Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings expects a new pier at Great Stirrup Cay, its private island in the Bahamas, to enable guest counts to grow more than 50% in the first 12 months of operation.
NLCH said earlier this week that construction of a two-ship pier on the island is expected to start this summer and be complete by late 2025. Currently, the island is only accessible via tender boats from cruise ships.
"The new pier will allow for greater guest throughput to the island and better monetization of this key asset," said Harry Sommer, NCLH CEO, during a conference call with investors, adding that the new infrastructure will "elevate our guest experience and strengthen our footprint in the Caribbean."
Sommer said that in a typical 12-month period, about 400,000 passengers visit the island. A 50% increase would raise that count to about 600,000 per year starting in 2026, Sommer said.
The timing of the pier completion is meant to coincide with the major capacity increase from NCLH's eight-ship order across its three brands, slated for delivery between 2026 and 2036.
Among the benefits of a pier, Sommer said, is that ships won't have to skip as many calls to the island when rough seas make tendering to the island unsafe.
"Right now, because we don't have a pier at GSC, we often miss," Sommer said. "When we visit GSC, we see a big improvement in guest satisfaction scores. They enjoy the island. We have ziplines, cabanas, a spa, a private beach, all types of watersport activities, jet skis, swimming with pigs -- my daughter's favorite. I think when [passengers] have the confidence that we're going to go there 100% of the time, we will see a further improvement in the incremental yields that we get today."
Great Stirrup Cay is already one of NCLH's top-rated ports in the Caribbean, Sommer said. The pier will not only increase visitation but lead to enhancements of the island, he added, as only a small portion of it has been developed.
"We absolutely are looking to do further build-outs on the island, but the first step in the process was to build the pier so that we can have confidence we can get the guest count we need to support further investments," Sommer said.
While NCLH did not specify what those additions might look like, Sommer said that like Harvest Caye, its private destination in Belize, passengers would have "immersive natural and cultural experiences."