Private Islands and Beach Clubs: The Newest Cruise Offerings Are on Dry Land

New York Times

12-03-2025

Opposite the bustling Nassau Bahamas Cruise Terminal, where it is not unusual to see four or five passenger ships docked at once, is a slice of tropical paradise with miles of white-sand beaches and turquoise water.
Once dotted with mansions, the 17-acre expanse on the western end of the Bahamas' Paradise Island, has been acquired by an unlikely developer: the Royal Caribbean cruise line.
After the success of its Bahamian private island, CocoCay, the company is expanding its land-based offerings with a beach club scheduled to open in December. The projected $165 million project will have three swimming pools, the world's largest swim-up bar and themed beach zones.
'We are creating the ultimate beach day with the authentic vibe, colors and flavors of a lost Bahamian beach club,' Jay Schneider, Royal Caribbean's chief product innovation officer, said during a tour of the construction site. 'There will be local art, music and locally inspired cuisine balanced with American comforts.'
Many cruise lines own private Caribbean islands, but the exclusive beach club concept is part of a new trend amid record demand for cruises and the seemingly nonstop rollout of megaships. Carnival is also building a beach club called Celebration Key, expected to open in July on Grand Bahama Island. Royal Caribbean is developing two beach destinations in Mexico that will open in 2026 and 2027.
Not everyone is enthusiastic about the cruise lines' real estate portfolios. Some Bahamians say they are fed up with being priced out of their land by foreign investors and are concerned that the new attractions will divert tourism dollars away from excursions run by local vendors.
'The tourists will go from cruise ship to the private club back to the ship without spending a dime in the real Nassau,' said Ray Jacobs, a market vendor and boat captain.
To mitigate these grievances, Royal Caribbean has teamed up with the Bahamian government for its beach club project in a partnership that will give Bahamians a 49 percent equity ownership stake. Another 1 percent of gross profits will go toward improving local attractions, the company said.
'We want to connect locals to big projects to make sure everyday Bahamians have access to tourism opportunities,' said Latia Duncombe, the director general of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation.
Among those opportunities are the approximately 400 jobs that will be filled by Bahamians at the beach club, Royal Caribbean said. Local businesses will be awarded lucrative contracts for food and beverages, excursions, security, entertainment and other services.
The cruise line also said it would adhere to its companywide sustainability principles, teaming up with Bahamian companies on recycling, waste reduction programs and environmental protection.
'They just swept in'
Despite the potential to boost tourism, some Bahamians think the government has been overly accommodating to outsiders. Toby Smith, a local entrepreneur, applied to lease public land on the western tip of Paradise Island in 2012 for a beach club project that would include the restoration of the Hog Island lighthouse, which has been in disrepair since the 1980s.
After a drawn-out process, Mr. Smith finally received approval in January 2020. A month later, after hearing rumors that Royal Caribbean had shown interest in the same land, Mr. Smith approached the government for clarity, but never heard back. In March 2020, most of the land promised to Mr. Smith was awarded to Royal Caribbean.
'I spent eight years negotiating and waiting for the lease of my sustainable, scaled and cultural beach club project, and they just swept in and got there in six weeks,' Mr. Smith said. 'It's a disgrace.'
Dionisio D'Aguilar, the tourism minister at the time, acknowledged that Mr. Smith had been sent a lease for the land before Royal Caribbean applied for the same plot.
'Royal Caribbean came forward with an attractive proposition for the Bahamian people — a deal that seeks to create a number of entrepreneurs in a number of service areas,' Mr. D'Aguilar said during a 2021 television interview on Eyewitness News Bahamas.
'It's a harsh environment out there, and you've got to have some long dollars,' he added.
Mr. Smith started a legal battle against the government and, last year, was granted the right to take his case to the Privy Council in London, the highest court for the Bahamas, a former British colony.
In the meantime, Royal Caribbean amended its lease with the government in April 2024 so that it does not include the overlapping acres of land that were promised to Mr. Smith, and built a wall on the construction site to separate the two plots.
