A LESSON FOR THE BAHAMAS?
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/editorial/309500060995488.php

It appears as if members of the gay and lesbian community have decided to teach The Bahamas a lesson as a result of the anti-gay protest they encountered three years ago when a cruise ship chartered for what was billed as a "Gay Family Values Cruise" docked in Nassau harbour.

Openly-gay television personality Rosie O'Donnell has once again chartered a cruise ship, the Norwegian Dawn, for a gay cruise scheduled for this July.

This time around, however, Nassau is not included in its scheduled ports of call, although it does plan to make a stop in The Bahamas at Great Stirrup Cay, a private island owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines in the Berry Islands chain.

In an article published on Friday, The Nassau Guardian sought reaction from the Nassau business community to get feedback on what sort of economic impact the decision to not have the ship stop in Nassau will have on the local economy. Anthony Darville of Sunshine Cruises, a tour operation catering to stopover guests, estimated that he and other operators stood to make between $30,000 and $50,000.

As was to be expected, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Tourism sought to downplay the significance of the economic loss as a result of Norwegian Dawn not stopping in Nassau, stressing instead that the "fact remains that they are still coming to The Bahamas" and that the Ministry has been "encouraging persons to visit all Family Islands to have a diverse experience" of The Bahamas.

Be that as it may, a stop in the Berry Islands is not the same as a visit to Nassau. Norwegian Dawn is a 15-deck mega ship with room capacity for 2,240 passengers, and if the coming cruise is as successful as the one three years ago, all of those rooms will be filled.

Because of the protests downtown to the first cruise, many of the passengers did not come ashore, and those that did really did not do that much shopping, more likely than not because they were turned off by the harassment of the protesters. All of this was filmed for an HBO documentary that was what The Guardian referred to in its story as "a public relations

nightmare for The Bahamas."

Indeed, it is difficult to measure the impact of the bad publicity for The Bahamas generated by that documentary, given the fact The Bahamas continues to be one of the leading tourist destinations in this region.

Maintaining that status, however, is becoming more and more challenging for the Ministry of Tourism in the aftermath of the new United States policy for Americans returning from the Caribbean to have a U.S. passport.

The full impact of this new law, which went into effect in January, is not expected to be noticeable in The Bahamas for several months, but there is a general consensus that there will be a fall off in the number of visitors who come to our shores.

More likely than not, Bermudans will roll out the welcome carpet for the passengers of the Norwegian Dawn, and encourage them to spend as much as they can while visiting the island. When they leave, they will no doubt do so having enjoyed a brief but wonderful visit to that island and possibly entertain thoughts for returning on a "regular" visit where their sexual orientation will not be a matter of public knowledge.

Surely, this should serve as a wake-up call for those holier-than-thou, self-righteous Bahamians whose tunnel vision prevents them from seeing the broader picture with regard to an individual's right to determine his or her own sexual preference.

Who cares. We were making it before they came and made it after they left. We are not self righteous we just stand for what is right. I don't care if they are gay but they can practise it elsewhere. Just like I don't care if you straight, just don't be promiscuous in public.

See you all letting the dollar compromise morality. We are not perfect but in the words of St. Paul " Should we continue in sin".

We have to start somewhere and this is just as good as anywhere .

When the Anglican Church ordained that Gay Bishop everyone was wondering why people we appalled but you see we can't give the devil no room to play with. It was wrong then and still wrong today.

Their sexual preference is not our business but we are not prepared to entertain them here. come as normal and you are welcome. Keep your slack living your business and we really don't care but I could tell you we don't want that type of lifestyl in the open as if it is all right. We can't stop them but we could make sure they understand where we stand.

Mel

Who cares. We were making it before they came and made it after they left.
Cold. Yinna Bahamians een easy nah!

