Key Aspects:
- Even after getting rejected by the Mexican government, Perfect Day Mexico is still feeling the heat online.
- A petition against the cancelled resort surpassed 5 million signatures weeks after the rejection was announced.
- Royal Caribbean is currently discussing the relocation of its planned resort with Mexican officials.
The cruise community is continuing to rub salt in the wound for Royal Caribbean following Mexico’s rejection of Perfect Day Mexico.
Even with Royal Caribbean officially blocked from building the 200+ acre resort in Mahahual, locals and cruise fans alike haven’t ceased protesting.
A Change.Org petition that was created to stop the project surpassed 5 million signatures as of June 15, 2026, weeks after the Mexican government halted Royal Caribbean’s plans on May 19, 2026.
The petition has come a long way from when Cruise Hive first reported on it in August of 2025, when it only had 278,000 signatures.
Perfect Day Mexico, at least how it was originally imagined, has indeed been stopped in its tracks. However, the opposition likely won’t go away as the Mexican Government is in talks with Royal Caribbean to potentially relocate the private resort elsewhere in the country.
Why Was Perfect Day Mexico So Controversial?
Perfect Day Mexico was supposed to be a massive resort with a record-breaking water park. While it’s a “perfect day” in the eyes of many cruise guests, the locals have never been convinced.
“Mahahual is not an amusement park. It is a fishing town inhabited by local communities who live facing the sea,” the petition stated.
Mahahual is home to around 2,800 permanent residents, some of whom started the petition because they felt Perfect Day Mexico threatened the local environment and their way of life.
As a small fishing village, changes in their access to the sea, the beaches, and the mangroves could come with detrimental consequences.
A harmful impact to the local ecosystem and marine wildlife could put the villagers’ food and livelihoods at risk as well.
“Royal Caribbean plans to receive up to 20,000 tourists per day: bringing with them tons of chemical sunscreen, plastic waste, mega-cruise ships polluting the water, and absurd levels of freshwater consumption in a region already suffering from water scarcity,” the petition added.
“All of this while destroying still-living mangroves and coastline, without a serious environmental impact assessment, and stripping local communities of their own territories,” it continued.
It’s ultimately the environmental impact, particularly to the mangroves, that caused a Quintana Roo judge to halt the project in January to allow for further environmental assessments. These same concerns contributed to the final rejection.
To Royal Caribbean’s credit, the cruise line has made an effort to support the community of Mahahual, such as by rehabilitating the roads in the area.
If the cruise line does get permission to build elsewhere in the country, it will be because the new destination either does not pose the same environmental barriers or the concerns that do arise can be ethically managed.
