Norwegian Cruise Line giving Great Stirrup Cay a big upgrade

VANCOUVER — Norwegian
Cruise Line outlined plans to upgrade facilities at its
Great Stirrup Cay private island in the Bahamas.

Norwegian will
increase dining capacity by 50%, spend $1 million on new landscaping, and
create 100,000 square feet of new pathways, including a new boardwalk along the
beach.

Other features
include a pair of parallel zip lines that will be 1,000 feet long and elevated
100 feet in the air, and a new air conditioned reception area where guests can
get oriented, change clothes and make reservations.

New family
activities will be available, including an underwater sculpture trail for
snorkelers.

There will be a
new lounge area with bar service in the center of the island, a new Landshark
Bar Grill and an Abaco Taco bar, as well as a redesigned buffet.

The amount of
shaded area will be increased and more restrooms will be built.

A Lagoon Retreat
aimed at high-end guests staying in Haven and Suite accommodations will have the Silver Palm restaurant, a private party room that can be reserved for groups of
up to 75 and 22 air-conditioned villas (studio, one bedroom and two bedroom) for rent. A Mandara spa
will be on site.

The Lagoon Retreat will be reserved for Haven guests,
anyone who books a spa treatment and a limited number of guests on each cruise
who will pay extra.

At a press
conference at CLIA’s Cruise360 conference, Norwegian president Andy Stuart said
the features were not designed after MSC Cruises announced an island with
similar amenities in Bimini last year. “We’ve had plans in place for a number
of years,” Stuart said.

He declined to
say what Norwegian will spend on the upgrades, other than to say it was part of
Norwegian’s $400 million Norwegian Edge initiative.

The upgrades at
Great Stirrup Cay are expected to be in place by spring 2017, except for the
cabanas, which will open in the summer, Norwegian said.