How private resorts may boost cruise travel. What's changing on the high seas

Miami Herald

02-05-2025

Cruise ships are trying to navigate murky waters.
Do travelers want more and faster waterslides? Or the number of decks to reach the 30s? Do they still want to hike on all seven continents? Or just stay on the ship and sip fruity cocktails?
Growth in cruise ship travel is starting to slow compared to the post-pandemic boom. That trend has cruise lines looking at several ways to keep people coming on board.
Some are creating new private resorts. Others are doubling down on super high-end luxury trips. Still others are offering river cruises.
How all this unfolds affects South Florida and the Sunshine State, home to the three largest passenger cruise ports in the United States: PortMiami, Port Canaveral and Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. The industry fills about 130,000 jobs in Florida.
Private islands
In December, Royal Caribbean will debut its third all-inclusive resort, the Royal Beach Club Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The company is promising the resort will include the 'world's largest swim-up bar.' It spans 17 acres of land with seven beach bars and 'pools for every vibe.' The project is a partnership with the Bahamian government.
This will be Royal Caribbean's third private island, following Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas and Labadee in Haiti, where the company has suspended travel.
MORE: Inside a new cruise ship: 22 decks, a dozen restaurants, a mall. Take a tour
MSC Cruises remodeled its private island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, in the Bahamas in 2024, adding a private yacht club and solar farm. Now, the cruise line will be creating a second private island near the original thanks to a dredging project at Ocean Cay.
Ryan Rea, a 37-year-old frequent cruiser from Miami, is drawn to that idea.
'I prefer the private island because I've been to the ports so many times,' Rea said.
'They're comfortable, safe and relaxing,' he said. 'You know you won't get bothered.'
Luxury trips
Several cruise lines are creating more high-end luxury cruises, in part because that's where the money is. And MSC Cruises, which opened a modern new terminal in April at PortMiami, is betting on it.
Explora Journeys, the luxury company it owns, will have its two ships, Explora I and Explora II, sail from Miami starting in November through the winter season. Each offers over 20 trips that are either 8 or 16 nights. Many sail to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere in the Caribbean. That includes Greater and Lesser Antilles, St. John's and the lagoons of Tortola.
The Explora III, a new vessel that will start sailing during the summer of 2026, will have 13 trips from PortMiami starting in November 2026, mostly to San Juan and the Caribbean but also, for the first time, La Romana in the Dominican Republic.
The publication Cruise Critic has noted that all cabins on Explora I are suites, and each has an outdoor terrace. 'Suites mirror public spaces, designed to feel like a boutique hotel or room at a luxury resort, rather than a cruise ship,' one reviewer wrote. 'The line has achieved this not just in the décor — modern and neutral — but in scale.'
Of course, these journeys aren't for everyone — eight-night trips start at about $3,000 per person.
One catalyst for MSC pushing more into high end is how costly things are on land.
Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman for MSC Group's cruise division, recounted in April to an audience in Miami Beach at the yearly Seatrade Cruise Global conference how expensive he found things on land when he visited.
'When I see the prices … it's incredible,' he said. 'The dinner alone cost the same as a day on a luxury ship.'
That helped convince him that MSC was on the right track.
'How can we be wrong?' Vago asked.
Euphoria ending for the cruise ship industry?
The cruise industry experienced massive growth as the COVID-19 pandemic faded and millions decided to jump into their bucket lists.
In 2024, 35 million people took an ocean cruise worldwide, up 9% from 2023, according to a new report from the trade group Cruise Lines International Association. That's nearly twice the NFL's total attendance for the 2024 regular season.
Yet the growth rate is slowing. The report forecasts 3% growth in 2027 and 2% in 2028.
The 310 ocean vessels operating in 2025 is just a 2% increase from the year before. That's the smallest annual growth since at least 2018, excluding the pandemic year 2021.
And there are other challenges.
Cities throughout the world are imposing restrictions on large ships docking at their ports.
In January, the mayor of Nice, on the French Riviera, issued a decree barring cruise ships with 900 or more passengers from docking at its ports. Last year, Juneau, Alaska, had a ballot measure that would ban ships from docking on Saturdays. While voters rejected it, that has given life to other ways to limit cruise tourism. In November, voters in Bar Harbour, Maine, chose to maintain their limit of 1,000 passengers per day.
Cities making it tougher for big cruise ships to dock is one concern. But even busy ports have finite space, industry analysts say, and will soon have to cope with congestion.
PortMiami, for example, will be able to handle 12 ships simultaneously once it finishes all three berths at MSC's new terminal inaugurated in April. Earlier this year it set a record when 10 ships arrived one morning.
'They may have room to build one or two more docks,' said Stewart Chiron, a cruise expert. 'But then what?'
The author of The Cruise Guy, who takes at least 10 cruises a year, wonders: 'You can build new ships but where are you going to put them?'
