Category Archives: Bahamas

NASSAU, BAHAMAS The short-term vacation rental market saw total room nights sold increase nearly 50 percent this past February compared to the same period in 2021.

According to the Central Bank, in its monthly economic and financial developments report, data provided by AirDNA for February revealed positive trends within the short term vacation rental market.

The report read: Total room nights sold increased to 98,389 compared to 50,906 in the comparative 2021 period. In particular, occupancy rates for both the entire place and hotel comparable listings rose to 55.2 percent and 50.7 percent, respectively, vis--vis 43.6 percent and 38.7 percent a year earlier. Price indicators strengthened year-over-year, as the average daily rate (ADR) for hotel comparable listings firmed by 15.1 percent to $181.36 and for entire place listings, by 8.3 percent to $486.90.

According to the regulator, monthly data suggested that tourism maintained its growth trajectory, although with continuing travel sector caution, amid lingering pandemic conditions.

Provisional data from the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) showed that total visitor arrivals by first port of entry advanced to 312,201 in January, from just 23,619 in the comparative 2021 period. Leading this development, air arrivals increased to 71,908 from 20,792 in the previous yearrestoring 55.4 percent of the passengers received in 2019, the report continued.

Sea traffic, also resumed at 240,293 vis--vis 2,827 visitors in the prior year.

According to the data, total arrivals to New Providence strengthened to 162,654 in January from 13,236 same period last year.

Underlying this outturn, the air and sea segments advanced to 53,629 and 109,025 passengers, respectively. Similarly, foreign arrivals to Grand Bahama rose to 9,768, from 1,052 a year earlier, with air and sea outcomes of 1,775 and 7,993, respectively. Likewise, traffic to the Family Islands recovered to 139,779 visitors, extending the volume of just 9,331 in the prior year, attributed to air and sea passenger intakes of 16,504 and 123,275, respectively.

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Vacation rentals segment sees nearly 50 percent room nights sold boost in February - EyeWitness News

NASSAU, BAHAMAS Tourism, Aviation and Investments Minister Chester Cooper said yesterday that the government plans to charge Value-Added Tax (VAT) on the entire cost of a vacation rental and is currently in the process of having all vacation rental properties in the country registered.

In an interview with Eyewitness News, Cooper said: Several months ago at the Exuma business Outlook I foreshadowed that the government would look to tax in a meaningful way vacation rentals. There is already an MOU with Airbnb and at the moment we are collecting VAT on the fee that a vacationer would pay. We are seeking to make an amendment so that the VAT applies to the entire amount of the vacation rental.

He added: We are also concerned about the breaking of the law by many persons who do vacation rentals particularly in some of the islands like Exuma, Abaco and elsewhere where they offer rental cars and boats without the relevant licenses. We are looking into that as well.

Cooper noted that similar to hotels, the government is looking to have all vacation rental properties registered.

That is a process currently being undertaken by the hotel licensing department under the oversight of parliamentary secretary John Pinder. This is something that has been months in the making and we are at a stage to hopefully be able to roll this out hopefully in time for the budget debate, said Cooper.

Recent data from the Central Bank revealed that the short-term vacation rental market saw total room nights sold increase nearly 50 percent this past February compared to the same period in 2021.

According to the Central Bank, in its monthly economic and financial developments report, data provided by AirDNA for February revealed positive trends within the short term vacation rental market.

The report read: Total room nights sold increased to 98,389 compared to 50,906 in the comparative 2021 period. In particular, occupancy rates for both the entire place and hotel comparable listings rose to 55.2 percent and 50.7 percent, respectively, vis--vis 43.6 percent and 38.7 percent a year earlier.

Price indicators strengthened year-over-year, as the average daily rate (ADR) for hotel comparable listings firmed by 15.1 percent to $181.36 and for entire place listings, by 8.3 percent to $486.90.

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DPM: Government to add VAT to vacation rental cost - EyeWitness News

By: Andrew Coakley

Bahamas Information Services

#TheBahamas, March 31, 2022 Grand Bahamian tourism economy got a huge booster shot of optimism and hope on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, when close to one thousand visitors from two major cruise ships visited the island, partaking in various tourism attractions.

Four cruise ships had docked in the Freeport Harbour Wednesday morning the Norwegian Sky, the Norwegian Pearl, the Grand Classica and Ocean Voyager and hundreds of passengers filed out of the belly of those mega vessels and filled a number of tour buses, headed for attractions in West End and in the Port Lucaya Marketplace.

