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Royal Caribbean temporarily closes Perfect Day at CocoCay due to Tropical Storm Dorian

In:
27 Aug 2019

Royal Caribbean informed guests that it will temporarily close its private island in the Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay, until September 4, 2019.

Due to the forecasted path of Tropical Storm Dorian, the cruise line informed guests via email that it has decided to shutdown CocoCay until Wednesday, September 4th.

Any shore excursions pre-purchased for CocoCay will be refunded to onboard credit. If a guest onboard spend does not reach this amount, the remaining balance will be refunded to the credit card on file.

Royal Caribbean also promised an itinerary update for ships by August 28th at 3:00pm EST.

Royal Caribbean adding late night and two call visits to Perfect Day at CocoCay

In:
14 Aug 2019

Royal Caribbean announced it will begin offering select sailings that visit Perfect Day at CocoCay twice, along with late night stays.

Beginning September 30, 2019, Royal Caribbean will offer 4-night itineraries to the private island destination across nearly 40 sailings. Three exclusive cruises also make their debut today.

In addition, three one-of-a-kind cruises with late-night visits to the island will be offered on Navigator of the Seas. Travelers of all ages will have the chance to extend the excitement long after the sun sets with traditional Bahamian-inspired activities, including a Junkanoo Jam Up Party, an island barbeque and performances by a calypso band and fire dancers, topped off with unforgettable farewell fireworks before setting sail.

The new itineraries are available to guests on select Navigator and Mariner of the Seas sailings.

"Perfect Day at CocoCay has revolutionized private destinations in the vacation industry, and the resounding feedback from our guests is that they want more – more time and even more ways to experience the island," said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "We’re building on an incredible adventure that’s already winning the hearts of many."

Video: Perfect Day at CocoCay secrets!

In:
08 Aug 2019

Before you visit Perfect Day at CocoCay, check out our favorite tips and tricks in our newest RoyalCaribbeanBlog video!

Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas is taking the cruising world by storm, with some incredible enhancements and offerings.  To maximize your visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay, we have shared a dozen secrets that are sure to steer you in the right direction!

Did you love this video? We have lots of other great cruise videos to watch on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!

Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel 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 tip or trick when visiting Perfect Day at CocoCay?

Royal Caribbean lowers unaccompanied guest age for Thrill Waterpark to 14

In:
05 Aug 2019

Royal Caribbean has lowered the age of unaccompanied guests at Thrill Waterpark at Perfect Day at CocoCay from 18 to 14 years old.

Effective August 3, 2019, the cruise line confirmed via Twitter the policy had shifted, which allows most teenagers to enjoy the water park without an adult present. This new rule change allows for adults to forgo purchasing water park admission in situations where teenagers want to enjoy thrills on their own.

The new rule states all guests under 14 years of age must be accompanied by a ticketed guest of age 14 or older to enter.

Royal Caribbean sees major returns from Perfect Day at CocoCay, reports on sustainability, talks Cuba impact and more

In:
25 Jul 2019

Royal Caribbean held a conference call with investors earlier today to go over its 2019 second quarter earnings, which shed light on a few interesting anecdotes.

Perfect Day at CocoCay is attracting new cruisers, not steal from other lines

If there was one theme of the earnings call, it is that Royal Caribbean has hit a grand slam with its private island makeover earlier this year, Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said, "To describe Perfect Day as a home run, wouldn't do it justice. It really resets the bar in the short-cruise market."

"But it's important to note that Perfect Day wasn't designed to steal customers from other cruise lines; it was designed to attract customers who otherwise wouldn't be taking a cruise. And it's doing that beautifully."

Perfect Day at CocoCay is bringing in big returns

In addition to being well-received by cruisers and reviewers alike, Perfect Day at CocoCay is also making a giant impact on the cruise line's bottom line.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chief Financial Officer, Jason Liberty, spoke to this point, "What has been particularly impressive over the past few months is the pricing we are receiving for sailings visiting Perfect Day at CocoCay. Pricing on these sailings has been consistently outpacing our lofty expectations. It has been a major contributor to our improved, non-Cuba revenue outlook."

Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley said, "In total in '19 and through into '20, eleven of the Royal Caribbean ships will be going to Perfect Day at CocoCay, so you can imagine the volume that we are taking to Perfect Day has gone up by a factor of about four. And we are already taking a lot of guests to CocoCay before we underwent all of this work and changed the whole experience."

"I think today we've taken maybe 350,000 people to Perfect Day since we opened. It's now rated the number one resort globally for Royal Caribbean, and it's knocking it out of the park in terms of truly delivering a phenomenal day. The guest satisfaction is extremely high."

"The demand we are seeing comes from all segments. It competes very well with Orlando. It's got a truly wonderful day, both in thrill and chill. It is also driving new-to-cruise, because approximately 40% of the short market is new-to-cruise."

Sustainability and accountability is important

Mr. Fain provided an update on the cruise line's sustainability efforts, and how well it is following the plan it laid out earlier.

