After nine days at sea we were due today to arrive at Grand Bahama Island and the port of Freeport. On three previous cruises we were due to visit these islands but on every occasion we were thwarted by the weather so we were hoping today would not be the fourth.
Yesterday the captain announced another medical emergency on-board with a request for blood donors for a seriously ill man. As a result we were given priority to dock in Freeport and actually arrived at 1.00am this morning. With all the necessary checks being made we were able to leave the ship by 9.00am before any other cruise ships arrived.
The cruise port is quite an industrial area with a large container port opposite where we were berthed. A market place was just about coming to life as we left the ship but we decided to take a taxi ride to Lucaya Market and beach. This took around 20 minutes and we were given a quick background to the islands from the driver throughout the drive. He informed us that The Bahamas were made up of over 3,000 different islands of which Grand Bahama was the third largest.
The island was devastated by a hurricane four years ago and this followed by Covid meant it has had little time to recover. Many of the large hotels along the seafront are empty and some are in a very poor state of repair and others derelict.
The market place at Lucaya was a mixture of small stalls selling backpacks, tee-shirts and other souvenirs similar to the stalls by the ship. Just a short five minute walk away was the beach, a long stretch of shiny white sand with the blue sea lapping gently in. A perfect place to spend an hour or so, walking along…..
…or just sitting on the rocks.
Walking back to pick up the taxi we ventured into a tourist information office where this impressive costume was on display.
Apparently it is used for many of the festivals on the island especially the New Year celebrations.
On our return to the cruise port it had gotten a lot busier as our ship had been joined by Carnival Dream, the passengers of which tended to be younger and more lively than our ship.
Much of the noise came from Senor Frog’s bar where the music was turned up loud and a large conga line had formed. Encouraged by the DJ each person in line was treated to an alcoholic shot as they passed a barmaid standing on a table. Amazingly not a drop was spilled.
Naturally I kept a very close eye on this activity.
Tomorrow is another sea day before hitting Cozumel, Mexico on Thursday.