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."
