FORT LAUDERDALE — Just weeks before the opening of CoCo Cay's new beach on Perfect Day, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty said travel advisors expect more private He said you can expect island-only sailings.
The comments came in response to a question asked by Travel Weekly editor-in-chief Arnie Weissmann on Thursday's CruiseWorld. Asked whether agents should expect to see more or fewer cruises calling only on Royal Caribbean International's private islands, Liberty said: “I would say more.”
“So we keep adding more and more activities on that island to make sure everyone has a perfect day,” he said.
Perfect Day at Coco Cay is Royal Caribbean International's top-rated destination in the Caribbean, driving significant production and price growth, according to company executives. The route will send about 2.5 million guests there this year, according to Michael Bayley, the cruise line's president. Celebrity Cruises will send two ships to call at the private island next year.
Royal Caribbean International and many other modern lines quietly sail a small number of itineraries that visit only their own private islands. These lines include Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, and MSC Cruises.
For Royal Caribbean, the line sails four-day cruises from Miami to Perfect Day in the Bahamas or a private beach in Labadee, Haiti, sometimes sailing to both destinations on one sailing. The line is also developing a private beach on the western end of Paradise Island in Nassau. However, most Royal Caribbean cruises that visit private islands also visit other destinations in the Caribbean.
Alleviating negative tourism sentiments
Liberty said Perfect Day at CoCo Cay is intended to help a diverse clientele create the memories they want, but the private island also helps ease the pressure on destinations suffering from anti-tourist sentiment.
“Investing in great facilities like the Royal Beach Club and Perfect Day can take some of the congestion out of the hotter areas on the anti-tourism side,” he said.
The group's routes, which include Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises, diversify where their ships go to take pressure off the many urban centers of the cities the lines visit, Liberty said.
Royal Caribbean and Israel
As cruise lines change and cancel schedules due to the Israel-Hamas war, Liberty said one of the first things Royal Caribbean did after the fighting escalated was to use its cruise ships to help Americans leave the country.
A few days after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Royal Caribbean received a call from the U.S. State Department seeking ways to get Americans out of Israel, he said.
Rhapsody of the Seas originated from Haifa, Israel, and relocated to Cyprus, he said. About an hour after that first call, the company called the State Department again and said it could make the cruise ship available and would do so for free, he said.
“We mobilized quickly. It took a little longer to mobilize the government, and then we supported in any way we could,” he said. “These are not things we talk about or discuss a lot internally. When our community needs help, it's in our DNA to step up, and we really pride ourselves on always trying to do the right thing,” he said. said.
