The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Royal Caribbean executive yesterday hailed The Bahamas as a regional leader in its coronavirus response with bookings for voyages to this nation "holding steady" amid the pandemic.

Russell Benford, the cruise line's vice-president of government relations for the Americas, told Tribune Business that other Caribbean states were now following the The Bahamas' lead by introducing a 20-day quarantine period as he praised the consistent approach taken by the Minnis administration when it came to enforcing precautionary measures.

"When the Caribbean first started putting their protocols in place, The Bahamas had the most stringent of any country," Mr Benford said. "In hindsight, I need to commend first, Dr Duane Sands, and then the prime minister, for having the foresight and medical experience to understand Covid-19 in a way that was different from everybody else."

Praising two particular aspects of the Government's approach to protecting The Bahamas from the virus, he added: "Dr Sands clearly communicated the guidelines on the cruise industry. That's the thing we asked for that we appreciate the most. The Ministry of Health has been consistent with the guidelines from day one.

"They've been steadfast in The Bahamas with the communications strategy and the enforcement of the regulations, which we applaud. We saw a lot of movement last night with the president's [Trump] address but The Bahamas has always been steady and steadfast.

"The communication has been excellent. Any time we call him [Dr Sands] he reaches out and provides clarification instantly. It's been a joy to work with him and his team."

Mr Benford said many in the cruise industry and elsewhere in the Caribbean had been left "scratching our heads" when The Bahamas first imposed a 20-day coronavirus quarantine, as all other countries had initially adopted a 14-day period. They are now moving to 20 days.

Revealing that The Bahamas has been among the world's most resilient cruise destinations, he added: "What we're seeing in the Caribbean, and especially in the Bahamas, is that bookings have remained steady.

'We've waived change fees, and anticipated a lot higher volume of calls than we got. People are still cruising to the Caribbean and The Bahamas. We've seen a slight cancellation rate but nothing significant as ships are still going out full. If you go to any of the home ports in Florida the ship is going out full. People are still cruising."