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Perfect Day - Lelepa


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Royal Caribbean has announced the location of the line’s newest private island destination – Perfect Day at Lelepa, Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Perfect Day at Lelepa will open in 2022 and will be the Southern Hemisphere’s first private island destination cruising experience.

The announcement of the new project was made by Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai, and Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley.

Salwai and Bayley said the destination will be created in partnership with the community of Vanuatu to showcase the distinct natural ecological beauty and diverse local culture of the island nation as well as provide employment and education opportunities.

Perfect Day at Lelepa will also be built with sustainability features designed to safeguard the island’s ecosystems and will be the first carbon neutral private cruise destination in the world, with standards for carbon neutrality audited and certified by an independent third-party expert.

“We believe our destinations should be sustainably designed,” Bayley said. “That idea goes beyond simply protecting the ecological features of Lelepa and includes showing respect for the people and traditions that make this a special place.”

Vanuatu Prime Minister Salwai said, “Vanuatu is a true paradise for both our people and the visitors we welcome to our shores each year. Today marks a major step forward in our island nation’s close relationship with Royal Caribbean and one that will support sustainable growth for future generations. The Ni-Vanuatu people look forward to welcoming Royal Caribbean guests from around the world to enjoy extraordinary adventures and relaxation during their Perfect Day at Lelepa.”

Bayley said, “Anyone who has encountered the tremendous natural beauty of Lelepa can understand why it is the perfect setting for ‘Perfect Day.’ Our guests who travel to the South Pacific are seeking authentic adventures and genuine relaxation, and they will find both here.”

Perfect Day at Lelepa will have a different look and feel from Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay. Bailey went on to say that guests around the world all have different definitions for their perfect day — and all of them are right. He is confident the designers of the first Perfect Day in the South Pacific will create an experience that suits the destination.

Cox Architecture, a sustainable, design-focused contemporary architectural firm based in Australia, will serve as the lead architect on the Perfect Day at Lelepa project which is scheduled to open in three year's time.

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6 hours ago, Vanessa77 said:

Does it rhyme with 'day'?

I'm assuming that it doesn't, and that it's pronounced lay-lay-pah as suggested by @KWofPerth. As it turns out, even the current "Perfect Day at Coco Cay" doesn't rhyme -- per Royal (and discussed a bit on one of @Matt's recent podcast episodes) "Cay" is pronounced "kee" as it's a word from the indigenous people that means island. Royal had said that they wanted to continue using the native pronu to respect the native people.

Why on earth Royal's marketing department then chose a name that inherently suggests it's supposed to rhyme is anyone's guess. ?

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4 minutes ago, J_Keeble said:

I heard this alot about how Cay is pronounced and hear on the podcasts it being pronounced as kee a fair amount.

Being English I say Cay but hey I might be Wrong :L

Up until about a month ago I also pronounced it "kay", even after learning it's originally a non-English word with a different pronunciation. I've slowly come around to it as I continued to hear the podcasters all making the effort to pronounce it correctly and explain the reasons over and over.

I know wikipedia isn't always the best source of info for things like this, but for what it's worth, from the etymology section of their entry on Cay:

Quote

Etymology[edit]

The 1492 indigenous people of the Bahamas were called "Lucayan", an Anglicization of the Spanish Lucayos, derived in turn from the Taíno Lukku-Cairi (which the people used for themselves), meaning "people of the islands". The Taíno word for "island", cairi, became cayo in Spanish and "cay" /ˈk/ in English (spelled "key" in American English, "caye" in Belizean English).[1]

So I guess in more-recent times, or at least in the case of travel companies coming up with the names for marketing purposes, they're going back to the original English spelling.

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How exciting!

I suspect Perfect Day Lelepa will not be a copy of Perfect Day at CocoCay.  Already I sense a strong emphasis on sustainability and a carbon neutral footprint remaining in the South Pacific culture.  In general and broad terms the South Pacific is very different compared to the Bahamas and Caribbean, not nearly as commercialized or developed and I suspect Perfect Day Lelepa will follow suit.  I think it would be a challenge to create a massive waterpark with the tallest water slides in the region with a carbon neutral footprint but that phrase is open to interpretation.   

It will be interesting to see how far they go while remaining "carbon neutral".  

The word "Key" has long meant a small island so much so that the Florida Keys is good point of reference.  No one calls them the Florida Cays.   If anyone called them the Florida Cays no one would have a clue what they were talking about.  The Florida Keys are a string of islands that are collectively called "The Florida Keys" many but not all of which are connected by a highway.

When I was in high school I had an opportunity to spend the summer in the Bahamas at a marine ecology camp.  In the 80's I learned first hand that the local Bahamian people called them "Key".  No one on island pronounced it "Cay".   The difference is in how one pronounces vowels differently in original languages.  

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I am interested to see how the organise ship visits to the Island. With the money being invested you would expect they would want a ship there every one or two days which would mean you would need a much larger presence in the Australian market all year round.

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41 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

I am interested to see how the organise ship visits to the Island. With the money being invested you would expect they would want a ship there every one or two days which would mean you would need a much larger presence in the Australian market all year round.

The other interesting thought is will it have a dock/pier built or be a tender port and yes i think if they are investing in this concept they will be increasing sailings out of Australia. 

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43 minutes ago, Shanenz84 said:

The other interesting thought is will it have a dock/pier built

I think they will built a pier as it would just make it that much easier. Apparently there is an Oasis 6 due in 2022 so maybe we will be lucky enough to get that.

I was recently on Independence of the Seas and now Freedom class is my favourite kind of ship. There is some talk to Quantum coming down our way once Asia get Wonder of the Seas. I am not a big fan of Quantum class so I hope we can get a Freedom class as well.

Looking forward to their announcements for the 2022 season in 2021. 

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48 minutes ago, Shanenz84 said:

The other interesting thought is will it have a dock/pier built or be a tender port and yes i think if they are investing in this concept they will be increasing sailings out of Australia. 

I assume it will have a pier, a pier that is Oasis capable but I haven't researched the reef around the island to see if that would have a significant impact to the marine ecology.   

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51 minutes ago, twangster said:

I assume it will have a pier, a pier that is Oasis capable but I haven't researched the reef around the island to see if that would have a significant impact to the marine ecology.   

I wonder if they would take Wonder of the Seas from Shanghai to Lelepa? Just eyeing a map though it looks a little too far.

Or something like Shanghai -> Lelepa -> Brisbane

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31 minutes ago, mattymay said:

I wonder if they would take Wonder of the Seas from Shanghai to Lelepa? Just eyeing a map though it looks a little too far.

Or something like Shanghai -> Lelepa -> Brisbane

Two large ships, Wonder and Spectrum in China.  Royal must see potential to own the market and kick the competition to the curb but by 2022 or 2023 maybe Wonder will need to diversify, or by then OA6 might work.  Slide it up to California for an Australian winter to wow California while keeping Quantum in Brisbane.  Or maybe introduce Liberty down under to split the season since she isn’t a cold(er) weather ship.  So many possibilities.  However an Oasis capable pier for Lelepa is a no brainer.

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Firstly... the discussion on "Cay".  I would have thought it was a derivation on the English "Quay" (pronounced - "key"). 

As for Lelepa, I wouldnt think it would be an exact copy of Coco Cay. It will have elements of that, but I wouldnt think it would be as "overt".  So... A waterpark without the towering slides etc....

From the press release, I would also expect more cultural experiences to be available as part of the activities as well.  Additionally, I would think a good indication would also be having a look at pics of what resorts are already available in Vanuatu and the style of their developments.

I would also expect it to be a multi stage process.  They will have a good offering available from day one and then develop it further based on customer feedback and how the market reacts.

A private island is a very new concept for cruisers in this part of the world, so there will need to be a reasonable amount of education to build up the interest.

