old stone windmill flanked by a few wooden buildings.

But this is not mere scenery.

It’s one of the oldest rum plantations in Martinique, the venerable Trois Rivieres, a rummaking operation that spans more than three centuries.

This windmill has become the signature symbol of this rum, of the terroir, of the history of the distillery.

And the company’s latest expression is a celebration of it.

It’s called Trois Rivieres Cuvee du olin, or the “Windmill Blend.”

It’s a blend of rhums agricoles that have been aged in both former bourbon and former cognac casks.

So what’s it like?

It’s got a robust aroma with notes of dried apricot, orange zest, dark chocolate and a hint of black pepper.

The flavor profile is marked by, pepper, nougat, orange peel, cacao and charred cane stalk.

The last is no surprise, given that this is a young expression by the standards of rhum agricole, but it also adds a kind of freshness to the taste.

But there’s also an elegance about this rum, one that makes it eminently drinkable and marvelously well rounded.

It’s smooth, it’s refined and it’s quintessentially Martinique. And the perfect rum to honor that wonderful old windmill.

Trois Rivieres Cuvee du Moulin

Rum Journal Review: 90 Points

The post Rum Journal: Martinique’s Trois Rivieres Cuvee du Moulin appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico