New Bahamas Cruise Line Cancels Inaugural Voyage

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, a new company offering two-night cruises to the Bahamas, cancelled its inaugural voyage from the Port of Palm Beach Feb. 1 after failing to get clearance from the U.S. Coast Guard.

There were two issues with the Grand Celebration cruise ship — the public-address system did not work properly and the crew required more firefighting training, Petty Officer Mark Barney, a public affairs specialist with the Coast Guard, told Travel Pulse.

“The PA system needs to be operable so they can properly instruct passengers in case of emergency,” Barney said. “Also, the crew aboard needed additional training for firefighting. We have to make sure they are up to par to adequately respond to a fire.”

He said Coast Guard inspectors were returning to the ship today to “make sure everything is resolved and buttoned up,” Barney said. “We’ll see if they fixed the discrepancies and make a decision from there.”

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line was formed in December to fill the gap left when the Bahamas Celebration, operated by Celebration Cruise Line, was damaged after striking an underwater object on Halloween. The new company is using the 1,800-passenger Grand Celebration, which was built in 1987 as Carnival Cruise Lines’ Celebration, formerly operated for Carnival Corp.’s now-closed Iberocruceros brand, and was briefly transferred to Costa Cruises in November.

Hundreds of travelers arrived at the cruise terminal and waited for hours before they learned the cruise would not depart, the Palm Beach Post reported. They were given the option to reschedule the cruise or get a full refund.

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line plans to operate two-night cruises departing West Palm Beach at 6 p.m. every other day, arriving in Grand Bahama at 8 a.m. the next morning. It will depart Grand Bahama at 6 p.m. (boarding begins at noon) and arrive back at West Palm Beach at 7 a.m. Resort packages are available at two resorts — Grand Lucayan and Memories — for four to eight nights. Pricing begins at $149 for an interior cabin for the two-night cruise, which also includes meals.

Source: Travel Pulse