Video: Royal Caribbean Unveils Up, Up and Away on Private Island Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas

In:
10 Jun 2019

On Royal Caribbean International’s newly opened private island destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay, an unrivaled combination of first-of-their-kind thrills and ways to chill make their debut. At the center of the destination’s $250 million transformation is an iconic helium balloon that vacationers can’t miss, Up, Up and Away. Guests of all ages will score the best and highest vantage point in The Bahamas, literally taking adventure to new heights – up to 450 feet to be exact. Securely tethered to the ground and manned by two trained pilots and a team of experts, go under the hood to see how this intricate system works.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast Episode - An inside look at creating Perfect Day at CocoCay

In:
05 Jun 2019

Listen to the Show

Royal Caribbean has once again changed the landscape of what a cruise vacation can offer with its $250 million transformation of Perfect Day at CocoCay. Royal Caribbean sought to offer its guests a combination of “thrill” and “chill” and over the course of many months, created an entirely new private island experience. But how did we get from CocoCay to Perfect Day at CocoCay, and what kind of work went into the entire project?

On this episode:
Running time:

Video: Things I wish I knew before visiting Perfect Day at CocoCay

In:
30 May 2019

Visiting Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay soon? Looking for some good tips and helpful information before you arrive? We are sharing things that are great to know before your Royal Caribbean cruise stops at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Do you have a Royal Caribbean vacation that includes a stop at Perfect Day at CocoCay in your future? If so, then you will want to find out all the cool things to know about Royal Caribbean’s private island — from things to do to things to eat! So pull up a hammock and join us in paradise today as we make a stop at Perfect Day at CoocCay!

If you love this video, we have lots of other great cruise videos to watch on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!

By the way, have you subscribed yet? Be sure to subscribe to our channel and never miss a single video!

So check out the video and then let us know: what is your favorite thing to do at Perfect Day at CocoCay?

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast Episode - Perfect Day at CocoCay review

In:
22 May 2019

Listen to the Show

After months and months of anticipation, Matt finally had the chance to visit Perfect Day at CocoCay and check out many of the new activities and offerings that Royal Caribbean recently added. On this week's episode, Matt is sharing what he thought about this private island makeover and what I loved the most.

Share with me your thoughts, questions and comments via...

On this episode:
Running time:

Video: Royal Caribbean Constructs Thrill Waterpark at Perfect Day at CocoCay

In:
13 May 2019

The jaw-dropping Thrill Waterpark is at the heart of the action on Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean International’s newly transformed private island in The Bahamas. The cruise line has constructed the latest engineering feat on 9 acres of land with the superlatives to match, including the Caribbean’s largest wave pool and 13 exhilarating slides across two brag-worthy water towers – Daredevil’s Tower and Splash Summit. At the waterpark with the most waterslides in the Caribbean, adrenaline-seeking guests can put their courage to the test on the 135-foot-tall Daredevil’s Peak, the tallest waterslide in North America; go head to head on a series of single-rider racer slides, defy gravity on The Slingshot, twist and turn in the Green Mamba, and face the unknown on the Dueling Demons drop slides for the adventure of a lifetime.

Video: Royal Caribbean Redefines Island Time at Perfect Day at CocoCay

In:
07 May 2019

Royal Caribbean International’s Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas is set to redefine private island destinations. After a $250 million transformation, Perfect Day is the ultimate combination of thrill and chill. This unrivaled private island, only available to Royal Caribbean guests, provides an array of distinct adventures and iconic features from, the tallest waterslide in North America, Daredevil’s Peak to Oasis Lagoon, the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean -- one-of-a-kind experiences that will top any bucket list.

Video: First look around Perfect Day at CocoCay

In:
06 May 2019

Perfect Day at CocoCay is finally open! If you are wondering what Royal Caribbean has added to its private island, then today's RoyalCaribbeanBlog video is perfect for you!

We have a first look at the one-of-a-kind Perfect Day at CocoCay—the next-level private island exclusive to Royal Caribbean guests. The newly opened destination welcomes travelers to an experience like no other after a $250 million transformation of the cruise line's existing slice of paradise in The Bahamas.

If you love this video, we have lots of other great cruise videos to watch on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!

By the way, have you subscribed yet? Be sure to subscribe to our channel and never miss a single episode!

So check out the video and then let us know: What will be your first stop when you get to Perfect Day at CocoCay?

Royal Caribbean opens Perfect Day at CocoCay

In:
04 May 2019

Royal Caribbean officially opened its revamped private island in the Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay.

The newly opened destination welcomes guests following a $250 million transformation of the cruise line's existing private destination in The Bahamas.

Guests sailing on Navigator of the Seas were welcomed to Perfect Day at CocoCay, where a number of new venues, activities and offerings were officially open for guest use.

While Royal Caribbean opened some areas of Perfect Day in the weeks leading up to this grand opening, today was the first day guests had the opportunity to try Thrill Waterpark.

At Thrill Waterpark, you can find Daredevil’s Tower, where guests can try a number ofsingle-rider waterslides of various heights, including the 135-foot-tall Daredevil’s Peak – the tallest waterslide in North America.

Additional highlights are the twin Dueling Demon drop slides, launching riders from a vertical position; the Manta Raycers, where friends can race down twin open flume slides; the high-speed, fully vertical Screeching Serpent; and the coiling Green Mamba, a massive aqua tube slide.

There is also lots for kids of all ages to enjoy. From three dry slides and 16 water cannons, to rope features and a splash pad, Captain Jill’s Galleon is an interactive play structure loaded with swashbuckling thrills. There's even Sprayaway Geyser, which shoots water 80 feet up into the air!