"As most of you know, in 2016, we launched a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to take our sustainability efforts to a new level. At Royal Caribbean, we believe that what gets measured, gets better, and we established specific goals in three areas of sustainability. The three areas where we established these quantifiable goals were the areas of carbon footprint, sustainable destinations, sustainable food production."

"Specifically, we undertook a 35% reduction in carbon footprint of our 2005 base, offering one thousand tours certified to the GSTC sustainability standard, and responsibility to responsibly sourcing 90% of wild-caught seafood globally, 75% of farm seafood in North America and Europe. We set a public goal to reach these objectives by the end of 2020."

"I am happy to report that we are on schedule. We achieved our carbon footprint goal earlier this year, and just two weeks ago, we certified our one thousandth sustainable tour operation. We're not there yet on our sustainable food sourcing goal, but we're walking diligently to do so, and hope to reach that target soon."

Cost of Cuba

Earlier this year, the United States government ended the ability of cruise lines to sail to Cuba and the impact of that policy change was quantified during this call.

Mr. Liberty explained, "The abrupt removal of calls to Cuba on June sailings on Majesty of the Seas and Empress of the Seas costs us 30 basis points in year-over-year yields for the quarter. While the Cuba policy change was financially and operationally painful, our underlying business remains very strong, as we both outperformed on onboard revenue and saw further close-in demand for our core products."

If they could go back in time, Royal Caribbean would have done more

One of the analysts on the call asked Royal Caribbean if they had a "do over" during the last recession, would they have held back as much as they did for ship orders.

Mr. Liberty said bluntly, "There's definitely regret that we have in terms of our pull-back on our growth. We would all be talking about higher earnings numbers today, better return profile today if we hadn't slowed down our growth, or our investment efforts in expanding our global footprint, investing in different projects that would have put us in an even stronger position than we are in today."

Royal Caribbean updates app to add location tracking at Perfect Day at CocoCay

In:
22 Jul 2019

Royal Caribbean has released version 1.19.1 of its new smartphone app, which makes the personalized calendar easier to access and the ability for guests to see their location on the Perfect Day at CocoCay map.

The new update makes it easier for guests to use the app to find their way around Royal Caribbean's private destination in the Bahamas.

The enablement of location services in the app is important, because it is one possible step towards a goal Royal Caribbean has previously advertised of one day allowing guests to order food or beverages via the app and be subsequently delivered to them (known as the Bring Me program).  That feature is being actively worked on, but the digital team is still taking the necessary steps to ensure that the program meets Royal Caribbean's program goals around guest service, technology and operations. 

It remains to be seen if the cruise line will roll out Bring Me first on a ship, or at a location like Perfect Day at CocoCay.

In addition, the 1.19.1 release made the personalized calendar easier to access.

The app is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

Spotted: South Beach Cabanas at Perfect Day at CocoCay

In:
16 Jul 2019

Cabanas are not a new offering at Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay, but a new option to rent cabanas on South Beach has been added to the Cruise Planner site.

Royal Caribbean is about to begin work on the next phase of Perfect Day at CocoCay, and you can already begin making plans to enjoy a cabana right on the beach. These would be in addition to the Chill Island cabanas, as well as the overwater cabanas at Coco Beach Club.

Royal Caribbean does note that South Beach is currently in development and is scheduled to open December 2019; all features and timing are subject to change without notice.

Thanks to Michael Poole for alerting us to this new offering.

Royal Caribbean will begin Coco Beach Club construction at Perfect Day at CocoCay soon

In:
10 Jul 2019

Royal Caribbean has sent out emails to guests sailing on upcoming cruises that include stops at Perfect Day at CocoCay to inform them of work that will be occuring at the island.

The email informs guests that some temporary changes will be made while construction of Coco Beach Club begins. Specificially, South Beach will be closed to guests. The floating bar will be moved down the beach, just past Oasis Lagoon. The beach bungalows and daybeds will temporarily moved to Chill Island.

 

Coco Beach Club will offer an oceanfront infinity pool, upgraded cuisine and the only overwater cabanas in the Bahamas. Cabanas at the Coco Beach Club come with an overwater hammock, waterslide and private attendant.

Coco Beach Club offers an exclusive beach experience available to all guests, not just suite guests. An additional fee will be administered for entry into this elevated experience. 

South Beach, Coco Beach Club and the overwater cabanas will open in December 2019.

Video: Perfect Day at CocoCay Vinfolapse

In:
01 Jul 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: Royal Caribbean's Thrill Waterpark Dials Up Adventure on Perfect Day at CocoCay

In:
18 Jun 2019

The jaw-dropping Thrill Waterpark on Perfect Day at CocoCay is where the action begins for adrenaline seekers. Years of concepting and designing introduce an adventure like no other with one-of-a-kind experiences, including the tallest waterslide in North America, Daredevil’s Peak – one in an impressive lineup of 13 slides. With two daring towers offering the most slides in any waterpark in the Caribbean, poolside cabanas, the Caribbean’s largest wave pool and a kid-friendly obstacle course pool, guests of all ages can put their courage to the test on Royal Caribbean International’s newly transformed private island in The Bahamas.

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