Who cares. We were making it before they came and made it after they left. We are not self righteous we just stand for what is right. I don't care if they are gay but they can practise it elsewhere. Just like I don't care if you straight, just don't be promiscuous in public.
See you all letting the dollar compromise morality. We are not perfect but in the words of St. Paul " Should we continue in sin".
We have to start somewhere and this is just as good as anywhere .
When the Anglican Church ordained that Gay Bishop everyone was wondering why people we appalled but you see we can't give the devil no room to play with. It was wrong then and still wrong today.
Their sexual preference is not our business but we are not prepared to entertain them here. come as normal and you are welcome. Keep your slack living your business and we really don't care but I could tell you we don't want that type of lifestyl in the open as if it is all right. We can't stop them but we could make sure they understand where we stand.
Mel


Everything you said is laced with your own religions beliefs.

Just like you dont care about someones sexuality.....we dont care about your religious beliefs. Lets make a deal....ill spare you our sexuality based rhetoric of you spare us your rhetoric based in religion. I think if we both did that we would have very little to argue about.

:gi:

Everything you said is laced with your own religions beliefs.
Just like you dont care about someones sexuality.....we dont care about your religious beliefs. Lets make a deal....ill spare you our sexuality based rhetoric of you spare us your rhetoric based in religion. I think if we both did that we would have very little to argue about.
:gi:


I am not arguing I am simply saying I don't care if the gay ship comes or don't come.

Stop making this a national problem its not. Tell them to keep going.

Mel

Who cares. We were making it before they came and made it after they left. We are not self righteous we just stand for what is right. I don't care if they are gay but they can practise it elsewhere. Just like I don't care if you straight, just don't be promiscuous in public.
See you all letting the dollar compromise morality. We are not perfect but in the words of St. Paul " Should we continue in sin".
We have to start somewhere and this is just as good as anywhere .
When the Anglican Church ordained that Gay Bishop everyone was wondering why people we appalled but you see we can't give the devil no room to play with. It was wrong then and still wrong today.
Their sexual preference is not our business but we are not prepared to entertain them here. come as normal and you are welcome. Keep your slack living your business and we really don't care but I could tell you we don't want that type of lifestyl in the open as if it is all right. We can't stop them but we could make sure they understand where we stand.
Mel


No, your whole post is riddled with your own beliefs on religion and morality. Those gay folks werent coming here to push their "agenda" onto you.... they were coming to enjoy the beaches and drink rum and good seafood, and shop. The people with the "agenda" were the religious protestors who showed up with signs telling otherwise typical tourist that they werent welcome because the PROTESTORS and their pastors didnt want them to enjoy the Bahamas.

And you continue that today.

Gay people like conch salads too. Its you religious and morality police who have decided who is free to enjoy the Bahamas or not. All the while your own houses are riddled with immorality.

Much like anti abortion and pro abortion,I doon care what gays do or where, as long as it isn't publicly rude or nasty.They need tu live with themselves,I don't.:escape:

BTW/Rosie O'donnell is stil a fat,obnoxious,loud mout,gay or strate!

A LESSON FOR THE BAHAMAS?
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/editorial/309500060995488.php
It appears as if members of the gay and lesbian community have decided to teach The Bahamas a lesson as a result of the anti-gay protest they encountered three years ago when a cruise ship chartered for what was billed as a "Gay Family Values Cruise" docked in Nassau harbour.
Openly-gay television personality Rosie O'Donnell has once again chartered a cruise ship, the Norwegian Dawn, for a gay cruise scheduled for this July.
This time around, however, Nassau is not included in its scheduled ports of call, although it does plan to make a stop in The Bahamas at Great Stirrup Cay, a private island owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines in the Berry Islands chain.
In an article published on Friday, The Nassau Guardian sought reaction from the Nassau business community to get feedback on what sort of economic impact the decision to not have the ship stop in Nassau will have on the local economy. Anthony Darville of Sunshine Cruises, a tour operation catering to stopover guests, estimated that he and other operators stood to make between $30,000 and $50,000.
As was to be expected, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Tourism sought to downplay the significance of the economic loss as a result of Norwegian Dawn not stopping in Nassau, stressing instead that the "fact remains that they are still coming to The Bahamas" and that the Ministry has been "encouraging persons to visit all Family Islands to have a diverse experience" of The Bahamas.
Be that as it may, a stop in the Berry Islands is not the same as a visit to Nassau. Norwegian Dawn is a 15-deck mega ship with room capacity for 2,240 passengers, and if the coming cruise is as successful as the one three years ago, all of those rooms will be filled.
Because of the protests downtown to the first cruise, many of the passengers did not come ashore, and those that did really did not do that much shopping, more likely than not because they were turned off by the harassment of the protesters. All of this was filmed for an HBO documentary that was what The Guardian referred to in its story as "a public relations
nightmare for The Bahamas."
Indeed, it is difficult to measure the impact of the bad publicity for The Bahamas generated by that documentary, given the fact The Bahamas continues to be one of the leading tourist destinations in this region.
Maintaining that status, however, is becoming more and more challenging for the Ministry of Tourism in the aftermath of the new United States policy for Americans returning from the Caribbean to have a U.S. passport.
The full impact of this new law, which went into effect in January, is not expected to be noticeable in The Bahamas for several months, but there is a general consensus that there will be a fall off in the number of visitors who come to our shores.
More likely than not, Bermudans will roll out the welcome carpet for the passengers of the Norwegian Dawn, and encourage them to spend as much as they can while visiting the island. When they leave, they will no doubt do so having enjoyed a brief but wonderful visit to that island and possibly entertain thoughts for returning on a "regular" visit where their sexual orientation will not be a matter of public knowledge.
Surely, this should serve as a wake-up call for those holier-than-thou, self-righteous Bahamians whose tunnel vision prevents them from seeing the broader picture with regard to an individual's right to determine his or her own sexual preference.


