Fast Ferry passengers stranded

By Yasmin Popescu

yasmin@nasguard.com

 

 

It is another case of disgruntled passengers, but this group were at the Freeport Harbour waiting to check in for the new fast ferry to Florida for some Christmas shopping.

According to persons interviewed, when The Freeport News team arrived at the harbor around 6:00 p.m., operators of the Balearia Bahamas Express were told they could not take on passengers hoping to travel to Fort Lauderdale on the scheduled 7:00 p.m. departure trip.

However, the undetermined number of persons – already with tickets for this voyage - were unaware of the changes that were being made.

Reportedly the Balearia Bahamas Express arrived at the harbor sometime around 5:00 p.m. and was docked at the time the problems began.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Tourism issued a statement saying that the Balearia Bahamas Express would commence passenger service between Port Everglades, Florida and Freeport Harbour right in time for the Christmas season.

"Dubbed 'Bahamas Express' this service will essentially 'fill the void' of the recently departed Discovery Cruise Line, but the added benefit that cruising time will be approximately 2.5 hours versus 5-7," the release stated, continuing, "this high speed catamaran styled ferry sails at a speed of 32 knots, and has the capacity to hold 463 passengers, 80 vehicles, cargo in the hold and will add approximately 135,000 available seats annually from Ft. Lauderdale – which is equivalent to a jumbo jet arriving six days a week."

The release added that interested passengers could also rent a 5.4 ft x 5.5 ft cargo bin at a cost of $200.00, noting that the Bahamas Express would depart Port Everglades at 10:00 a.m. arriving at Freeport Harbour at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Friday and would depart Freeport at 7:30 p.m. arriving at Port Everglades approximately 10:00 p.m.

Sandra Forbes, a hopeful passenger, said she was first in line to check in at 3:30 on Friday afternoon, noting that the check in process was so long that she felt they were not ready for this.

"So I had to leave and go back to Eight Mile Rock," she continued. "I left someone in line for me and he called me back at about 5:30 something to 6:00 to say I might as well not come anymore, because the boat is cancelled. So I came and I?asked what happened and they said the boat would not be leaving until the 19th again.

"That's not fair to us, because we have already purchased our tickets and came out here. Why check us in if you are not going to sail? That does not make any sense," she said. "What are we to do now? Go back to the travel agents and try to get our money back. It's not fair to us."

Another lady said, her son had left Daytona on Thursday night to be at the boat in time for her on Friday night, and he was waiting on her. Now, she added, he will have to find somewhere to live until she gets there on Sunday.

"That's not fair to us. I got a call from Miami 9:00 this morning saying this boat was cancelled 'til Tuesday. I called Gateway Travel and they said that is not true."

One person said, it looked like a lot of people were at the harbour to go, and when The Freeport News arrived around 6:00 p.m. more passengers were still coming to check in, only to be turned back.

Another lady said, they were told that U.S. Customs would not allow them to take the passengers to the United States.

"This is inconvenient for us, because I had to park outside the area and catch a taxi to get in. Now I?have to pay a taxi to go back."

Another female passenger from High Rock said, she was dropped off at the harbour for the voyage.

She said they were told they could go to Gateway Travel to be refunded for their tickets.

However, another person said they were not told what they would do about the vehicle and hotel rentals that they have already made downpayments on, which sometimes are not refundable.

One lady said, she paid $193 for her trip via internet.

At the time the story broke, The Freeport News was unable to reach the representatives of Bahamas Express to get a better view of the dilemna.