This is a wonderful time for Grand Bahama, said Senator James Turner, who was on hand to welcome some of the visitors to the Port Lucaya Marketplace on Wednesday afternoon. This is the time that reminds us of what once was and what we have to reclaim.

Weve been saying for a long time in Grand Bahama that we all ought to participate in the prosperity of the islands of The Bahamas. Today is wonderful. Four cruise ships in the port, we see buses going back and forth, picking up and dropping off tourists, we see the vendors here in the marketplace negotiating, we see hundreds of visitors walking around and we see our tourism officials smiling.

Three hundred of the visitors were bused to Crystal Bay Beach, where they took part in the swim with the pigs experience. The attraction has been around since 2013 and has grown to become popular not only for cruise passengers, but also for those staying in Airbnb and even by local residents. The tourist site not only gives visitors an opportunity to swim with and feed trained pigs, but there are kayaks available, a restaurant that serves strictly Bahamian dishes and drinks, a gift shop and cabanas set up along the beach shore.

Steven Johnson, General Manager at Bahamas Ministry of Tourism in Grand Bahama could not hide his excitement as he pulled onto the Crystal Bay Beach to welcome the visitors to the tourist attraction. He noted that things are starting to happen for Grand Bahama in terms of its tourism economy and the four cruise ships in port on Wednesday was just the beginning.

Grand Bahama is primed for what is about to come, said Mr. Johnson. Were excited about today and about the future. We were in Colombia about two weeks ago and were looking at a program out of Colombia. Its not confirmed yet, but were working on it.

Grand Bahama has turned into an all-age party city. People are coming here, whether corporately or for leisure, to celebrate and have parties in Grand Bahama. Were excited about the opportunities that are coming.

The tourism executive said there is the opportunity to bring in fraternal tourism, religious tourism and other major groups. He noted that some of the attractions that have always been big sellers for Grand Bahama are up and running again.

Specifically, he noted that diving in Grand Bahama has become extremely popular with visitors.

We have two of the top diving exploration spots in the region at Tiger Beach just outside of West End and Shark Junction, said Johnson.

There are lots of activity at those spots. In fact, we have people coming in to make movies at those sites. Actually, I recently signed about 15-20 different releases, giving approval for movie companies to bring in equipment to make their movies.

Theres something about diving here in Grand Bahama, particularly shark diving that you cannot get anywhere else in the Bahamas. So Grand Bahama has suddenly become a big diving hotspot. So, were excited about the possibilities for Grand Bahamas tourism.

The influx of visitors to the island comes a week after Minister for Tourism, Hon. Chester Cooper, bemoaned the empty, ghost-like feeling in Port Lucaya Market Place, during his visit to the island and tour of the market place.

During the time, the Tourism Minister, along with the Minister for Grand Bahama, Hon. Ginger Moxey, vowed to hold talks with the major cruise lines to find a way to bring visitors off the ships, away from the harbor and into the Port Lucaya Marketplace and to other tourist destinations on the island.

This is a red-letter day for Grand Bahama and it is certainly the beginning of a new day for the people of our island, said Senator James Turner.

While he expressed gratitude for the influx of visitors to Grand Bahama and the economic opportunities for local businesses, Steven Johnson acknowledged that for many Grand Bahamians it has been difficult economically, having gone through the devastation of Hurricane Dorian and then the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

But we say to them, hold on, hang on because the Magic City is almost on its way back, Johnson added.

Photo Captions:

Header: Hundreds of tourists flocked into the Port Lucaya Marketplace for some shopping and dining on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. The visitors were from two Norwegian cruise ships that called on Freeport on Wednesday morning. The initiative was part of an effort by the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Grand Bahama to get more cruise ship visitors into the market place.

1st insert: Straw vendors in the Port Lucaya Market place were excited on Wednesday morning, when bus loads of tourists swarmed the Market place to browse, shop and dine before returning to their cruise ship in the Freeport Harbor.

insert 2: Senator James Turner was elated to see the number of tourists that came from the cruise ships into Port Lucaya and at other touristic sites on the island of Grand Bahama on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Senator Turner said it was the beginning of whats to come for Grand Bahama. In the background is Steven Johnson, General Manager of Tourism in Grand Bahama.

