Royal Caribbean thinks its building a private destination with beaches, pools, and a water park will lure more Texas cruisers.

Right now, Royal Caribbean's private destinations are in The Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean. However, with the launch of Perfect Day Mexico in Costa Maya, those onboard sailings to the Western Caribbean will have an exciting new option. 

"Perfect Day Mexico is strategically located to deliver exceptional vacation experiences in both the Eastern and Western Caribbean and supports our ambition that every guest on the Royal Caribbean brand will have a 'Perfect Day' on their Caribbean itinerary," said Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO, during the company's Q4 earnings call on Oct. 29. 

"It also allows us to further grow the large and growing Gulf Coast area, including the Texas market, which...has a similar cruise consideration [to Florida] but only half the penetration," he added. 

In 2022, Royal Caribbean opened its brand-new terminal in Galveston, Texas. The $125 million terminal allows the cruise line to deploy Oasis Class ships to Texas, giving cruise enthusiasts access to some of the largest ships in the world without having to travel to South Florida. 

Though not part of Royal Caribbean's released deployment schedules, Terminal 3 can also accommodate Icon Class ships, should they choose to send them to Galveston in the future. 

Galveston is about an hour from Houston, 3.5 hours from Austin, and 4.5 hours from Dallas. Plus, it's also within driving distance of many cities in Louisiana, including Baton Rouge (4.5 hours) and Shreveport (5 hours). 

Expanding the short cruise market

That said, sending new ships to Texas is only part of the bigger picture. "...[H]aving assets like the Royal Beach Club in Cozumel [and] Royal Beach Mexico will allow us to drive...more of the Gulf Coast and other markets that can have an easier flight cruise experience and at a lower cost flight cruise experience," Liberty said. 

Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO, added that with Royal Beach Mexico and the Royal Beach Club in Mexico, the cruise line will be able to offer more shorter cruises from Gulf ports such as Tampa, Galveston, and New Orleans. 

"It really is a great opportunity for us, and we know that that short product really catches with the younger families. And of course, we'll be able to offer...an extraordinary short break from these ports to Perfect Day and Royal Beach Club Cozumel," Bayley remarked. 

This approach mirrors Royal Caribbean's shorter itineraries on Oasis Class ships departing from Florida. The line plans to dominate the short cruise market, especially following the launch of Utopia of the Seas, Royal's newest ship that entered service in July 2024 only offering 3- and 4-night cruises from Port Canaveral to The Bahamas. 

Read more: Royal Caribbean will move Wonder of the Seas to offer short cruises

What we know about the private destinations so far

Cozumel's Royal Beach Club was announced in March 2024. Like the Royal Beach Club planned for Paradise Island in The Bahamas, this club will be exclusively available to Royal Caribbean passengers, despite being in a port used by all cruise lines—from Carnival to MSC, Disney, Norwegian, etc. 

It'll open in 2026 and will be an optional extra-cost activity for passengers, meaning it won't be included in the cost of the cruise fare. Admission into the beach club will include access to swim-up bars, rentable poolside cabanas, snorkeling, kayaking, restaurants, and street markets. The price is currently unknown. 

On the other hand, as part of Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day Collection, Perfect Day Mexico will be more akin to CocoCay's private island experience, though it isn't a private island. 

Read more: I went to CocoCay for the first time, and here's what I'd do differently

Instead, following a major transformation of the port of Costa Maya, Perfect Day Mexico will be a private destination available to Royal Caribbean passengers. 

According to the cruise line, the total project will encompass 90 hectares, equivalent to roughly 220 acres or double the size of Perfect Day at CocoCay. That said, not all the land is developable. 

As such, Royal Caribbean is paying special attention to preserving environmentally protected areas, such as nearby mangroves. About 100 acres are in development under the current plan, while the rest will be set aside for conservation.

Once complete, Perfect Day Mexico will have beautiful beaches, an extra-charge beach club (similar to Coco Beach Club at CocoCay), at least one pool, a water park, an adults-only area, a helium balloon, and Mexican food!

Guests don't have to stay within the Perfect Day Mexico complex. There will also be a transportation center for passengers who'd rather book a tour to explore one of the nearby attractions. 

Read more: Sneak peek at what’s confirmed for Royal Caribbean’s enormous beach experience in Mexico

We spoke with Royal Caribbean's lead project developer to get an idea of what passengers will be able to do at the new massive new private beach experience in Mexico.

Perfect Day Mexico is a bold new private island experience (although it's not an island), but the announcement did not reveal many details.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider gave Royal Caribbean Blog an overview of what's coming, with bits of detail hidden throughout the announcement.

There's two reasons why we don't know much yet about Perfect Day Mexico: the cruise line is still in the planning phase, and a bigger announcement will be coming in the spring.