Lounging like a 1 percenter
Avid Royal Caribbean cruisers are excited about the beach club and are mostly unaware of the local tensions it has created.
'We've probably been to Nassau more than 20 times and done all the excursions, so we usually stay on the ship when we stop there,' said Alan Rivera, 47, a car salesman from Tampa, Fla., who was recently celebrating his anniversary with his wife on board Utopia of the Seas.
'The beach club is a great idea because when you've done all the excursions, all you really want to do is lie on the beach,' Mr. Rivera said. 'We'll be back to try it out.'
A day earlier, Utopia of the Seas docked at Royal Caribbean's private island for its 'Perfect Day at CocoCay.' The experience gives a taste of what the beach club offering might be like. When the gangway hit the pier at 8 a.m., a flood of guests made their way across the island to the themed sections that seemingly offered something for everyone.
Many of the attractions are included in the fare: the pristine beaches, the freshwater pool and eateries. For an extra fee, there is the adults-only Hideaway Beach; the Coco Beach Club, with over-water cabanas and private butlers; and a water park with the largest water slide in the region.
'Private islands are usually reserved for the 1 percent,' said Priscilla McKenzie, 33, sipping a margarita as she sat in the crystalline waters of Hideaway Beach.
While CocoCay feels almost like an extension of Royal Caribbean's ships, the company says that the new Paradise Beach Club will feel Bahamian and focus solely on the beach club experience. Capacity will be capped at 40 percent of cruise ship volume, with tickets offered on a first-come-first-served basis. The limit, the cruise line said, will ensure that excursions and local attractions will continue to draw passengers.
Mr. Schneider, of Royal Caribbean, said the company looked at two core metrics when devising itineraries and investing in destinations: 'high appeal and high satisfaction.'
The Greek island of Santorini, for example, has very high appeal, but it has low satisfaction because of overtourism.
Nassau, with a generally low satisfaction and appeal rate among passengers, is still strategically an important destination for Royal Caribbean. Recent company surveys have found that Nassau had lost appeal for cruisers who had already experienced the major sights and activities; those who gave low satisfaction ratings were looking for a wider variety of activities.
'With the beach club and the revenue it will raise for broader tourism investments in Nassau, we believe it will play a role in raising its appeal and satisfaction for our guests,' Mr. Schneider said.
But many ordinary Bahamians working at the port, local market and restaurants are unconvinced.
'The only chance we have to sell tours is when the cruise passengers come out of the port,' said Doug Nance, an independent tour guide and driver. 'When the beach club opens, they're just going to get on another boat and go in the opposite direction.'
Mr. Jacobs, the boat captain, recently visited the construction site by boat and said he was shocked to see that the land had been razed and the trees ripped out. Royal Caribbean said it had removed 75 percent of the plants considered invasive species by the government and was preserving 30 percent of the native trees during construction. The company said all those plants and trees would be replanted alongside new native species.
Driving across the coast, John McPhee, the president of the transportation company Ride Bahamas, said that despite the government's efforts to team up with Royal Caribbean, the fact that Mr. Smith was not allowed to execute his vision demonstrates the systematic failures with the country's tourism model, which tends to cater to foreign investment.
'I learned as a young boy that whenever a piece of land juts out into the ocean, it creates a conflict,' Mr. McPhee said. 'A disturbance in currents, where smaller fish get trapped, and the bigger fish come and feed off them.'
'Royal Caribbean has taken advantage of this,' he added.
But some are optimistic. Derek Schofield, 55, who works in logistics for several excursion companies, said that the creation of new jobs is beneficial for the growth of the tourism industry.
'Some of us may go home with fewer dollars in our wallets at the end of the day,' he said. But, he added, 'if we look at the bigger picture, this project will boost the tourism economy and open up opportunities for many Bahamians, putting more food on the table for Bahamian families.'