BIS Photos/Lisa Davis

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Grand Bahama hosts hundreds of tourists on Wednesday - Magnetic Media

By: Betty Vedrine

Bahamas Information Services

#TheBahamas, March 31, 2022 The government has signed a $9 million contract funded by the European Union in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that will assist in the expanded use of clean, renewable energy, and promote post-hurricane reconstruction with resilience in The Bahamas.

Signing on behalf of the Bahamas Government was Minister of Economic Affairs, Senator the Hon. Michael Halkitis; Country Representative, Daniela Carrera-Marquis signed for the IDB. Also in attendance was European Union Ambassador, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen. Representing the Minister of Works was Luther Smith, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works and Utilities. The ceremony was held at the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday, March 30, 2022.

Senator Halkitis said: It is worth noting that a high priority of this administration is to reduce the use of fossil fuel by creating an environment for renewable energy, where interested persons or entrepreneurs can participate in, among other things, the application of solar energy for the advancement of industry that is propelled by clean energy. Today, the EU and IDB are providing financial assistance of approximately $9 million, in grant funds, to assist in transforming a plan for renewable energy into reality.

He said that the support comes at a very timely moment given the current geopolitical circumstances impacting fuel prices and the rise in the costs of goods and services. He also alluded to a current energy investment initiative that is currently being funded by the IDB at a cost of $80 million.

This project, in summary, entails the installation of renewable energy capacity in East End Grand Bahama and Abaco. The Family islands are also expected to receive support from the energy investment project as solar systems will be constructed on these islands to reduce reliance on traditional energy, said Minister Halkitis.

IDB Country Rep., Daniela Carrera-Marquis said that the funds will support two micro grids in Abaco and provide electricity support and storage facilities. The grid in Abaco is located in Marsh Harbour near the Government Complex and will impact up to 17,000 persons. The other grid will be located in the Coopers Town Medical Clinic facility and will impact 1,000 persons. The funds will also be used to boost energy capacity in New Providence in three locations with a capacity of 407kilowatts. The grids will be located at the University of the Bahamas (UB); C.I. Gibson Senior High School and the Bahamas Customs Headquarters. The UB grid will also serve as a pilot program and will provide training and supplementary electricity.

European Union (EU) Ambassador, Marianne Van Steen said that the EU was motivated to start the project since Hurricane Dorian devastated the islands.

The European Union thought that climate change had to be a high priority, therefore this project was in line with our objective of promoting renewable energy. We are happy to see the Government of the Bahamas is aggressively pursuing its objectives of facing climate change and reducing the countrys reliance on fossil fuels, she said.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Luther Smith said that the project will commence immediately.

The government has pledged to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by 30 percent by the year 2030.

PHOTO CAPTION:

Agreement signed Wednesday to expand local use of solar energy, thereby increase resilience in face of climate change. Pictured at the Ministry of Finance, from left: IDB Country Representative Daniela Carrera-Marquis, Minister of Economic Affairs Senator the Hon. Michael Halkitis, European Union Ambassador Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen, and Ministry of Works and Utilities Permanent Secretary Luther Smith.

(BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)

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Government Signs Agreement to expand the use of solar energy in The Bahamas - Magnetic Media

Prices range from $700,000 to $12.5 million, according to Matt Deitch, managing principal for Southworth Development, Abacos developer. Inspired by traditional Bahamian architecture with pitched metal roofs and colorful clapboard siding all have expansive decks and large outdoor spaces.

There are more than 90 properties on the site, with an entire new community of 36 units, called the Cays, on the way. Virtually every city in Florida offers direct flights to the islands Leonard M. Thompson International Airport.

The Abaco Club, designed by Donald Steel and Tom Mackenzie, is generally considered the top golf course in the Caribbean, hosting the Korn Ferry Tours Bahamas Great Abaco Classic every January. Known as a tropical links, it merges Scottish challenges pot bunkers, seaside winds (especially on the back nine, which hugs the coast) and sloping greens with idyllic weather and landscape.

Tim McGuire, a Toronto resident, has been staying here with his wife, Sheila, for about four weeks a year since they bought their home in 2012. They initially won a trip in a charity auction, and were immediately hooked.

Island life is more relaxed than anywhere else, he said. Theres a real community feeling, he noted, and you can walk or take a golf cart to everything. His grown children also spend time here, and much of the year the McGuires are able to rent the house to visitors via the clubs rental program.

