Royal Caribbean Group has big plans for Perfect Day at CocoCay, its private island in the Bahamas. During the recent Q4 earnings call on February 7, CEO Jason Liberty and Royal Caribbean Internation President Michael Bayley revealed plans to increase the island’s capacity to 13,000 visitors daily.
Perfect Day at Cococay has quickly become one of the most popular destinations for cruise travelers. With the launch of Icon of the Seas coming and with the addition of the new Hideaway Beach, an adult-only neighborhood set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2023, the island is sure to become even more popular.
Perfect Day at CocoCay: A Growing Destination for Cruise Travelers
Perfect Day at Cococay is a private island owned and operated by Royal Caribbean that offers visitors a tropical escape complete with breathtaking views from a hot-air balloon and many exciting activities. From a waterpark to zip-lining to snorkeling and everything in between, Perfect Day at Cococay has something for everyone.
During the fourth quarter earnings call on February 7, company CEO Jason Liberty revealed the cruise line has big plans for the private island, including increased capacity due to the addition of Hideaway Beach.
“In addition to our incredible new vessels, we plan to launch Hideaway Beach in the fourth quarter of 2023, an adult-only neighborhood, making Perfect Day at CocoCay more perfect and increasing capacity in the island to 13,000 visitors daily,” Liberty said during the Q4 earnings call.
Little is known about Hideaway Beach at this time, except that it will be an adults-only resort area. This new addition to the cruise line’s private island is set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2023 and is expected to bring an additional 3,000 people to the island. This will further increase the island’s capacity to 13,000 visitors daily.
Royal Caribbean Sees Increased Interest in Caribbean Vacations
The Royal Caribbean International’s North America-based itineraries, many of which visit Perfect Day at Cococay, are already booked in line with the record-breaking year 2019, indicating that the ships will be full while sailing.
During the first quarter of 2023, approximately 80% of Royal Caribbean’s capacity will operate from North America, with the majority sailing to the Caribbean.
This is higher than in the first quarter of 2019, especially for short Caribbean sailings, as the company has added more capacity in the region to take advantage of the incredible interest that both Perfect Day at Cococay and the upcoming release of Icon of the Seas has brought.
Royal Caribbean betting big on CocoCay comes as no surprise. The cruise company’s costs for sailing to the island are reasonably low for the cruise company, while the returns are excellent.
Jason Liberty expanded further on the importance of CocoCay for Royal during the call: “The demand for that product is exceptionally high. We have a significant increase in our overall capacity that we bring into CocoCay. And the demand not only is there from a volume perspective, but the rate is there. It’s the same with the spend for the products and experiences on Perfect Day. We’ve seen a great demand and a lot of resilience as the prices go up.”
“So, it’s a hit, and it’s very successful. We are opening Hideaway Beach in the fourth quarter of this year in preparation for Icon of the Seas. Hideaway Beach will allow us to bring an additional 3,000 people to Perfect Day.”
With the addition of Hideaway Beach, the island is sure to become an even more popular destination for cruise travelers. Royal Caribbean expects to bring 2.5 million to 3 million guests to CocoCay in 2023. This would mean between 7000 and 8000 guests visiting the island each day of the year.
