Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, and Norwegian Cruise Line have bet big on the Caribbean. All of the major cruise lines have multiple ships sailing in that region due to passenger demand out of Florida.
The Caribbean isn't far from Miami, Port Canaveral, and Fort Lauderdale. That makes it easy for all the major cruise lines to have multiple ships calling on ports like Nassau, Cozumel, Roatan, Key West, and a handful of others.
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In addition, all of the cruise lines operate private islands. Those offerings vary quite a bit. Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and Disney Cruise Line offer islands that are basically just beaches. Norwegian's island, Great Stirrup Cay, requires passengers to travel from their cruise ship on a smaller tender boat, while the other cruise lines can dock at their islands.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) , however, has changed the game when it comes to private islands. Its Perfect Day at CocoCay offers the traditional beach experience as well as a lot more. It has a free-to-use beach as well as multiple added-fee options. Those include a Beach Club with a fancier lunch and its own pool, a water park, and a new adults-only area, Hideaway Beach, with a heated pool.
CocoCay has been Royal Caribbean's most popular destination, and the cruise line plans to build on that model.
Image source: Daniel Kline/TheStreet
Royal Caribbean doubles down
Perfect Day at CocoCay is Royal Caribbean's most popular destination. That makes sense because it offers a quiet beach day for passengers who want that while adding the free pool, the largest in the Caribbean, as well as the added-fee experiences.
Royal Caribbean calls on CocoCay as often as it possibly can with two ships docking in port each day. All of its 3 and 4-day sailings stop at the private island as does Icon of the Seas, the largest ship in the world, and its upcoming Utopia of the Seas.
The company has even been adding CocoCay stops for select sailings of its Celebrity Cruises ships, and it's expanding the Perfect Day model beyond CocoCay.
Cruise passengers like CocoCay because it offers choices, but it's also safe, free of pushy vendors, and does not require spending any money (although you certainly can if you want to). That's a stark contrast to visiting Nassau and Cozumel, two ports that many of the same ships call on, which Carnival (CCL) , MSC, (DIS) , and Norwegian (NCLH) also stop at.
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Many passengers, across all the cruise lines, opt to stay on the ship in certain ports with Nassau and Cozumel at the top of the list. Frequent cruisers have called on those ports many times and few passengers see either stop as one to get excited about.
Royal Caribbean has a plan to fix that.
Royal Caribbean building more private destinations
Carnival, it should be noted, is following Royal Caribbean's model by building its own version of CocoCay in Freeport. Celebration Key will offer pools, a water park, as well as beaches.
Royal Caribbean, however, has plans for what it's calling "Beach Clubs" in both Nassau and Cozumel. The Nassau Club has been public knowledge for a while, but the Cozumel news was only recently shared.
CEO Jason Liberty talked about his company's plans for the private destinations during the cruise line's first-quarter earnings call.
"The newest addition to our growing portfolio of private destinations is the Royal Beach Club in Cozumel, Mexico, that is set to welcome guests in 2026. With a combination of activities for every type of vacationer, Royal Beach Club Cozumel will further enhance our guests' experience, giving guests the ultimate beach day," he said.
Royal Caribbean has not shared pricing for its beach clubs, but they will be an added-fee option, not an included one like the core CocoCay experience. Liberty also shared some news on the Nassau project.
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"Earlier this week, we also celebrated another important milestone when we officially broke ground on Royal Beach Club Paradise Island in Nassau, which is scheduled to open next year," he added.
