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.
