Royal Caribbean changed what consumers expect from a cruise line private island when it unveiled its $250 million remodel of Perfect Day at CocoCay in 2019.
In addition to adding a dock so tender ships would no longer need to ferry passengers to the island, the cruise added a large pool, enhanced food options, an extra-cost waterpark, and an added-fee Beach Club. In 2023, the cruise lines also added an extra-charge adults-only area, Hideaway Beach.
I’ve visited CocoCay dozens of times and accessed all of the free and major paid areas. What has elevated Perfect Day at CocoCay over Carnival’s private island portfolio isn’t what’s offered.
Instead, it’s how it’s executed. That’s true not just of Perfect Day at CocoCay and the now-on-hold free destinations in Labadee, Haiti, but also of the Royal Beach Club in Nassau, which costs money to enter.
Royal Caribbean has solved the little things, and when you’re supposed to be relaxing, that really matters.
Royal Caribbean creates an effortless experience
Carnival has been remodeling its private destinations, and I have been to Celebration Key as well as Isla Tropicale. In both cases, the pools, beaches, and other facilities are beautiful, arguably equal to Royal Caribbean’s, but Carnival fumbles badly when it comes to execution and the experience delivered.
Perfect Day at CocoCay serves as an extension of the ship where your onboard packages carry over. You can use your drink package or redeem the drinks offered at the higher end of the company’s loyalty program.
Your SeaPass card (room key) also works if you don’t have a beverage package and want a drink, or if you choose to order wings or French fries at Captain Jack’s, the one venue in the free part of the island that costs extra.
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Aside from Captain Jacks, a wide array of food is included, and it’s all-you-can eat.
It’s a similar experience at the Royal Beach Club in Nassau, except that you have to pay a fee to get in and can opt for entrance with alcohol, or with only non-alcoholic drinks. If you want an adult beverage, they scan your card, and for anything without alcohol, they just give it to you because everyone inside the club is entitled to that.
Food is free, they have towels you don’t have to check out, and even the check-in experience is a simple tap of your SeaPass card.
Royal Caribbean’s Royal Beach Club in NassauDaniel Kline/TravelHost’s Come Cruise With Me
Carnival struggles with execution
At Carnival’s remodeled Celebration Key, which includes docking space for up to four ship, the cruise line does not do things quite like Royal Caribbean.
First, your onboard drink package does not carry over, so any drinks you have will cost you extra. You can pay with your room card, and they won’t count toward the 15-drink-per-day limit for alcoholic beverages Carnival enforces.
In addition, visitors to Celebration Key get one free food voucher. That can be used for a meal, or something like the mini doughnuts food truck, but each person gets one, and any other food will cost you.
In Roatán, off the coast of Honduras, Isla Tropicale is free to enter, which gives you access to spectacular beaches and a lovely pool. Food and drinks, however, work like any restaurant bar, and the cruise line does not accept its room cards for payment.
When we visited on a Princess cruise, I went to the swim-up bar, ordered a drink, and went to swipe my Medallion (the Princess version of a room key) and was told credit cards only. I, like many people, do not carry a credit card when swimming, so I had to go back to our chairs, grab mine, and keep it from getting wet in a crowded pool.
My traveling companions and I spent about $60 each that day, about half what it costs to enter Royal Beach Club with unlimited alcohol. Honestly, for the added convenience, I’d pay $120 to get into Isla Tropicale — it’s that nice — and may have eaten a little more and had one more drink.
Royal Caribbean delivers an experience that feels like I’m on vacation, while Carnival has me doing math to make sure I don’t spent more than intended, and, in Roatan, making sure I have a credit card.
Royal Caribbean has bet big on private destinations
Perfect Day at CocoCay has become a sort of blueprint as Royal Caribbean has opened beach clubs in Nassau and Santorini, with plans for one in Cozumel and one on Lelepa Island in the South Pacific.
The cruise line plans a Perfect Day in Mexico, but those plans have been put on hold as the cruise line negotiates with the country over environmental concerns.
Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty spoke during the company’s third-quarter 2024 earnings call about why the company was betting big on private destinations.
“Perfect Day CocoCay is our highest-rated destination on a Net Promoter Score. So our ability to not only capture additional demand from other markets, but our ability to deliver a Perfect Day to basically every Royal Caribbean international guest in the Caribbean, I think just drives greater demand for that brand,” he said.
Doing that would require getting Perfect Day Mexico back on track, and Liberty remains confident it will.
“Mexico has been a key destination partner since our inception and has played an important role in helping us fulfill our mission of delivering the best vacation experiences responsibly. Our commitment to Mexico and the destinations we visit is stronger than ever,” he said during the Q2, 2026 earnings call.
Mexico, Liberty added, remains committed to Royal Caribbean.
“Recent public comments by the Mexican administration acknowledge the community support for development. The government is continuing to engage with community stakeholders to better understand their perspectives, a process that will take some time and is expected to affect our previously planned time line,” he shared.
Carnival Cruise Line is confident in its destination strategy
While I have my issues with the operations and execution at Carnival’s islands and private destinations, CEO Josh Weinstein shared the cruise line’s successes during his company’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call.
“Celebration Key recently marked its first anniversary, having welcomed almost 2.5 million guests in its first year alone. The guest response has been exceptional. Celebration Key is resonating with our loyal guests, giving them another compelling reason to sail with us again while attracting new-to-cruise guests as well,” he said.
It’s a strategy the company is growing.
“We are only just beginning to realize its potential. With the second pier now open, Celebration Key is expected to welcome approximately 3.5 million guests next year with 31 ships calling versus 26 this year,” Weinstein added.
He also lauded the performance of Carnival’s other private islands and destinations.
“Celebration Key is just one part of what is becoming an increasingly differentiated destination portfolio. Our recently expanded experiences at RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, and Isla Tropicale Roatán have already welcomed approximately 250,000 guests each, with very positive guest response. We have made these amazing beach experiences even better and available to millions more guests,” he shared.
Private islands are intensely competitive
It’s not just Royal Caribbean and Carnival investing in private islands. Norwegian has also added a dock, a large pool, an extra-fee waterpark, and more at its Great Stirrup Cay island (I’ve been there, but it was still a work in progress, so I do not consider it fair to give a review).
These islands are not cheap, according to data from Cleveland Research Company shared with Travel Weekly.
“The $600 million Carnival invested in Celebration Key’s first phase exceeds the $400 million for CocoCay and estimated $350 million for Great Stirrup Cay,” according to the research firm. It noted that Carnival has spent more money than both Royal Caribbean and NCL to build its destination, and that’s just for an initial phase of construction, which, unlike its competitors, doesn’t include a full waterpark.
Royal Caribbean’s investment was also prior to the Covid pandemic and therefore at “a more reasonable cost,” Tyler McGillivray, a research associate at Cleveland Research Company, said.
Ilana Schattaeur, the content creator behind popular website and YouTube channel Life Well Cruised (and someone I have been on media cruises with), said these islands aren’t just a day at the beach anymore.
“Cruise line private islands, like Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay, Carnival’s Half Moon Cay, and MSC’s Ocean Cay, are popular destinations in their own right.” (And, from my experience, Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay was a dream!),” she told The New York Post.
Daniel Kline is the creator and lead editor of TravelHost’s Come Cruise With Me and its YouTube page.
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