Miami-based luxury cruise company plans COVID-19 comeback in the Bahamas in July
Crystal Cruises will restart operations in the Bahamas in July.
The Miami-based luxury cruise company will offer seven-night all-Bahamas cruises departing from Nassau on Saturdays and Bimini on Sundays starting on July 3. The cruises will be the company’s first since it shut down operations last March.
“The Bahamas is ready and delighted to welcome cruise visitors back to the islands and to partner with Crystal Cruises in the effort to restore and help reactivate our tourism industry and protect jobs and businesses,” said Bahamas Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar in a statement.
The cruises on the company’s Crystal Serenity ship will visit Harbor Island, Great Exuma and less populated islands of Long Island and San Salvador. The ship will reduce capacity from 980 to 900, the company said.
Cruise passengers will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and test negative for the virus before boarding.
The Bahamas has recorded 8,658 COVID-19 infections and 185 deaths. It is reporting an average of 12 new infections a day. On Wednesday, it received its first batch of vaccines, 20,000 donated AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses from India. An additional 33,600 doses of AstraZeneca are expected to arrive through the United Nation’s-backed COVAX Facility before the end of the month.
The last attempt at cruising in the Caribbean — last fall — didn’t last. Seven passengers and two crew members tested positive for COVID-19 aboard the SeaDream 1 in November, the region’s first cruise since March, with just 53 passengers on board. The sick were evacuated to hospitals in Barbados, and SeaDream canceled all remaining cruises for 2020.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 3:59 PM.