Perfect Day Mexico is about 200 acres in size, with about half that preserved for environmental protection.

There's still a lot of time before anyone gets to visit Perfect Day Mexico, as the project won't open until 2027 (and it's more likely to be later in the year). 

Here's a breakdown of what we know so far is coming to Perfect Day Mexico.

Beaches

Much of what we know about Perfect Day Mexico is based on what has been at the core of the success of Perfect Day at CocoCay, and that starts with beaches.

It's safe to say most people that book a Caribbean cruise have a beautiful beach in mind, and that's going to be at the heart of what Perfect Day Mexico has to offer.

CocoCay has multiple beaches that passengers can choose to visit. Most are included with the cruise fare, although there are a few extra cost beaches too.

There will be a beach club, similar to the Coco Beach Club at CocoCay. The beach club is a limited access beach, that features some upgraded amenities and comes with an extra cost.

Pools

Access to water in Perfect Day Mexico will also include a pool.

Royal Caribbean added a giant freshwater pool at CocoCay with Oasis Lagoon, and we know that Perfect Day Mexico has plans for a pool too.

Their plans don't just call for any old pool.  Their mantra with this idea has been, "great beach, great pool, great food" and there's an emphasis on the word "great".

Royal Caribbean isn't ready to provide any further details on the pool(s) or even size of them, but did promise there will be an opportunity in the future to share more information.

Water park

Mr. Schneider was able to confirm there will indeed be a water park at Perfect Day Mexico.

The water park will be an extra cost venue where guests can enjoy all sorts of slides. The park has been a big success in CocoCay, and Royal Caribbean wants to carry that over.

One detail we do know about the water park is Royal Caribbean purchased the existing Lost Mayan Kingdom water park that is near the port. All Mr. Schneider would say is that land will be part of the future Perfect Day Mexico property, but didn't comment on what, if any, part of the park will remain.

It stands to reason that the water park, much like all of the Perfect Day Mexico project, would need to accommodate the amount of passengers coming ashore on any given day.

Since Costa Maya has four piers, that gives it double the ships that CocoCay can handle, and thus, there's a good chance the water park in Mexico will be bigger than Thrill Waterpark in CocoCay.

Adults-only area

Another successful idea coming to Perfect Day Mexico is an enclave for adults.

Earlier this year, Hideaway Beach opened at CocoCay, which is an enormous adults-only zone. We can expect something similar in Mexico.

Unlike CocoCay, there will not be phases to the opening. The adults-only area and all the neighborhoods will open at once, and that's because they want to be open for the maximum amount of attendance in the first year.

"This will not be phased. We will build everything all at once," Mr. Schneider said.

Helium balloon ride

Another activity returning from CocoCay is the helium balloon ride.

The Up, Up and Away helium balloon takes guests 450 feet above Perfect Day at CocoCay, providing the highest vantage point in The Bahamas.

Not only did Mr. Schneider mention the balloon, but it's included in the teaser logo for Perfect Day Mexico.

It's an extra cost activity, and is provides amazing views of the surrounding area.

Mr. Schneider indicated they will place the balloon somewhere to optimize for the winds, as the balloon cannot go up if it's too windy, "Hopefully it'll operate more hours in different conditions based on where we're actually putting it on the site."

Mexican food

Great food is one of the mantras that Royal Caribbean wants incorporated into Perfect Day Mexico.

No specifics were given on what dining will be there, but Mr. Schneider made it clear they want to be true to the Mexican culture they are embracing.

"in Mexico, Americans have a very clear view of what Mexico is, and they expect that out of whatever we would go do in Mexico."

Transportation center to do other things

While Perfect Day Mexico is at the heart of the project, you can still do your own tour or book a shore excursion to venture out.

A transportation hub will be located nearby so passengers can get on a tour bus or head to Mahahual.

The port itself will remain open to other cruise lines, so passengers on another cruise line will bypass Perfect Day Mexico and head directly to the transportation hub to get on their tour.

"We'll build a boardwalk to the local village, so we'll make the community accessible to other cruise lines."

Royal Caribbean is doubling down on the private island experience by announcing a new, bigger and bolder beach day, and this one is in Mexico.

Perfect Day Mexico will open sometime in 2027, transforming the port of Costa Maya.

Royal Caribbean has hinted it has big plans to develop an ambitious cruise day experience for its passengers, and it's positioning it in the Western Caribbean to compliment the already popular Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas.

Perfect Day at CocoCay was the cruise line's expansion of its existing private island, but it overhauled the beach day experience to offer so much more.  Multiple beaches, pools, adults-only areas, new dining offerings and more were all added, and it was an instant home run with cruise ship passengers who loved the variety of choices and high quality offerings.