Their bright blue pastel cottage, which Mr. McGuire describes as a Bahamian beach house, opens to a large deck overlooking Abaco Bay on the north side of the resort. Their second floor has another large deck, especially good for viewing sunsets.

The McGuires enjoy the areas outdoor activities: They golf every day they can. Mr. McGuire runs in the morning while Ms. McGuire searches for exotic wildlife like the Abaco Parrot, and they spend time fishing or on kayaks chasing sea turtles.

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The Pandemic Has Made Island Life Even More Appealing - The New York Times

EDITOR, The Tribune.

If there is anyone in the Bahamas who is yet unconvinced that sailing has been the bedrock of transportation, boat building, ocean freighting, pleasure boating, commercial fishing, competitive sportsmanship, and finally a Royal Regatta with the future King and Queen of England racing against each other and teaming up with some of the very best Bahamian sailing talent, then you are definitely inconvincible.

Without sailboats it is highly unlikely that the Bahamas would exist, as it does today, as a nation of far flung island communities stretching some six hundred miles from southeast to northwest from just beyond the Windward Passage to less than 100 miles to the coast of Florida.

If you Google Boat Building in the Bahamas its pages are rich with historical facts of the very early settlers and their descendants who have passed on the art and science of boat building for generations.

In Man-O-War Cay in the Abacos we have Lewis Uriah Albury and Son Boat Works since 1927.

And then we have Harbour Island and Colonel Andrew Deveaux: The island played a central role in recapturing Nassau from the Spanish in 1783. Colonel Andrew Deveaux, a British Loyalist living in St. Augustine after the American Revolution, sailed to Harbour Island on his way to retake Nassau from the Spanish. Over a hundred men and 50 small fishing boats from Harbour Island, Spanish Wells and Eleuthera joined the successful expedition, taking the Nassau garrison of over 600 Spanish soldiers with less than 300 men. For their efforts, Harbour Islanders and men from Spanish Wells were awarded 6,000 acres on north Eleuthera, lands which they had cultivated for years but now took as their own. The land was granted on behalf of the Crown by Lord Dunmore, who had a summer home on Harbour Island and for which Dunmore Town is named. During the period, a Reverend Moss described the island as a tight and orderly community of sixty families, living mainly a maritime life, building their own ships, and growing subsistence crops and raking salt on the nearby mainland of Eleuthera.

And then: https://www.geni.com/people/Victor-Cleare/ 6000000019092287106

Anyone in The Bahamas who knows anything about boat building will have heard of Victor Cleare, whose skills created no fewer than nine impressive craft between 1920 and 1944, including the 165-foot Arawak, believed to be the biggest vessel ever built in these islands.

Mr Cleare, who was born in Harbour Island on December 12, 1900, was the sixth generation of Cleares in The Bahamas, a family descended from solid English stock whose roots are said to go all the way back to Anne Boleyn, the ill-fated second wife of King Henry VIII and mother of Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth I.

A self-taught boatbuilder, Victor developed his passion for sea-going craft through his father, Bruce, who owned several three-masted sailing ships. These were used to carry pineapples to Baltimore and to pick up mahogany in Havana for delivery to ports along the east coast of North America. The names of two are believed to be the Beatrice and the Corinthia, both of which are believed to have sunk in Harbour Island during the fierce hurricane of 1929.

Victors son, Paul, a retired businessman who developed a keen interest in Bahamas shipbuilding, has been sorting out family photographs which throw a fascinating light on his fathers halcyon days as a shipbuilder supreme.

Boatbuilding was his great love and he developed a great skill in the field as was so very apparent by the nine boats he later built, said Paul. The craft ranged in size from 40 feet up to the 165-foot Arawak and included the Saint Mary of Stafford, a 55-foot vessel built in Harbour Island in 1932 at the request of the then Roman Catholic bishop, who used it for travel to the Out Islands.

And then we come across the boat builders of Long Island in which the Royal Competitors sailed in the Jubilee Regatta: https://www.bahamasb2b.com/news/2013/09/three-generations-of-boat-builders

Trophies are everywhere: on shelves and tables and across the floor. Winners live in this house, and they span at least three generations. This is the house of the Knowles family in Mangrove Bush, Long Island. It is a house of boat builders and sailors. When it comes to Family Island regattas, they own the winningest boats.

The long hours spent in the sun shows in their cracked lips and leathery looking skin, burnt by the tropical sun. It shows in their toned muscles and steady hands.

