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Cruise lines' private islands are having a renaissance. These are the 3 reasons they need it now more than ever before.
23.03.2024 - 12:31 / insider.com / Royal Caribbean / Michael Bayley / Holland America / Patrick Scholes
About 140 miles east of Miami, Royal Caribbean's private Bahamas island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, receives thousands of eager families virtually every day of the year.
The cruise line and many of its competitors don't just own ships — they also have land-based portfolios. Throughout the Caribbean and in countries like Honduras and Belize, practically every major cruise company has snatched up and developed beachfront properties to make exclusive to their guests.
To travelers, these secluded ports of call are convenient, safe, and cherished: "The vast majority of people love the islands," Patrick Scholes, the managing director of lodging and leisure-equity research at Truist Securities, told Business Insider.
To cruise lines, they're cash cows. And now, maybe more than ever before, a necessity as operators seek out profits while battling rising operating costs and ever-restrictive ports.
Cruise lines like Princess, Holland America, and MSC collectively own 16 ports and private destinations in the Caribbean (including properties that are still under development).
Many of them, like CocoCay, are hits.
Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, told analysts in 2023 that the private island had seen robust demand, including from repeat travelers. So much so that the financial returns on the $350 million investment, launched in 2019, have been "exceptionally high and significantly above its target," Naftali Holtz, CFO of Royal Caribbean Group, said a few months prior.
Given travelers' appetite, Royal Caribbean has continued to expand its splashy Bahamas getaway.
Its most recent addition, the adult-only Hideaway Beach, opened in January, adding to CocoCay's 14-slide waterpark, upscale beach club, massive pool, and umbrella-lined beaches.
But it's not done: The cruise giant plans to open its next development, a 17-acre private beach club on Nassau, Bahamas' Paradise Island, in 2025.
Carnival Corp is also updating its popular private island, Half Moon Cay, with an additional berth to accommodate its largest ships, increasing the destination's guest capacity.
Like its competitor, Carnival has more plans to expand its real estate footprint — this time with Celebration Key, a $500 million exclusive resort on Grand Bahama Island, set to open in 2025.
The vacation-at-sea industry's land-based conquest could continue to grow: Given their benefits, Scholes said he wouldn't be surprised if Royal Caribbean were to announce plans to build another private island in the next five years.
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