Finally.... While the "unnamed" quantum class ship is scheduled for sydney.... I wouldnt be surprised if ends up being home ported from Brisbane at some point.   Its getting the new cruise terminal AND its a  quicker transit to Vanuatu where they could offer shorter sailings.  Also of note, on the promo material, Cairns is also shown on the map.  I wonder if Royal would home port a smaller ship out of Cairns as well during the off season.   It would make total sense.

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21 minutes ago, Phillo said:

As for Lelepa, I wouldnt think it would be an exact copy of Coco Cay. It will have elements of that, but I wouldnt think it would be as "overt".  So... A waterpark without the towering slides etc....

No need to think about it, the press release says specifically that it will be different from Coco-Cay:

16 hours ago, KWofPerth said:

Perfect Day at Lelepa will have a different look and feel from Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay. Bailey went on to say that guests around the world all have different definitions for their perfect day — and all of them are right. He is confident the designers of the first Perfect Day in the South Pacific will create an experience that suits the destination.

I do however hope that they keep the dual elements of 'Chill" & 'Thrill' when developing Lelepa. I like to option to do both, and commercially this diversifies the customer base the island will appeal to. 

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38 minutes ago, Vanessa77 said:

No need to think about it, the press release says specifically that it will be different from Coco-Cay:

I do however hope that they keep the dual elements of 'Chill" & 'Thrill' when developing Lelepa. I like to option to do both, and commercially this diversifies the customer base the island will appeal to. 

Agreed.

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Interesting info on Lelepa itself. 

The island has 2 towns, churches, and a population of 500. Wiki says that RCI will be creating a 'private resort' on the island, so there is already a big difference between Lelepa and Coco Cay in that I don't believe Coco was inhabited at the time RCI took the lease?

I wonder if that means guests will be restricted to the resort area, or if service will just be restricted to the area. Lelepa is quite a bit larger than Coco Cay as well, at 5km long vs the 1 on Coco Cay. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lelepa_Island

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Ok a bit of trivia.....who remembers that before it was CocoCay it was Little Stirrup Cay (pronounced key)? I first visited Little Stirrup Cay when I was in college in 1987 aboard The Emerald Seas. Several cruise lines visited there. It was literally a beach with chairs and the sunken airplane. 

I returned in 1990 or 91 on my first RC cruise aboard Song of America. It was still Little Stirrup back then too and basically a beach with chairs and sunken plane. Lol 

I will return next weekend on Mariner as a primer for our Symphony cruise in May. 

Quite a transformation of that little cay. Can’t wait! 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/15/2019 at 7:10 AM, twangster said:

How exciting!

I suspect Perfect Day Lelepa will not be a copy of Perfect Day at CocoCay.  Already I sense a strong emphasis on sustainability and a carbon neutral footprint remaining in the South Pacific culture.  In general and broad terms the South Pacific is very different compared to the Bahamas and Caribbean, not nearly as commercialized or developed and I suspect Perfect Day Lelepa will follow suit.  I think it would be a challenge to create a massive waterpark with the tallest water slides in the region with a carbon neutral footprint but that phrase is open to interpretation.   

It will be interesting to see how far they go while remaining "carbon neutral".  

The word "Key" has long meant a small island so much so that the Florida Keys is good point of reference.  No one calls them the Florida Cays.   If anyone called them the Florida Cays no one would have a clue what they were talking about.  The Florida Keys are a string of islands that are collectively called "The Florida Keys" many but not all of which are connected by a highway.

When I was in high school I had an opportunity to spend the summer in the Bahamas at a marine ecology camp.  In the 80's I learned first hand that the local Bahamian people called them "Key".  No one on island pronounced it "Cay".   The difference is in how one pronounces vowels differently in original languages.  

Floridian here (now transplanted to CA).  As you mention, in FL it's always been "key" (with the usual habit of English just borrowing a word and then smooshing it into a spelling match).

What has surprised me has been finding that locations around the world, with English English being spoken (example: Singapore) also pronounce "cay" or "quay" as "key."  Clarke Quay in Singapore is spoken as "Clarke Key."

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