I learned how to build boats from my grandfather, said 52-year-old Mark Knowles. Thats all he ever did, my grandfather. Back in the day the government used to build boats for the poor to fish. He had a year round job just building boats for the people to fish.

Two of his sons are learning the trade: Marco, the eldest at 21, and Miko, the youngest at 17. Marco has been helping me since he was four years old, said Mark. He currently works in construction, as do many of the men when regatta season ends.

Mark has won 14 regattas in his boat, the New Susan Chase, which pays homage to one of his fathers early boats. In the 2013 Regatta, he won the Governor Generals Cup. He lays claim on behalf of his family to building the fastest boats on the island. He does not divulge the boat building secret, but he said trophies tell their own stories.

And on the Bahamas Government Website - The Government > Non Residents > Culture > Regattas

A Brief History of Regattas by Howland Bottomley - Commodore Emeritus.

By the early 1950s, working sail was fast disappearing from this part of the world, The Grand Banks fishing schooner was all but gone, the Chesapeake oyster dredgers were no longer being replaced as they were laid tip, and the many vessels, still working under canvas in the Bahamas, had an uncertain future. In 1954 a small group of Bahamian and American yachtsmen conceived the idea of holding a regatta for the Bahamian working sailing craft.

The overall condition of the working fleet was not good and it was felt that the material condition of the boats would be improved by the preparations necessary to ready the vessel for racing competition. A regatta would also offer a fine opportunity for Bahamian sailors to all gather in one place, have some sport, and a chance for cruising yachtsmen to witness one of the last working sailing fleets in action and at the same time introduce them to the magnificent cruising grounds here in The Bahamas.

So it was in the late April 1954, nearly 70 Bahamian sloops, schooners, and dinghies gathered in Elizabeth Harbour for three days of racing. When it was all over the organisers of the event were so pleased with the success of their idea that they realized it must continue if possible. A regatta of this type would require a good organization and adequate funding. To accomplish this, the Out Island Squadron was formed. Made up of interested Bahamian and American yachtsmen, the Out Island Squadron took on the responsibility of sponsoring what was to become an annual event in George Town. From 1954 to 1967 this dedicated organization developed the Regatta from its birth to its place as one of the outstanding annual events in Bahamian affairs.

It is regrettable that Google does not have more information about other boat building and sailing islands such as Mangrove Cay and Lisbon Creek which it does have a photo of a boat builder, but not even his name. https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-old-retired-black-bahamian-boat-builder-with-some-of-his-old-boats-13029906.html

Also Ragged Island has some claim to fame in this regard, but there is no public information to be had on it.

But the good news is that sailing is not in decline in the Bahamas and in fact very much on the upswing. Not for the reasons of yesteryear, but a new found interest in a sport that boys and girls, men and women can compete in the same event, not unlike the future King and Queen did last week.

The new class of sailboat for children between the age of eight and fourteen is the Optimist. A small, one person sailing dinghy that is an Olympic Class boat. On New Providence there are three Clubs which offer training in this Class. The Royal Nassau Sailing Club, The Nassau Yacht Club and the Lyford Cay Club. There are Clubs in Grand Bahama, Abaco, Harbour Island, Exuma and Eleuthera as well as Long Island although Long Island is currently inactive. There is an annual National Regatta for this Class held on different islands each year, and the Bahamas is hosting the North American Championships in Nassau in November when some two hundred children from North America and the Caribbean will come to Nassau to sail in what has been described as the Best Sailing Destination in the World.

This prestigious accolade was given by a group of senior sailors known as the Star Sailors League who, prior to COVID-19 came to Nassau each year in November, with their Star boats and spent a couple of weeks sailing and racing in Montagu Bay. It was this group that gave the people of the Bahamas the 60 flag pole that stands on the pier in front of Fort Montagu.

It was, of course, the Star Class boat that the late Sir Durwood Knowles won Olympic Gold sailing with the late Cecil Cooke in 1964.

And so, as Diane Philips has urged the Government of the Bahamas to retire the National sport of Cricket, whose ship has sailed now and replace it with Sailing as the National Sport of the Bahamas.

BRUCE G RAINE

Nassau,

March 26, 2022.

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The history of sailing in The Bahamas - Bahamas Tribune

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ORYX Gaming, a Bragg Gaming Group company (NASDAQ: BRAG, TSX: BRAG), has launched its exclusive iGaming content in the Bahamas with the countrys largest operator, Island Luck.

