Carnival and Royal Caribbean seem to be in an arms race when it comes to delivering the biggest and best ships possible.
Both cruise lines have multiple megaships on order and continue to add features designed to wow passengers. Carnival's Excel Class, for example, offers the Bolt Roller Coaster, a first-of-its-kind attraction, while Royal Caribbean's brand new Icon Class ship, Icon of the Seas, is packed with innovations.
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It has almost become impossible to build a cruise ship that's a game-changer because both cruise lines continue to innovate and push boundaries. Carnival's Excel Class and Royal Caribbean's Icon and Oasis classes have redefined cruise ships and offer so much that it's hard to imagine passengers not being delighted.
Both cruise lines, however, have turned their attention, at least partly, to land.
Royal Caribbean changed the game when it remodeled its Perfect Day at CocoCay private island to make it more than a beach day.
The cruise line added a dock, a giant pool, an added-fee water park, and an upscale beach club, and recently added an extra-charge adults-only area. That created a model for private islands, which Royal Caribbean is copying at its upcoming Beach Club destinations in Nassau and Cozumel.
It's also a model Carnival is loudly copying at its upcoming Celebration Key private island. But the cruise line is also quietly moving forward with a plan to make its current private destination, Half Moon Cay, a little more like CocoCay.
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Carnival has brought back a plan from 2019
While Carnival is building Celebration Key as its direct answer to Perfect Day at CocoCay, the cruise line does have a private island. Half Moon Cay, which is technically Little San Salvador, in the Bahamas, currently offers a private island experience for Carnival and its Holland America Line brand.
The private island offers a classic beach day experience. It does not have a pool, a waterpark, or really much besides a beach, lounge chairs, bars, and a barbecue spot. It's also an island that requires the use of tenders — small ships that bring passengers back and forth — because it does not have a dock.
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That's something Carnival has planned to change since 2019. The cruise line shared plans to build a dock at Half Moon Cay back before the pandemic, but Covid and the cruise industry shutdown derailed that plan.
It now appears that the dock project at Half Moon Cay is back on track and that it's only a piece of what Carnival has planned for its classic private island destination.
Passengers generally do not like tender ports because anyone prone to motion sickness might have to wait in line to ride a small ship. The process is slow and more complicated than simply getting off the ship at a dock.
Carnival has big plans for Half Moon Cay
Carnival Cruise Line Chief Marketing Officer Amy Martin Ziegenfuss shared that the Half Moon Cay dock project has made progress, Cruise Industry News reported.
The dock will be only part of what Carnival has planned for Half Moon Cay.
“The tender port is currently located on the south side of the bay, which is where we come in today,” Ziegenfuss told travel advisers during a trade event in early September. “This port will stay there and still be available, but we’ll also have a pier on the north side that will enable us to bring more people.”
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A new dock will enable the cruise line to bring its largest ships to Half Moon Cay. Royal Caribbean can dock any two of its ships, regardless of size, at CocoCay.
Carnival won't simply be adding a dock to Half Moon Cay.
“Right now, it’s really the south side that’s developed. We are planning some enhancements on the north side so there will be more things to do,” Ziegenfuss said. “We are not just going to bring more people and stick them in the small space that we have.”
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Carnival has not specified what it plans to add to Half Moon Cay. It currently describes visits to the island as a "lazy beach day."
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