Carnival Cruise Line’s Celebration Key is the line’s brand-new private island destination in the Bahamas, set to open in July 2025.
Celebration Key is Carnival’s answer to Royal Caribbean’s highly successful private destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay, which features a waterpark, adults-only area, premium experiences, and plenty of ways to enjoy being in or near the water. Not surprisingly, Celebration Key is planning to incorporate similar amenities.
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One thing we didn’t know much about – until now – was Celebration Key’s dining options. Perfect Day at CocoCay has a few options, including complimentary all-you-can-eat buffets and snack options, as well as some a-la-carte choices. But now it looks like food and beverage choices might be a big differentiator when it comes to Celebration Key.
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Image source: Carnival Cruise Line.
Over 30 dining options
Carnival announced that Celebration Key will feature more than 30 food and beverage outlets that include full-service restaurants, as well as a food hall, food trucks, snack shacks, kiosks, and more. Some will be complimentary, and others will have an additional cost.
For starters, there will be four full-service restaurants:
- ·Mingo’s Tropical Bar & Kitchen – Waterfront dining serving Bahamian dishes as well as classics like steak and seafood.
- Surf N’ Sauce BBQ & Brews – Barbeque and a full-service bar featuring Bahamian craft beers.
- Gill’s Grill – Caribbean-style seafood in a family-friendly environment.
- Pearl Cove Beach Club Restaurant – Located in the 18+ exclusive retreat area, featuring an elevated menu.
There will be a food hall with five different quick service outlets, as well as a variety of food trucks serving things like chicken sandwiches, burgers, and conch fritters. Snack shacks throughout the island will offer grab-and-go food items.
As far as beverages, all the full-service restaurants also have a full-service bar. There is also a 100-seat in-lagoon bar at Calypso Lagoon, as well as a separate 40-seat bar in the same area. In the family-friendly Starfish Lagoon, there will also be a swim-up bar with both in- and out-of-water eating. The Pearl Cove Beach Club offers a full bar, as well as the ability for guests to purchase an open bar access pass.
Another unique feature of Celebration Key’s food and beverage offerings is the Suncastle Grounds premium coffee shop. There’s also an ice cream venue available on the island.
What’s free, and what costs extra?
Along with the announcement of the food and beverage options, Carnival also announced its “Island Eats” program, which allows each guest one complimentary meal on the island, which can be chosen from the quick service outlets, snack shacks, and food trucks – or the guests can choose to receive a 25% discount on a full-service meal.
At this time, it’s unclear whether Carnival’s Cheers! beverage package will work on the island, however, the fact that the upscale Pearl Cove Beach Club will be selling open bar packages is a good indicator that it won’t. The beverage package doesn’t work at the existing Half Moon Cay private island or the line’s Amber Cove private resort destination, so this wouldn’t be a big surprise.
When comparing the Celebration Key offerings to Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay, it’s a mixed bag. According to this press release, there will clearly be a greater variety of food and beverage options on the new island. However, it’s worth noting that Perfect Day at CocoCay offers unlimited food from its casual venues, plus cruisers can use their drink package on the island.
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Finally, it’s worth pointing out that this is still a very fluid situation, and the amenities and details of Celebration Key will continue to be revealed between now and the island’s opening date next Summer.
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