By Alexander Britell and Dana Niland

Saint Lucia has officially broken ground on one of the most highly anticipated airport redesigns in the region in recent memory.

The redevelopment of Saint Lucia’s Hewanorra International Airport kicked off this weekend, part of an estimated $175 million project.

The centerpiece of the project will be a brand-new, 337,000-square-foot terminal building – but it will be a wide-ranging process that will add everything from a new air traffic control tower to new road infrastructure and new parking aprons.

“This is a welcome development and great news for the island’s tourism industry,” said Saint Lucia Prime Minister Allen Chastanet. “The redevelopment project seeks to provide a state of the art airport facility, which will become the standard of the region.”

The destination has also released the first renderings of the new project, marked by a sweeping arrivals area, a striking glass terminal and, well, a lot more space.

Chastanet said the hope was that the new terminal would help spur the development at least 1,000 new hotel rooms on the island.

That would be a significant increase to a room stock that stands at about 5,000 in Saint Lucia right now, spread across a mix of large and small hotels, villas, apartments and guest houses.

In a statement, the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority said it was “ecstatic” about the project.

“We have outgrown the capacity at the current facility,” the tourism authority said in a statement. “This upgrade will significantly contribute to stayover arrivals. In an effort to secure commitments for increased international flights to the destination, the SLTA will continue negotiations with international agencies.”

The project is being made possible through the financial assistance of the government of Taiwan.

The redevelopment is slated for completion within a 30-month timeframe, which would mean mid-2021, according to the Saint Lucia Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority.

— CJ

The post Saint Lucia Breaks Ground on $175M Airport Transformation appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas cruise ship has arrived in Miami fresh off a $115 million redesign.

The 3,386-passenger ship, which will be sailing five and nine-night Caribbean itineraries, has added a host of new amenities, from a new poolscape to an onboard blow-dry bar to what it calls the “longest aqua coaster at sea.”

Other additions include an Italian eatery by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver; a laser tag arena; a FlowRider; a Polynesian-style bar called The Bamboo Room and a New England-inspired seafood eatery called Hooked.

“We have really dialed up the adventure and Caribbean vibes in ways that will make Navigator of the Seas the ultimate getaway to take from Miami,” said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “Independence and Mariner of the Seas, the first two modernized ships in our Royal Amplified program, have quickly become standout hits, and Navigator builds on this momentum with a combination of new, exciting features and signature Royal Caribbean offerings that will surprise and delight guests cruising with us for the first time and those who have vacationed with us before.”  

Navigator is the latest beneficiary of the fleet modernization program, which will see a total investment of $1 billion, according to the company.

It will extend to 10 different ships over a four-year period.

Navigator will soon call on Royal’s new Perfect Day at CocoCay private destination beginning in May.

The post Royal Caribbean Ship Completes $115 Million Redesign appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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… with stateside residents.
Campaigning in Puerto Rico is fraught with unique political … two: Cruz has advocated for Puerto Rican sovereignty, Rosselló for statehood.
So … status he favors, Castro praised Puerto Ricans “self-determination” and …

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By Guy Britton

“Beware the Lusca,” he said.

“What’s that?” I said.

The dive instructor smiled and slipped under the surface of the deepest blue hole on Andros Island in The Bahamas, the kind of deep, dark place where these half-octopus, half-shark creatures are said to live.

Blue holes are sinkholes or underwater caves, typically circle-shaped, always with dramatically steep walls. And there are more blue holes on Andros than anywhere else on earth, with 175 of them inland and another 50 scattered around the shallow waters offshore.

The island even has its own Andros Blue Hole National Park, home to 40,000 acres and lots of deep, dark places.

It’s these kinds of unique blue holes and underwater caverns, streams and passageways that only add to the mystery of this island, a place filled with folklore and legend and, they, say, luscas.

Much of this place is unexplored — and it was this otherworldly allure that drew Jacques Cousteau to the park in 1971, when he released a dye in a blue hole located miles inland and later recorded the dye offshore in the tongue of the ocean.

The famed oceanographer’s experiment proved that the blue hole caverns and passageways are connected to the ocean. 

Cousteau’s Blue Hole.

Even today, the depth of Cousteau’s blue hole is unknown.

It’s a raw, natural and impossibly exotic landscape — but while Andros and its environment are at the edge of the frontier, they can be explored — and readily welcome the adventurous traveler.

For one, Andros’ Small Hope Bay Lodge offers guided blue hole adventures for exploration above and below the surface, with several close to the lodge. 

The Rainbow Blue Hole.

Rainbow Blue Hole is the closest, accessible via a short hike though a well maintained nature trail.  Two of the blue holes in the park are equipped with a dock for access to water for those how feel the need for swimming — if you feel like exploring further.

Some people are drawn to swimming and diving in a blue hole; it makes others uneasy, overwhelmed by the mystery of them.

For those who are drawn to diving in these underwater cave entrances, Small Hope Bay has experienced dive guides and organized dive trips in the blue holes — but it’s not something one should do without a very experienced guide.

Because you never know what you may find inside a blue hole.

It could be a lusca.

See more in the latest CJ Video.

— CJ

The post This Island in The Bahamas Is the Blue Hole Capital of the World appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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