Customers of the major Bahamian operator now have access to the full portfolio of ORYXs exclusive content developed by its in-house studios as well as from ORYXs premium partners.

The launch follows the companys recent receipt of its certification and approval to offer its products and services to operators in the Caribbean nation.

The rapid go-live with Island Luck is testament to the flexibility of the ORYX RGS and the appeal of its iGaming content. Bragg is in the process of securing additional agreements for the distribution of its content with online casino operators in the Bahamas.

Established in 2009, Island Luck is licensed by the Gaming Board for the Bahamas and is the largest gaming company in the country, offering online sports betting, casino and lottery throughout the islands.

The Bahamas player base has a similar demographic to the United States and Canada, markets which Bragg expects to target more widely later in the year following its recently announced license in Ontario, and with further license applications underway in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Chris Looney, Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg, said: Taking our content live in the Bahamas so shortly after receiving regulatory approval is a fantastic achievement and highlights the ability we have to scale our RGS into new markets as well as the popularity of our exclusive games portfolio.

Island Luck is a great partner for us with local know-how and a growing customer base and we are very excited about introducing our content in the Bahamas for the first time together with them. This is just the first partnership of many as we look forward to establishing ourselves as the premier supplier on the island.

Czr Veres , Chief Business Development Officer at Island Luck, said: As soon as we heard about ORYXs content receiving the green light in the Bahamas we knew we wanted to partner with them and bring their content to our customers.

With a diverse games library from some really talented studios, our ability to offer their content strengthens our impressive portfolio offerings and helps us continue to be the operator of choice to local players.

About Bragg Gaming Group

Bragg Gaming Group (NASDAQ: BRAG, TSX: BRAG) is a growing global gaming technology and content group and owner of leading B2B companies in the iGaming industry. Since its inception in 2018, Bragg has grown to include operations across Europe, North America and Latin America and is expanding into an international force within the global online gaming market.

Through its wholly-owned subsidiary ORYX Gaming, Bragg delivers proprietary, exclusive and aggregated casino content via its in-house remote games server (RGS) and ORYX Hub distribution platform. ORYX offers a full turnkey iGaming solution, including its Player Account Management (PAM) platform, as well as managed operational and marketing services.

Nevada-based Wild Streak Gaming is Bragg's wholly owned premium US gaming content studio. Wild Streak has a popular portfolio of casino games that are offered across land-based, online and social casino operators in global markets including the U.S. and U.K.

In May 2021, Bragg announced its planned acquisition of Nevada-based Spin Games, B2B gaming technology and content provider currently servicing the U.S. market. Spin holds licenses in key iGaming-regulated U.S. states and supplies Tier 1 operators in the region.

Find out more.

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Bragg's ORYX Gaming iGaming Content now Live in the Bahamas with Island Luck - Business Wire

It might be hard to believe, but like many, I have never traveled out of the country. Although, when traveling to visit my ex-husbands parents, I did drive though Canada. At that time, we didn't need a passport to enter the country, so it didn't seem like I was traveling to an exotic, foreign place. It was Canada.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to travel abroad, or at least to the Islands in the Caribbean. But, I'm a little leery abut flying for extended periods of time, And, oh yes, I can't afford it. I'm in radio, remember.

So, a place the could give me all of the awesomeness of the islands, minus the salt water and flying, would be perfect.

That's why Norris Lake and the Shanghai Resort Marina caught my eye.

Elisha Wells Scholl/Facebook

Elisha Wells Scholl/Facebook

Elisha Wells Scholl/Facebook

Elisha Wells Scholl/Facebook

According to the Shanghai Resort Marina Facebook page.

Elisha Wells Scholl/Facebook

The Shanghai Resort Marina is a great place to stay with your family or a group of friends. It has something for everyone. Here are some of the activities planned for 2022.

We host several large events at the Marina including:

Fire-in-the-Sky (fireworks celebration)

2 day Halloween Bash

3 day Christmas-at-the-Lake event

AND a brand new LUAU event for 2022

Here is a look at some of the fun to be had.

Elisha Wells Scholl/Facebook

Elisha Wells Scholl/Facebook

Elisha Wells Scholl/Facebook

Elisha Wells Scholl/Facebook

Not convinced yet? Watch this video.

