MSC Cruises Announces New Opening Date for Ocean Cay Marine Reserve

MSC Cruises has announced a new opening date for the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas, which is now set to welcome its first guests on December 5, 2019.

The cruise line recently announced it was canceling the first four scheduled calls at Ocean Cay this month after deeming the private island destination not ready for guests.

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MSC cited "adverse weather conditions and unexpected last-minute operational challenges" for the delay.

"This has been an extremely complex project as MSC Cruises has been fully committed to developing the destination in the most eco-friendly and sustainable way," the company stated on Wednesday. "At the same time, while the company anticipated that the island would be ready to receive guests mid-November, as it reached the final stages of readying the island for its opening, some adverse weather conditions and unexpected last-minute operational challenges slowed down the completion of the island."

The project remained on track through Hurricane Dorian this past summer, but further adverse weather conditions in the weeks that followed, including strong winds and heavy swell, caused several days of interruptions and created additional delays.

"This included heavy weather in early November which required part of one of the beaches to be further reinforced," MSC said.

"Secondly, last-minute issues with the leveling of the sand in certain areas of the island, the completion of the second breakwater and the landscaping aspects to be fully in line with the company’s exceeding environmental criteria, have created further last-minute operational issues that could impact the guest experience."

MSC ships that were scheduled to visit the island prior to December 5 will be rerouted to alternative Caribbean destinations or will add a day at sea to their schedule, the cruise line said, adding that guests will be compensated for the missed call at Ocean Cay.