After it opens, Disney will employ as many as 150 permanent jobs with health benefits. Previous statements from Disney Cruise Line have said the plan for Lighthouse Point would see similar traffic as Castaway Cay, between three and five weekly visits from cruise ships year-round.Īs part of the agreement for Lighthouse Point, Disney has committed to employ at least 120 Bahamians during construction, and maintain an 80 percent Bahamian workforce as long as they are qualified for the labor needed. The cruise line has operated Castaway Cay since 1998, and with its fleet growing from four to seven, and an increase in sailings from Port Canaveral slated to occur in the next few years, the cruise line had been hunting for a second Bahamas destination for some time, as 75 percent of all Disney sailings, including those from Galveston and Miami, make visits to the Bahamas. Together, we are going to be able to create something that is very special.” Working in collaboration with Disney and with other artists is turning into one of the highlights of my 30-year career. 'Our people bring to the table their history, their culture, their food, their dance and more.

“Capturing the spirit of Eleuthera is really about the people,' Cooper said. The duo along with Rohde has spent time in the last year visiting art galleries and taking in the culture of Eleuthera such as the Carnival-esque Junkanoo parades. “Disney has shown they understand the importance of engaging Bahamians and allowing us to share our stories and love for our country.' “The essence of Bahamian art is color, the essence is rhythm, the essence is storytelling and our art reflects the spirit of our people,' Roberts said. “There’s storytelling experience, there’ll be musical experiences that all come together to make this very unique, vibrant, colorful art so that when you arrive you feel like, ‘Oh, I’ve arrived at this actual place,’ of course with the volume turned up to have this really intense kind of experience.”īoth Cooper and Roberts have lent their thoughts to what exactly is Bahamas culture and how it will be incorporated at Lighthouse Point. But to make this be authentic we have to do that together with Bahamian artists and Bahamian thinkers and people from the Bahamian community,” Rohde said. “We’re going to take a local idea, local people, local feelings, local stories, and bring them to life at this place.

Nassau cruise port map