One of the Caribbean’s largest and busiest cruise ports came very close to being impacted by a fire that ravaged the local community late Thursday, May 1.
The blaze broke out in an abandoned building located off Bay Street in Nassau, Bahamas, just steps from the Nassau Cruise Port, and spread quickly to an adjacent apartment complex, destroying the homes of more than two dozen residents.
Related: Popular Caribbean port delivers major blow to cruise industry
Although firefighters were unable to stop the fire from displacing residents, they did get it under control before it reached the cruise port, where thousands of passengers were scheduled to arrive throughout the weekend on more than a dozen cruise ships.
Doug Parker shared more details on the Nassau fire and other cruise news, including Norwegian Cruise Line’s latest cruise ship revitalization projects, on the May 2nd edition of Cruise News Today.
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Major fire breaks out very close to Nassau cruise port
Transcript:
Cruise News Today with Doug Parker.
Good morning, here’s your cruise news for Friday, May 2nd. We’re following a story where an overnight fire has devastated part of East Bay Street in Nassau, Bahamas, just 900 feet from the city’s cruise port.
The blaze began shortly after 7 p.m. local time Thursday evening and quickly spread, engulfing multiple structures by midnight. As the fire spread, Nassau’s International Airport was shut down and used as a staging area for fire trucks. For reference, Bay Street is a main thoroughfare passengers walk to after exiting the cruise port.
A listener emailed our tip line describing several loud booms as the fire jumped from building to building, reportedly destroying more than a dozen homes. Today, more than 22,000 cruise passengers are expected to arrive in Nassau aboard Disney Dream, Carnival Freedom, Celebration, MSC Seascape, and Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady. At the time of broadcast, there is no official word on the cause of the fire or any injuries.
Related: How cruisers can stay safe in cruise ports with travel advisories
Norwegian Cruise Line updating two ships
And Norwegian Cruise Line is upgrading two of its ships ahead of its summer cruise season. Norwegian Epic will re-enter service in the Med on May 8th after a dry dock in Marseille, France, that has added new staterooms in a revamped adult and kids’ area, including a new Vibe Beach Club and updated Aqua Park.
Meanwhile, Pride of America enters dry dock tomorrow with upgrades including more cabins, a new Starbucks, a pickleball court, and a relocated youth club. She resumes Hawaii sailings on June 7th.
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And Port Canaveral is investing nearly $500 million into port upgrades as part of its “Port Canaveral Advantage” plan. Now, the country’s second busiest cruise port is expanding Cruise Terminal 5 and 6 to handle larger ships.
Terminal 10 will also see improvements. The port saw 7.6 million cruise passenger movements last year and expects 8.4 million in ’25. Sixteen ships will homeport there this year, including the Star of the Seas from Royal Caribbean.
Related: Popular US cruise port shares news passengers will love
And the photo of the week comes from Brady and Christine on the brand-new Norwegian Aqua off the coast of Great Stirrup here. Beautiful photo, beautiful day. You can send yours in: [email protected]. All photos are subject to broadcast.
And cruise stocks were mixed on Thursday. Carnival Corporation up 1.5 percent, 18.63. Royal Caribbean up 3 percent to 20.77. Norwegian up 1.5 percent, 16.26, and Viking down slightly, 40.93.
If you have a lead on a story, let us know. [email protected]. Have yourself a great weekend.
I’m Doug Parker with Cruise News Today.
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