… IN THE UNITED STATES AND PUERTO RICAN ARTISTS LIKE BAD BUNNY … THE BEAT GO
Music in Puerto Rico: An Expression of Frustration … wake of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans have found new strength in … wake of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans have found new strength in …

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

What’s being billed as a “game-changing” project is coming to Nassau in The Bahamas.

Global Ports Holding, a leading global cruise port operator, has been selected as the winning bidder for a massive transformation of Nassau’s Prince George Wharf cruise port.

The $250 million Port Nassau project would dramatically redevelop a port that receives almost 4 million passengers every year.

“This project marks the beginning of a new Bahamian success story,” said Mehmet Kutman, Chairman of Global Ports Holding, which operates ports around the world handling 20,000 cruise passengers every day. “The Government of the Bahamas is opening doors to create the kinds of opportunities that will make life better for all Bahamians. As the successful bidder for the cruise port project, we are extremely pleased and honored to have been selected as the Government’s partners in this transformational process.”

The vision, Kutman said, is to turn the port and downtown Nassau “Nassau into a popular, world-class waterfront destination for visitors and Bahamians to enjoy.”

The project would include an amphitheater for events.

The $250 million proposal includes plans to transform the port into a “state of the art port and waterfront destination” managed by Nassau Cruise Port Ltd, a specialty purpose vehicle created for the project.

The proposal calls a completely transformed port and welcome center, additional “mega berths” to accommodate some of the world’s largest cruise ships, and a “state-of-the-art entertainment pavilion” for local and international acts and even a Bahamian Junkanoo Museum, among other amenities.

A “park” setting would be an integral part of the destination project.

It will also feature a centerpiece waterfront that would rival “any, anywhere,” the company said.

The plan is also for striking architectural features to turn the port in an “iconic” destination.

It will be the third major port for Global Ports Holding, which also operates ports in Havana, Cuba and in Antigua.

“We want to make Nassau a port where people really want to come to again,” said Colin Murphy, GPH Head of Business Development for the Americas.

That includes getting cruise lines to stay in port longer — and to draw ships on longer itineraries beyond traditional three and four-night cruises.

What it all means is a another major step for what has already been a renaissance in downtown Nassau, from the rebirth of the historic quarter, led by the Graycliff Heritage Village, to the new Pointe development, headlined by a Margaritaville Resort and the One Particular Harbour residential resort.

“This will let Nassau take its place on the map of the world’s major waterfront destinations,” GPH said.

— CJ

The post The Bahamas’ Biggest Cruise Port Is Being Transformed appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Panama-based Copa Airlines is launching its first-ever flights to Suriname, the carrier said this week.

The new roundtrip service, which will begin operating in July, will operate twice weekly between Panama City and Paramaribo.

Suriname will become the 81st city in Copa’s network.

We are confident that this new route will promote greater opportunities for commercial and tourist activity in this unique and attractive country,” said Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines.  

Paramaribo, Suriname’s capital, is set on the northern Atlantic coast of the country.

The new service will help boost Suriname’s ambitious long-term plan to attract 1 million passengers to its airport by 2033.

“We invite all the people from the Americas to visit our beautiful country with its untouched nature, where you can taste a great variation of cultures. We wish Copa Airlines many safe flights and hope to grow as partners,” said Vijay Chotkan, CEO of Airport Management, operator of the J. A. Pengel International Airport in Paramaribo.

The post Copa Adding First-Ever Flights to Suriname appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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… $74 billion Puerto Rican debt was approved under PROMESA (the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management … while the Puerto Rican economy was in shambles. When Puerto Rico finally defaulted … public university, the University of Puerto Rico (UPR).
Although PROMESA was …

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Since its debut in 2011, Dominica’s Secret Bay has been one of the Caribbean’s bucket-list hotels: a stunning, cliffside eco-luxe retreat comprised of jaw-dropping villas.

And now you can actually live there.

The boutique Secret Bay has embarked on a major expansion that will mean a new real estate component called the Residences at Secret Bay.

The portfolio will include 42 five-star villas set across 33 clifftop acres in the north of Dominica.

Several of the villas have already completed at Secret Bay, which made its triumphant return from Hurricane Maria in December.

Each villa, ranging from “Hillside Villas” to “Clifftop Villa Estates,” will be set within its own secluded enclave, featuring the dramatic designs that made Secret Bay famous.

And yes, that includes everything from indoor-outdoor designs, hammocks and daybeds, outdoor showers, gourmet chef’s kitchens and private plunge pools.

Layouts range from between 1,356 and 5,182 square feet of indoor and outdoor space to lots from 3,557 to 32,290 square feet.

“The Residences are ideal for couples, families and investors seeking a Caribbean coastal eco-retreat every season of the year,” developers said in a statement.

The property will also be part of Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment program, meaning purchasers who buy even fractional ownership shares will meet the minimum threshold for obtaining Dominican citizenship.

“We will see one of the best, if not the best, resort in the Western Hemisphere here in Dominica,” Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said following the agreement to include the project in the CBI Program.

The new development only adds to what it is a burgeoning luxury pipeline on the island, from the soon-to-debut Kempinski by Range Developments to the reborn Jungle Bay.

For more, visit The Residences.

— CJ

The post How to Live at One of the Caribbean’s Greatest Hotels appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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