We have no need to sacrifice our morals for a few dollars!!!!!!!!!!!!
Homosexuals constitute less than 5% of the worlds population. They try to make themselves appear bigger that they are.

BUT THEY ARE OF NO SIGNIFIGANCE!!!!!!!

No one can convince me that all the straight people will stop coming because of our stance on Homosexuality!!!!!

Good riddance to bad rubbish!Time now we already lose whole cruiselines,airlines & hotels and survived.:board2:

When the Anglican Church ordained that Gay Bishop everyone was wondering why people we appalled but you see we can't give the devil no room to play with. It was wrong then and still wrong today.
Mel

well to be honest with you in tht case the devil has lots of room to play with (especially in the Bahamas). Or is tht we turn a blind eye to what is right in front of us.....we claim to be so anti-gay yet we know full well of the gays in our churches and in government....oh wait i just remembered once its not in the open then its cool......:gi:
Adidasboi

We have no need to sacrifice our morals for a few dollars!!!!!!!!!!!!
Homosexuals constitute less than 5% of the worlds population. They try to make themselves appear bigger that they are.
BUT THEY ARE OF NO SIGNIFIGANCE!!!!!!!
No one can convince me that all the straight people will stop coming because of our stance on Homosexuality!!!!!

A GLBT has 2 parents possibly siblings they have friends and so on. There are many that will not come to the Bahamas because we do not welcome GLBT.

That HBO show did hurt us. It did not show the RAB group welcoming the passangers, It did not show the police protection for the passengers, it did not show the rainbow welcome signs in the straw market.

There were more welcoming than the few hundred (200 may be 300 at best) protesters.

ignorance...discrimination...intolerance [completely different from disapproval] will always affect the bottomline.

you may not feel it today. you may not feel it tomorrow. but it will be felt.

for a nation that prides itself on its strong christian morals...it would do well for us to heed the words of Christ himself: Love your neighbour as yourself.

That HBO show did hurt us.

Stats to prove please?

Stats to prove please?


I am from the Bahamas. My Family has a home their. In the last two years me and my friends have been to Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Alaska, Dominican Republic, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami , Atlanta, Philadelphia, now planning on London and Paris.

We are a group of well traveled, polite, with money...travelers that believe in enjoying what the locals enjoy....we would never say eat at Senior Frogs (or whatever that place is).

....and as much as i love coming home to see my family i would never suggest that my friends travel there as a group. Simply too intolerant.

Trust me....."the gays" spend money....and they are choosing to spend it elsewhere.

Trust me....."the gays" spend money....and they are choosing to spend it elsewhere.

I have no reason to question your veracity, but if the issue is hurting us, the numbers should be able to support that, thats all I'm saying.