Think you’ve seen everything Nassau has to offer? You’re wrong.
Royal Caribbean is shaking things up with something totally new — and it’s not your typical beach day. We’re talking private island vibes, luxury touches, and a twist that has cruise fans buzzing.
If, like me, you’ve been to Nassau several times all ready, you’ll know that it can get a bit samey after a while. It can also get super busy, which means that many seasoned cruisers choose to simply stay on the ship when the port of Nassau is on the agenda.
Curious why this new experience is making waves before it’s even opened? Let’s dive into what makes the Royal Beach Club so different — and whether it’s worth the hype.
1. It’s the first of its kind
The Royal Beach Club is a new 17-acre destination experience with multiple beaches, swimming pools, private cabanas, Bahamian barbecues, and live music.
Located on Paradise Island – a narrow strip of land near the cruise port in Nassau – it will have a local architectural style that complements the stunning views of the turquoise-blue waters and white sand beaches.
To be clear, it’s not an actual island, so it’s not the same as the private island destinations that Royal Caribbean has leased such as Perfect Day at CocoCay. But it will be a private resort that guests sailing to Nassau can enjoy.
2. It’s set to open in December 2025
As it stands, we don’t have an exact opening date for the Royal Beach Club at Nassau yet, but the latest update is that it will open in December 2025.
A lot of Royal Caribbean ships will be cruising in the Caribbean during the winter season, so there will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy a visit to the new resort.
It’s worth noting that Royal Caribbean had originally announced the Royal Beach Club way back in March 2020, but then, of course, the entire cruise industry went into shutdown due to the global events of that year.
It took until 2023 for the go-ahead to be given by the Bahamian government for the project to get back up and running again.
3. Royal Caribbean won’t own the resort outright
So far, I’ve explained that Royal Beach Club will belong to Royal Caribbean, and that’s true.
The resort will be for the exclusive use of the cruise line’s guests, potentially along with sister cruise line Celebrity Cruises too, but it’s more likely to be just for Royal Caribbean International.
But what’s unique about this new resort is that it won’t be wholly owned by the cruise company. Instead, as much as 49% of the equity in the Royal Beach Club will be owned by Bahamians. This will help to ensure that the local people are well looked after, and that the cruise line isn’t just taking up land only for its own gain.
Also, the land will be split – 13 acres will be owned by the cruise line, and the remaining 4 acres will be Crown Land, split as equity amongst the government and the people of the Bahamas.
And if that wasn’t enough giving back, the cruise line is also welcoming local businesses and entrepreneurs to manage the experience. Instead of Royal Caribbean providing the staff, it’s allowing locals to generate their own work and income from the project.
It’s new, and it’s a cool way of doing things, making sure the cruise line gives back to the local area and local people.
4. There’s no cruise ship dock at the resort
The Royal Beach Club doesn’t have a private dock. Instead, ships will sail to Nassau as normal, docking at the usual pier where Royal Caribbean ships always dock. From there it’s a short walk to the water taxi area, where guests will be able to hop on for a short ride across the bay to get to Paradise Island.
According to the plans, it looks like the water taxi will make two stops at the resort, so you’ve got a couple of options for where to get off and where to catch the water taxi back to the main port area once it’s time to return to the pier.
You’ll only be able to ride the water taxi if you’ve booked the Royal Beach Club as an excursion for the day at Nassau. You may be able to pay when you get to port, but it’s unlikely, and you won’t be able to ride to Royal Beach Club without paying for it.
5. Expect family-friendly activities
Royal Beach Club is very much oriented toward family guests, and so there’ll be a lot of activities that everyone can enjoy. The focus is very much on relaxation, but there’ll be plenty of fun too.
So you can look forward to beach games, swimming, lively music and more all while you soak up the sun.
6. Lunch, drinks and even WiFi will be included!
Guests will be able to eat lunch at the Royal Beach Club and it will be included in the price you’ve paid. There will be three beach grills across the resort, all of which are included.
Because you can only get to the Royal Beach Club via the water taxi, it’s not quite as convenient as when you call at a private island and can walk back to the ship for lunch. So Royal Caribbean is making sure there are enough options to keep everyone at the resort happy.
Even better, you’ll also get drinks included too – cocktails, mocktails and soft drinks across the 10 bars at the resort. That includes 7 beach bars and 3 swim-up bars!
Drinks are included whether you have a drinks package for your cruise or not. And you’ll also be able to access free WiFi too!
7. You’ll have a choice of places to swim
Royal Beach Club Paradise Island will have plenty of options for you if you want to swim or relax by the water – two beaches, and three pools.
There will be cabanas that you can rent, along with bungalows. The best is the Ultimate Family Cabana – imagine the Ultimate Family Suite but on land and you’re pretty close!
The two beaches include Chill Beach which, as you can imagine, has the more relaxed vibe. Then there’s the Family Beach with all the games to play.
Two of the pools are named in the same way – the Chill Pool and the Family Pool. Then there’s the Party Pool, where you’ll find the Floating Flamingo – the world’s largest swim-up bar. Swish!
8. You’ll get plenty of time to enjoy the resort
It’s currently expected that a visit to Royal Beach Club will last for around 6 hours.
Typically cruise ships will spend around 9 hours in Nassau in total, and the excursions are planned to include time for guests to explore the Nassau port area alongside having a good amount of time at the resort.
Plus you don’t want to be rushing back to the ship at the very last minute.
Depending on how much it costs, six hours may not seem like a long time, but all the more reason to make sure that you get off the ship as early as possible that day, so that you can make the most of your time at this exciting resort location.
9. We don’t know how much it’ll cost to visit yet…
At the moment, we don’t know how much it will cost for guests to access the Royal Beach Club, but we do know that a charge will be involved.
So this isn’t like a private island that acts as a port of call, but instead, it’s more like an excursion to enjoy whilst visiting Nassau.
Prices are expected sometime in Spring 2025 so watch this space!
10. It’s not quite the same as Coco Beach Club
The Royal Beach Club will share some similarities with the Coco Beach Club at CocoCay, but it’s not quite the same. It’s sort of a middle ground.
Coco Beach Club is a smaller, exclusive area that forms part of Perfect Day at CocoCay, the Royal Caribbean private island. While access to the rest of CocoCay is free, you need to pay for access to the Coco Beach Club, just like you will have to pay for access to the Royal Beach Club.
However, Coco Beach Club only has a few amenities, including one beach, an infinity pool, and more luxurious cabanas, as well as an exclusive restaurant. Most of the fun activities happen on the rest of CocoCay, which you access for free.
That’s why the Royal Beach Club is more a middle ground – it’s a paid-for resort, but once you’ve paid, it’s more like you’re accessing a destination closer to the whole of CocoCay.
11. More are on the way…
At the moment, the Royal Beach Club at Nassau will be the first of its kind, but we do know that more are coming.
The Royal Beach Club Collection will be the term for all of the resorts, and so far we know that Cozumel will feature the second one. Expect more to be announced in future if they continue to be successful for the cruise line!
Final word
We’re ticking down the months until Royal Beach Club Paradise Island opens and I personally can’t wait to pay it a visit!
I really enjoy cruise line private islands, and so this will have a similar vibe. It’s not ideal that it will have an extra cost, but I think it could be worth it when you consider everything that’s included.
Will you be paying a visit?
Related posts:
- What Can You Do For Free at CocoCay?
- CocoCay with Young Kids: Everything You Need to Know
- Royal Caribbean Drink Package Guide (With Calculator)
Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