Norris Lake looks like paradise and you don't need to fly to get there. I can't wait to visit this beautiful part of Tennessee.

Your vacation plans should involve Shanghai Resort Marina. Get more info and to book your stay, HERE.

More beautiful getaways

Falling Rock Park- La Grange, Kentucky

Stay In Beautiful, Secluded Riverside Cabin Less Than 2 Hours From Evansville

Floating Cabins at Hales Bar Marina and Resort in Tennessee

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Tennessee Resort Looks Like Something You Would See In the Bahamas - See Photos - wkdq.com

How do you graduate to become skipper of the largest passenger ship on earth? It turns out this master mariner earned his sea legs on the Bering Sea looking for cod, salmon and halibut.

Scarcely a greater contrast from those icy latitudes could be dreamt of as we pushed off from Puerto Rico that balmy tropical evening. We set a course for Nassau and began the thousand mile trip back up beyond Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos to the Bahamas.

Having taken four days to sail down the Antilles, it meant a couple of days at sea and a chance to get a good look at the many diversions on board the Royal Caribbean flagship.

One of the highlights was inTENse, a world-class spectacle of water-based acrobatics, featuring an all-female cast and performed in the ships AquaTheater.

The show incorporated high-diving feats, slack-lining and aerial acrobatics. A visual extravaganza, it showcased the ensembles incredible strength, nerve and agility.

Another captivating offering was Voices: An Intimate Performance on a Grand Scale, a brilliantly executed a cappella musical performance in Wonders sumptuous Royal Theatre on deck 5.

While 365: The Seasons on Ice - a story of the earths changing seasons interpreted by a cast of champion ice-skaters - was performed in Studio B, which doubled as a nightclub when no shows were running.

The virtuoso performances will live long in the memory of the audiences who witnessed them on Wonders first sailing around the Caribbean and gave a real sense of what the cruise liner is trying to achieve.

Wandering fore and aft as we motored north those few days, childhood memories of Buncrana, Bundoran and Portrush were readily conjured. No doubt, nation-appropriate reminiscences of carousels and candy floss in Atlantic City, Blackpool, Biarritz, Heringsdorf and San Sebastian were resurrected for passengers from other parts of the globe as Wonder of the Seas pushes those seaside resort nostalgia buttons ably.

Yet Royal Caribbeans ambition is to take the family holiday to the next level. It sees Broadway, Las Vegas, the Tropicana, Moulin Rouge and Cirque du Soleil as its peers.

Nick Weir, senior vice president of entertainment at Royal Caribbean, gave us an insight into the companys mind-set and mission.

When people ask me which cruise liner I am looking at or worrying about I do say I have no interest in other cruise lines. Im not looking to them for guidance on whats next.

I say it with respect because the cruise industry is an industry which I love and all forms of entertainment I love and respect but if I want to take Royal to where I think it should be, which is at the top of entertainment on planet earth, I have to look at the West End. I have to look at Broadway. I have to look at Vegas, Macau, Paris.

When people are making a judgment call on where to spend their next vacation dollar I want them not to go to Paris, I want them not to go to Vegas, I want them to come to us.

On day six - we docked at Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, on the isle of New Providence. The town was named after William of Orange-Nassau in 1695. Governor Nicholas Trott paid the tribute to King Billy just a few years after the Siege of Derry and the Battle of the Boyne.

Going ashore we marvelled at the crystalline waters and found a neat city built in the British colonial style.

Outside the Bahamian Parliament on Bay Street stands a large statue of Victoria. In the 1700s the town was a famous haven for pirates including Edward Blackbeard Teach, Calico Jack and Anne Bonney. In the Nassau straw market, further west along Bay Street, you can buy wares commemorating this buccaneering tradition.

Walk a little further and you pass a grim relic - the site of the Nassau slave market where human beings were traded like cattle in the 1700s. The Pompey Slavery & Emancipation Museum commemorates the victims of the slave trade on the very spot where it used to take place. The museum was named for a slave, Pompey, who in 1830 rebelled against John Rolle, a British Lord and plantation owner. Pompey is today considered a Bahamian hero. A long, hard look around the centre would have been instructive. Unfortunately it was closed when we arrived. When next in Nassau...

Walkable and a little smaller than Belfast in population Nassau was busy with spring breakers when we docked. They gravitated to Junkanoo beach, closest to downtown and not far from the port. Strolling west towards Arawak Cay a stop at the beach bars and fish fry and jerk joints is a must if you wish to sample some of the real flavour of the Bahamas.