Now Royal Caribbean wants to expand that magic with a second offering.

Where will Perfect Day Mexico be located?

When Perfect Day Mexico opens in 2027, it will be where cruisers currently refer to the port of Costa Maya.

The port was originally built specifically for cruise ships to have another place to go in Mexico's Caribbean coast. Mahahual is the name of the village adjacent to the port.

Royal Caribbean has signed an agreement to acquire the Port of Costa Maya, and they've also been on a journey to buy lots of adjacent land for about about a year. 

According to the cruise line, the total project will encompass 90 hectares, with is about 220 acres. That's roughly double the size of Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Not all the land is developable, and Royal Caribbean is paying special attention to preserve environmental protected areas, such as nearby mangroves. About 100 acres is in development under the current plan, and the rest is for conservation.

Royal Caribbean wouldn't talk number of passengers, but today, Costa Maya can accommodate up to four megaships.  While other cruise lines will still be able to dock there, there are days where four Royal Caribbean ships could conceivably be there at once.

Given that berthing capacity, it stands to reason Perfect Day Mexico will have a higher capacity than Perfect Day at CocoCay, and thus, be bigger in size.

During construction, the port will remain open to other cruise lines, and remain open to other lines even after Perfect Day Mexico opens. Only Royal Caribbean passengers will have access to Perfect Day Mexico, while other lines will proceed to a transportation center to go off on shore excursions.

Activities and things to do during a visit

It's too early to get details of what exactly Royal Caribbean will have inside Perfect Day Mexico, but suffice to say, the popular parts of CocoCay will be brought over.

Specific details will be coming in the "coming months", but they did say in a statement that you can expect "an all-new, thrilling waterpark; jaw-dropping pools and beaches; restaurants, bars and more spots for all tastebuds; music; and more."

Expect a bigger reveal with more details sometime in Spring 2025.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider said their research shows customers want a place that feels like it's part of Mexico. In the same way Royal Caribbean leaned into a Bahamian flair to CocoCay, they'll want to evoke a Mexican vibe to this Perfect Day experience.

There will be different areas around Perfect Day, similar to the neighborhood concept on Royal Caribbean cruise ships.  They are bringing over everything that is core to Perfect Day at Cococay: adults-only area, a chill area, a thrill area, and a family area.

This means there will be beaches, pools, and even a water park, among many other ideas the team is dreaming up.

One area we know is being acquired is the Mayan water park located near Costa Maya today. That land will be part of the future site, although Royal Caribbean will develop its own water park.

"There will be new experiences inside of that. Some, to be honest, we're literally still exploring," Mr. Schneider said while discussing what cruisers can expect.

He said his team is "obsessing right now" over what cruise ship passengers would want in a day in Mexico, "we stay highly in touch with our customer and we design and build with our customer."

Suffice to say, Royal Caribbean wants to build on the success of what's already successful at CocoCay, but make it bigger and better in Mexico.

Mr. Schneider admitted plans for the project are still being finalized, and design work is still in the "preliminary" phase. Royal Caribbean has been working with the Government of Mexico for the past nine months leading up to today's announcement.

Mr. Schneider confirmed Celebrity Cruises will be welcomed to have their passengers visit Perfect Day Mexico, just as they began doing this year at CocoCay.

Something else shared is a passenger could opt to do their own shore excursion outside of Perfect Day Mexico if they preferred. In fact, Royal Caribbean will sell shore excursions.

When Perfect Day Mexico opens in 2027, the initial ambition is it will open in once, and not in phases like CocoCay did.  

Building up their Western Caribbean portfolio

It's no coincidence that Royal Caribbean has chosen the Western Caribbean for the site of its next private destination.

Perfect Day Mexico will compliment the previously announced opening a Royal Beach Club in nearby Cozumel.  It's quite common for Royal Caribbean ships to visit both Cozumel and Costa Maya currently, and that would add a one-two punch of great experiences for their customers.

Royal Beach Club Cozumel will open sometime in 2026, and this is an extra-cost option exclusive to Royal Caribbean customers where they can find great views, with great access to water.

Unlike Perfect Day Mexico, the beach club is not included with the cruise fare.

Admission into the beach club will include access to swim-up bars, pools cabanas to rent, snorkeling, kayaking, restaurants, and street markets.

More details on what experiences will be offered there are still forthcoming.

Royal Caribbean also built a massive new cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas that opened in 2022. Cruises from Galveston almost exclusively visit ports in the Western Caribbean.  The terminal is capable of handling Royal Caribbean's biggest ships, including the Icon class.

Of course, cruises from Florida go to Mexico too, adding to the value of a strong playbook of exclusive and enticing Royal Caribbean properties.