Six of the best cruises with a private island
Looking for a private island? Here are six cruises recommended by Lisa Magloff for Cruising Journal that include a visit to an exclusive island paradise.
The cruise industry has been in for a great deal of criticism of late for its negative impact on many destinations. At the same time, sharing a port with thousands of other tourists can be a frustrating experience for cruise-goers – less “Wasting away in Margaritaville” and more a day at a crowded amusement park. The solution for many cruise lines is to create their own destination, by leasing an entire island or a part of an island. Passengers get their own exclusive getaway, and the cruise line gets to keep all of the souvenir and excursion profits.
The first to develop a private island retreat was Norwegian Cruise Line, which leased Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas from an oil company in 1977. Nine years later, they bought the island outright, and the cruise industry has not looked back. Today, almost all major lines, and many smaller ones, own or lease a private island, and the trend shows no sign of slowing down.
Here, we look at six of the best private islands that cruising has to offer.
Best for luxury
Half Moon Cay, Holland America Line
Passengers on most of Holland America’s Caribbean and Panama Canal sailings (and some Carnival cruises) have the opportunity to stop at this glamorous port of call. The 55-acre Half Moon Cay is located on the Bahamian island of Little San Salvador. The 2.5 mile-long beach has ultra-soft sand, and the available beachfront luxuries include massage huts, and air-conditioned cabanas for rent, with options for a private bar, hot tub, water slide, and butler service.
Families are not left out. There is a water park on the beach, which includes dedicated slides for young children and teens. A short tram ride away are shore-excursion opportunities which include horseback riding through the surf, nature trails in a wild bird preserve, and the chance to pet and feed tame stingrays. All the usual water sports are also available, including windsurfing, snorkelling, kayaking, scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, and parasailing.
Restaurants options include fine dining and a bar specialising in rum drinks. You can even get married (or renew your vows) at the beach-side chapel.
Best scenery
Motu Mahana, Paul Gauguin Cruises
This small cruise line is also one of the few to lease a private island in the South Pacific. Motu Mahana (just off the coast of Taha’a, in French Polynesia) is a picture-postcard perfect South Pacific paradise.
Disembark to the sounds of traditional songs played by locals, spend time basking on the white sand beaches and swimming or kayaking in turquoise waters before bellying up to the floating bar for tropical drinks. For those interested in local culture, there are demonstrations of Polynesian skills, including basket-weaving, sarong-tying and cooking traditional Tahitian dishes. The visit includes a beach barbecue.
Best for active fun
CocoCay, Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean’s CocoCay, in The Bahamas’ Berry Islands, has recently undergone a $250 million renovation, turning the sleepy isle into a riotous festival of fun. New amenities include a waterpark featuring 13 slides, including the 135-foot Daredevil’s Peak. The park also features a floating trampoline and a sunken airplane and schooner for snorkelers.
Other activities include the Caribbean’s largest wave pool, a 1,600-foot-long zip line and a helium balloon tethered to the ground that takes guests450 feet high for a bird’s eye view of the island. Kids aged 3 to 8 can hop in battery-operated mini race cars for a driving adventure on a giant Power Wheels track.
When you’re tired of salt water on the island’s two beaches, you can try the massive freshwater Oasis Lagoon, with a swim-up bar and private cabanas.
For those wanting a quieter day, the Coco Beach Club will be opening soon, featuring overwater cabanas, each with its own slide into the ocean. There will also be a 2,600-foot beachfront infinity pool and a club and deck area.
CocoCay is the first in a planned collection of Royal Caribbean private islands, with more to come in the Caribbean, Asia and Australia.
CocoCay
Best for exploring nature
Harvest Caye, Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Lines has come full circle from its first private island. Harvest Caye is located in the waters off Belize, and offers the usual island amenities, including a swimming pool that covers a third of an acre (with a swim-up bar, of course), a seven-acre beach with golden sands and crystalline waters, and a 1,300-foot zipline that hangs a terrifying 100 feet off the ground. There is also a pier that allows ships to dock alongside the island.
Uniquely, this island also offers its own nature reserve. Visitors can discover the colourful local flora and fauna, including macaws, toucans and howler monkeys. There’s also a butterfly sanctuary containing hundreds of exotic species. The nature reserves were built and operated with the help of local people. Shore excursions include a visit to an ancient Mayan temple and rainforest river tubing.
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Best for ecology
Sir Bani Yas Island, MSC Cruises
Unlike most of the other private islands featured here, MSC does not own or lease Sir Bani Yas island, in the UAE, but it does have exclusive use of a 1.5-mile enclave of sandy beaches and swaying palm trees. There is also easy access to the island’s Arabian Wildlife Park – home to more than 13,000 animals, including cheetahs and giraffes. Excursion options include horse-riding, a safari-style drive to watch animals gather at a watering hole, and a sailing tour around the island in a traditional Arabian dhow.
MSC cruises also has a private island off the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic’s Samana Peninsula. Activities in the rainforest include a jeep safari and a whale-watching cruise to see the humpback whales that winter offshore.
In late-2019, MSC will be opening a new island resort in the Bahamas, Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, which will have a lush spa with beach-side yoga sessions and fitness classes. Like MSC’s other islands, this one will also have an ecological focus, this time on the restoration of coral reefs.
Sir Bani Yas
Best for the whole family
Castaway Cay, Disney Cruise Line
It makes sense that the cruise line known for family fun has a private island also geared to families. In fact, Disney leased this island back in the 1990s, and it was the first private island where cruise ships could actually dock, rather than ferrying their guests to port in tenders.
Onshore, your children’s favorite Disney characters await, along with waterslides, a snorkelling lagoon, and the barnacle-encrusted, 175-foot Flying Dutchman ghost ship from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. In addition to the usual island enticements – beaches, watersports, etc., there are dedicated areas for families, teens and adults.
The teen beach offers a chance for teens to design, build, and race their own boats, while the supervised children’s center (for ages 3 to 12), includes arts and crafts, music and theater, and scavenger hunts. There is also an excavation site where kids can go on archaeological dig and make plaster molds of what they find — including a 35-foot reproduction of a whale skeleton.
After dropping off the kids, parents can head to Serenity Bay, a mile-long stretch of beach at the end of an old airstrip decorated with vintage prop planes. There, they can enjoy massages in a private cabana, or a quiet swim.
Castaway Cay