Of course, Perfect Day at CocoCay features the beautiful beaches that people have flocked to The Bahamas for years. Chill Island has beach favorites here, including jet skiing excursions as well as plentiful cabanas and daybeds for relaxation under the shade. 

The island features a 1,600-foot-long zip-line course that crisscrosses Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Perfect Day features the Caribbean’s largest freshwater pool, Oasis Lagoon, which has three distinct coves. Children can get in on the fun, too, with the kid-friendly zero-entry zone.

Skipper’s Grill is a waterfront restaurant that mixes the best views with an array of complimentary menu items,  like salads, sandwiches, tacos and burgers. 

The first—and only—Splashaway Bay ashore features two drench buckets, five slides (two tubes and three racer slides), as well as numerous fountains, water cannons, sprinklers and geysers. There is also an obstacle course featuring cannons and rope bridge.

Refer to our guide for Perfect Day at CocoCay prices and costs, including what is complimentary and what has an additional charge. We also have a list of Perfect Day at CocoCay waterslides & experiences height and weight requirements.

What are you most excited to try at Perfect Day at CocoCay? Let us know in the comments!

Royal Caribbean talks Cuba, early Perfect Day response and more during earnings call with investors

In:
02 May 2019

After each fiscal quarter, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. holds a conference call with investors to go over their quarterly results that were released earlier in the day.  While most of this discussion is mired in financial discussion, there are some interesting tidbits that guests can pull out of these discussions.

We rounded up the most intriguing bits from the earnings call that may provide guidance or a view of where the cruise line is going, and how leadership sees things currently.

No changes to Cuba...yet

Ever since the U.S. Administration made an announcement that it intends to clamp down on recent changes to America's policy towards Cuba, many have wondered what impact that will have on cruises to Cuba.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd Chairman and CEO Richard Fain took a little time to speak on the subject, saying essentially that nothing has changed quite yet,  "If such legislation does ensue, we believe that we possess all defenses. And we're not expecting to change our itineraries as a result. The administration also commented on possible changes to the regulations that apply to travel to Cuba."

"At this point, we don't know if there will be any changes, what those changes might be? Or to what extent they would impact us. Only 3% of our itineraries currently go to Cuba. And any impact would depend on what the regulations say. And how much advanced notice we and our guests would receive."

Perfect Day impact

Throughout the call with investors, Royal Caribbean's executives were very bullish on the potential Perfect Day at CocoCay will bring to the cruise line's offerings. Not only is it looking like a really fun place to spend the day, but it also looks like it will bring a big return for the company.

Mr. Fain started off the call saying, " To say that, she is a beauty is a massive understatement and we believe that we have created a truly game changer for the cruise industry, in fact for the vacation industry."

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty spoke to the early returns the cruise line is seeing, "Perfect Day at CocoCay hasn't officially opened yet, but it's clearly fueling additional and higher-yielding demand for our Caribbean itineraries. Bookings and pricing have been exceeding our expectations overall for the Caribbean, with sailings visiting Perfect Day up by more than other Caribbean itineraries."

Guests spending onboard the ship is at the heart of higher revenue

If you are looking for a common thread among the recent strong financial results that Royal Caribbean has shown lately, the onboard purchases guests have been making is a good place to start.

Once again, onboard spending was up and clearly guests are enjoying the various packages they can purchase for their sailing.

Mr. Liberty mentioned, "On the onboard side, which has been exceptionally strong we saw an over index of spend on shore excursion our packages like beverage packaging, internet package and again more focused on the experiential stuff versus seeing more spend occur within the retail shops."

Perfect Day at CocoCay is engineered around guest experience

One of the analysts on the conference call inquired about the prospect of Perfect Day at CocoCay might seem overcrowded.  More generally, he wanted to know how all the new additions and expansion will not impact the  customer experience that would create a negative passenger experience.

Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley responded by saying, "We've designed Perfect Day to deliver what we think will generally be a perfect day for our customers. And we, from what we've seen so far with between 4,000 and 6,000 people on the island, we've got a huge amount of space available."

"So we've engineered designed for peak and the peak was way up close to 10,000. We obviously know we'll operate it with bigger ships coming to Perfect Day, and we'll see how we go. I think we're kind of feeling pretty optimistic about the potential for three ship calls versus two ship calls that could take us up to 12,000 a day. And remember, it's a fairly large island and we've only developed about a third of it."

New cruisers versus loyal customers

One analyst noticed a trend that Royal Caribbean is able to hold on to pricing premiums on new ships.

Mr. Bailey answered by talking about the cruise line's strategy of attracting people new to cruise, while retaining loyal customers, "I think we stated a few years ago one of our key areas of focus was on new-to-cruise in particularly in market like the United States we've been quite focused on growing our new-to-cruise segment. "

"We have changed some of our strategy so everything that we've done with the short product where we took the Voyager class ships and put them through role amplified and then place them into the short product with Perfect Day CocoCay has really stimulated that new-to-cruise segment. So that's part of it."

"Our loyalty customers continue to grow. They like the brands and they enjoy what we provide. I think the new ships, we've been very focused on not only the continuation of kind of on innovation in bringing new products and services to our guests. But we've done a lot more analytics on, really trying to understand what's going to attract those customers and bring them back and also be able to maintain higher yields."

New app rollout update

Many guests have been wondering when will a certain ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet gain support for the cruise line's new smart phone app.

Mr. Fain provided a brief update on the project rollout at the start of the call. "I'm particularly excited this is already been so broadly deployed that 60% of our guests can get it available. And, towards the end of the year it will be virtually all our guests. And the ratings that it's getting in the Apple App Store are 4.7."

Subscribe to Perfect Day at CocoCay