PortMiami's Florida neighbors to the north have already had to face that question. Last year, Port Canaveral suspended an effort to expand its port after state departments of commerce and transportation objected, saying it would bother the Space Coast. The port in Tampa has height restrictions.
This may be leading to one of the biggest trends in cruising: visiting private islands held or built by the cruise companies.
The first one, Great Stirrup Cay launched by Norwegian Cruise Line, dates back to 1977. Those were early days for cruise companies. That was also the year 'The Love Boat' debuted on ABC television. But they are now in vogue like never before.
'The cruise lines are limited' in where they can dock, Chiron, the Cruise Guy, said. 'That's why they have to create these destinations.'
New places and faces on a cruise
Next year, Royal Caribbean will open another private port, Royal Beach Club Cozumel, in Mexico. Guests can snorkel, kayak and enjoy tequila tastings and cooking classes. The resort will include swim-up bars, street markets and private cabanas. In 2027, it'll launch what it dubs Perfect Day Mexico. Each allows for 'new adventures in the western Caribbean,' the company said.
Notably, the islands in Mexico will be closer to Galveston, Texas, than other destinations. That could create a test of whether Galveston can compete with South Florida's main ports. Galveston is about 50 miles from Houston, which is home to about 2 million people.
Doral-based Carnival told the Miami Herald it expects to have ready Celebration Key, its own private development in the Bahamas, for sailing trips starting in July. On the southern side of Grand Bahama island and about 17 miles northeast of Freeport, the resort will have its own pier with two berths where Carnival's largest ships can dock.
In 2026, the pier at Celebration Key will add two more berths so a total of four Carnival ships can dock at the same time. Costing $600 million, the area will feature water slides for kids, scuba diving and other sports, and excursions. And there will be more than 30 restaurants and bars that passengers can reach by walking or swimming.
Carnival is so keen on Celebration Key that 20 of its 27 ships plan to sail there, including all five ships that call PortMiami home: Carnival Celebration, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Conquest and Carnival Magic. Ships sailing from Baltimore, New Orleans and Galveston will also head there this year.
In addition to giving the ships additional and alternative places to dock, the private resorts give travelers more beach time, expand group activities and bring in more money to the cruise lines.
The business justification was expressed by Josh Weinstein, president, chief executive officer, and chief climate officer of Carnival Corp. He said in April at the cruise conference in Miami Beach that the private island or resort 'gets a broader audience, it gets more customers, and it will ultimately result in more demand.'
Cruise companies are hoping that's also true for luxury travelers.
Royal Caribbean is also making a play in that space, all the way in Antarctica.
It expects to have an 'Antarctica Bridge fly-cruise program' ready by the end of 2025 that allows travelers to fly directly from Santiago, Chile, to Puerto Williams before getting on a cruise. But before that, guests can stay at a 150-room hotel, The Cormorant at 55 South in Puerto Williams, which is in the Beagle Channel and near Ushuaia.
The site, self-proclaimed as the 'southernmost hotel on Earth,' is planning to open by the end of this year. It overlooks the channel and is surrounded by forest and water and the snow-capped Patagonian mountains. Amenities include a fitness center, gift shop, lounge and a large restaurant.
The hotel and the expedition cruise ships are being organized by Silversea Cruises, an ultra-luxury and expedition cruising company Royal Caribbean acquired in 2018. Silversea has three expedition ships.
Then there are river cruises.
In 2027, Royal Caribbean will start offering trips along European rivers on its subsidiary company Celebrity River Cruises. It has already ordered 10 ships and will go up against better-known river carriers like Viking.
Whether these trends will fend off the uncertainty is another question.
Trump tariffs
President Donald Trump has used executive power to raise tariffs against China to 145%. He's put a 10% tax in place against all imports from most countries including close allies and those who hold trade deficits against the U.S. He later suspended some of them for 90 days. Still, businesses are reporting slowdowns.
At the Seatrade cruise conference in April and in subsequent earnings calls, cruise executives have acknowledged they aren't immune to the policies.
'The uncertainty, and the ripple effects absolutely have an impact on the industry,' Carnival's Weinstein said.
Still, he noted that 'we had more bookings in the first quarter than we have ever had.'
Meanwhile, on a conference call on April 29 to discuss first-quarter results, Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty said the company is over 86% fully booked for the year and 'we see really no impact, no change in cancellation rates and no real change in how our consumers are acting.' The company reported serving 2.2 million guests in the first quarter, up 9% from the same period in 2024, and said travelers' spending on board was higher than a year ago.
That may be due in part to travelers like Ryan Rea. The Miami resident has averaged taking four to five cruises in past years.
'This year will remain the same,' he said.
He already has one trip booked on Virgin Voyages in October to the Dominican Republic.
Rea said he still finds cruising the most economical way to vacation and he regularly receives promotions because he's a regular and he gambles while on board.
But he also believes cruise companies can stave off tariffs because of their influence with government leaders.
'The cruise lines,' he said, 'are pretty powerful.'