Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line sails two ships in the centre of the industry’s hottest market, taking advantage of a competitive niche it has carved in the shadow of multibillion-dollar cruise behemoths in Miami.

Founded in the mid-2000s by three families who acquired a ­Carnival Cruise Line ship in order to offer cruises as incentives to buy time-share properties and tour packages, the company focuses on two-day voyages between southern Florida and the Bahamas.

Cruise industry veterans Kevin Sheehan and Oneil Khosa took over the company in 2016, buying the 47,263-gt Grand Celebration (built 1987), and had a greater vision for the tiny ­outfit.

“We started giving it a shape of a proper cruise line to create that vibe and product that would resonate with the cruise passenger,” said Khosa, a former investment banker with DVB Bank who was once a first officer for Royal Caribbean Cruises.

The Grand Celebration carried about 200,000 passengers in the first year under their ownership, so they bought a second vessel from Carnival Corp’s Costa Cruises, the 53,000-gt Costa Neoclassica (renamed Grand Classica, built 1991).

“Adding another ship in 2018 and giving it more of a colour of a cruise line is how we started ­getting recognised more and more, [despite] the history [it] has had over a decade,” Khosa told TradeWinds.

Offering something different

Oneil Khosa bought a small outfit with big ambitions. Photo: Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line

Bahamas Paradise claimed a sliver of the market dominated by Miami titans Carnival Corp, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings by offering something different with these two secondhand vessels.

“We are the only provider of two-night cruises,” Khosa said.

The Grand Celebration sails between company-owned terminals in Palm Beach, Florida, and Grand Bahama, while the Grand Classica makes round trips to Nassau.

Passengers can enjoy two-night cruises starting at about $129 per person, or they can stay for as long as they want through Bahamas Paradise’s Cruise & Stay programme.

The four-night package is the company’s most popular offering.

Significant factor

The Grand Classica, moored at Nassau in the Bahamas. Photo: Eric Kalman

“When you cruise with us, you don’t have to necessarily come back on the return trip,” Khosa said.

“You can get off in Grand Bahama or Nassau, stay for two, four, six or eight nights, and then come back with us. We give them very attractive hotel rates and we bundle that with the cruise price, so the Cruise & Stay package becomes a very good deal for the customer.”

Bahamas Paradise has laid up its two ships into late July because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it has protocols in place to prevent outbreaks when it returns to service.

“You can get on a ship in five to 10 minutes by the time you pull into the Port of Palm Beach because of our control over the logistics chain from the parking to our terminal that we control,” he said.

“This is going to prove to be a very significant factor in the post-Covid scenario because we are working on processes where we can streamline the flow right from the number of cars that enter the terminal to manage the distancing, because we are the only users of the infrastructure.”

The company, which has 1,150 employees, will also limit ship capacity to 60% to allow for social distancing and a deep-clean of the vessels between trips.

“That is a ratio that you wouldn’t get on an ultra-luxury cruise level,” he said.

“This will be for the foreseeable future, so that our passengers will feel comfortable and so that we can adjust to the post-Covid world.”

Bahamas Paradise plans to expand its tiny fleet one day, but the immediate focus is getting through the Covid-19 downturn.

“Once the uncertainty from the current business environment goes away, then we’ll see,” Khosa said. “We are watching it like everybody else.”