In another case of disgruntled passengers, a group at the Freeport Harbour was left 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.
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.
Ms Forbes was informed that the boat was cancelled for the trip and would not be leaving again until the 19th.
Another lady said, they were told that U.S. Customs would not allow them to take the passengers to the United States.
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.