Before returning to the boat we stopped into Shenanigans in Bay Street to attempt the stout for research purposes and yes, the Irish truly are like sand: they get everywhere.

The proprietor Philip Gorman is of good Donegal-Glaswegian stock. His father was a native of Bundoran while his grandfather was from Moville, he told me. We chatted briefly about Foyle Ports plans to invest in a new cruise line terminal at Greencastle and agreed it would be an investment that would pay for itself . The stout was in good order Phil! I sang Sloop John B to myself - around Nassau town we did roam - as I dandered back to the ship.

On the last leg, as we sailed north to Coco Cay, Royal Caribbeans private resort in the Berry Islands, it was time to go on the music trail.

Great crack was had listening to Kevin Philip, a Perthshire-born singer-guitar player, as he entertained a raucous audience in the Cask and Clipper, the ships old style pub. We were convinced for a moment we were back on a rocky islet at the fresher end of the gulf stream rather than halfway between New Providence and Grand Bahama.

The following day, lying on my back in the pool listening to Men of Culture - a three part Jamaican, one part Bajan reggae band - playing classic roots reggae and lovers rock, I pleasantly regained my tropical bearings.

The last trip ashore was at Coco Cay - fifty-odd miles north of Nassau. Hundreds of passengers gravitated to the islets water park which features one of the largest and tallest water slides in the world, Daredevils Peak. Others travelled by boat to Big Major Cay - another island in the Bahamas - to swim with pigs!

This was one of the many excursions available to guests and was highly recommended by those who partook. Your reviewer, knowing this was his last day in paradise, instead indulged in one of lifes greatest luxuries. I spent the day swimming in the warm seas around this idyllic cay on the archipelago which is known locally as The Fish Bowl of the Bahamas.

Refreshed and relaxed after a perfect day in paradise we enjoyed an excellent last supper of snails and steak in the ships old school main dining room before taking a drink for the gangway in Boleros, where Travesia, the ships six-piece Latin house band brought the cruise to an end by banding out Tito Puente and Rubn Gonzlez numbers. On the Friday morning of day eight we regretfully disembarked at Port Everglades.

As someone who hitherto would not have considered booking a cruise my week-long sojourn on Wonder made me think again.

Nick Weir acknowledges some misapprehensions about cruising do persist but he insists Ireland and Britain are the last holdouts of the preconception that liner holidays are for wealthy retirees.

There is a stigma still. Its not global. It was there for many years but now in the States, Europe, African countries everyone gets it: this is a hip vacation. In the UK and Ireland there are still some issues but its coming. People are seeing our YouTube videos and they are seeing our demographic. We have got the perfect bell curve, especially at Royal because we are all about family.

What we have found at Royal is you can absolutely make parents happy and give them content and keep kids happy and give them content and please them equally.

In a few weeks Wonder will sail to Europe where it will ply the Mediterranean from May. Ports of call include Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Marseille, La Spezia, Rome, and Naples. Next year it will be permanently based in the Caribbean. A seven night cruise is currently retailing from 679 at https://www.royalcaribbean.com/ I wouldnt put anyone off the notion.

More:

The wonders of world's biggest ship - Puerto Rico to the Bahamas - Belfast News Letter

Prince William hinted that the British royal family would support the Bahamas decisions about its future on the third stop of a Caribbean tour that has been marred by protests over Britains colonial past in the region.

We support with pride and respect decisions about your future, the Duke of Cambridge said at an official reception in Nassau on Friday, hosted by the islands governor-general. Relationships evolve. Friendship endures.

Prince William, the second in line to the throne, has been on a week-long tour of Caribbean Commonwealth countries with his wife Kate Middleton in honor of his grandmother Queen Elizabeths Platinum Jubilee.

Protestors have dubbed the royals Caribbean trip the colonial tour, with demonstrators demanding that the royal family apologize for its role in the slave trade that saw millions of African slaves being shipped to the region to work under inhumane conditions.

In Jamaica on Tuesday, protestors outside the British High Commission in Kingston demanded that the British monarchy pay reparations for its role in the slave trade, according to reports.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told Prince William that his country was moving on in remarks that suggested the country would go the way of Barbados, which became a republic last year and removed the Queen as its head of state.

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Prince William hints that royals will not stand in way of Bahamas becoming republic - New York Post