Explain it to me like I'm a 6-year-old: Why doesn't X go to PD@CC?

[Honolulu Blue]

Hi guys.  I was inspired to ask this by reading the transcript of Royal's latest earnings call, where they mentioned Perfect Day several times, but Celebrity only a couple of times (about their newest ships/builds).  I tried to find a cruise on Celebrity that goes to RCCL's crown jewel, and I couldn't find any.  There are some that go to Labadee (which, BTW, wasn't mentioned in this earnings call) and other interesting destinations, but not this one.

 

Does anyone have an explanation for this?  A link to an article discussing this subject would be fine.  Thanks for satisfying my curiosity. 🙂

[coffeebean]

Perfect Day at Cocoa Cay is Royal Caribbean's private island. I understand Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean Group but that doesn't mean Celebrity can go to Royal Caribbean's private island. They are two separate cruise lines. That is best I can do. Hope that helps.

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, coffeebean said:

Perfect Day at Cocoa Cay is Royal Caribbean's private island. I understand Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean Group but that doesn't mean Celebrity can go to Royal Caribbean's private island. They are two separate cruise lines. That is best I can do. Hope that helps.

That’s covers it. 

[Fly and Sail]

1 hour ago, coffeebean said:

Perfect Day at Cocoa Cay is Royal Caribbean's private island. I understand Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean Group but that doesn't mean Celebrity can go to Royal Caribbean's private island. They are two separate cruise lines. That is best I can do. Hope that helps.

 

Sure they could. But they don't for whatever reason, my guess (and it's really just a guess) is either overcrowding or that RCL wants to keep PDCC a "RCL Signature" benefit.

[bEwAbG]

Past supposition was also that because it's Royal's island, their ships get priority and X gets the scraps from a scheduling point-of-view.  I certainly wouldn't want to go there as a X passenger if I had to share facilities with a megaship from Royal.

Edited May 5, 2023 by bEwAbG

[prmssk]

If you look at the schedule for Coco Cay, you will see it is rare to not see two ships in port which is all the island can handle.  And since it really is built with kids and families in mind, it makes sense that RCCL gets priority.

[Tierun]

With a more mature demographic, perfect day doesn’t really fit with the X clientele. 

[bEwAbG]

I'm an X client and I like private islands, so I wouldn't state that so definitively.  IMO, visits to the Caribbean have diminishing returns the more you do them and plenty of people have bad initial impressions, too.  I can see the appeal of including a guaranteed experience in the mix.  For whatever reason, X has decided not to do that in the last few years.  They did have some stops a few years ago and stopped doing it, so they obviously had data to make that decision.  I don't think they have to worry about it unless people stop booking because they don't offer it.

[PTC DAWG]

43 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

I certainly wouldn't want to go there as a X passenger if I had to share facilities with a megaship from Royal.

I have been there sharing the island with an Oasis class ship...luckily we docked first on the Mariner of the Seas...had a couple of hours to ourselves..when the Oasis class arrived, we went back to the ship.  No room at the island.  I can totally see why Celebrity would want no part of this for their customers.  

Edited May 5, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[davekathy]

When we cruise with RC we try to avoid intinaries that have a private island stop.  We are glad Celebrity doesn't have a private island stop. Unfortunately our March 2024 Caribbean Princess cruise does. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by davekathy

[cruisestitch]

2 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Hi guys.  I was inspired to ask this by reading the transcript of Royal's latest earnings call, where they mentioned Perfect Day several times, but Celebrity only a couple of times (about their newest ships/builds).  I tried to find a cruise on Celebrity that goes to RCCL's crown jewel, and I couldn't find any.  There are some that go to Labadee (which, BTW, wasn't mentioned in this earnings call) and other interesting destinations, but not this one.

 

Does anyone have an explanation for this?  A link to an article discussing this subject would be fine.  Thanks for satisfying my curiosity. 🙂

Basically there’s no room at the inn. Or seldom room at the inn, to be more precise.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

Like the OP mentioned, Celebrity does have some itineraries in 2024 that make a stop in Labadee (one of Royal Caribbean Group's private islands).  So, it's not that Celebrity cruise ships are not allowed to make stops at the private islands, it's more so they don't see the benefit or space for Celebrity ships to make stops at CocoCay.

 

Some side notes - Coco Cay's capacity is about 10k people so that means two Oasis class ships docked would meet it's current capacity.  A big reason why they've stated that they are adding on the adults only Hideaway Beach area to Coco Cay (planned to open in Q4 2023) is to help accommodate more passengers when Icon is docked with an Oasis class or Quantum class ship.  This new Hideaway Beach area increases the island's capacity by 3,000 people.  God forbid being on the island when there's 3 ships docked when Icon is there.  I found on March 1st, 2024 there's supposed to be three ships there on the same day: Icon (6k+ passengers), Allure (5k+ passengers), and Adventure (3k+ passengers).  God forbid being on the island on that day.

 

One could argue that with the addition of this adults only area for CocoCay, as well as the increased capacity, the island now has a better fit for Celebrity ships; both in size and amenities.  However, I agree with others that there's limited space on the island, especially with the addition of Icon doing year-round sailings with stops at CocoCay and Utopia being added in 2024 which they've disclosed is going to do CocoCay stops as well.

 

I don't see Celebrity ships stopping at Coco Cay any time in the near future.

[Obobru]

I don't think Coco cay is aimed at the Celebrity cruiser it's more mass market. If celebrity had a private island I would expect some thing more tranquil and not a huge pool or a water park and zip slide. Everything on Coco reflects the Royal ships, loud and in your face.  

[BSinPNS]

The folks on the Holland-America boards are aghast when they learn a Carnival ship is visiting Half Moon Cay.  When that happens HAL/Carnival ensure there is no overlap between brands being there at the same time.  There are times that two HAL ships are there at the same time.  

[Fly and Sail]

3 hours ago, Tierun said:

With a more mature demographic, perfect day doesn’t really fit with the X clientele. 

 

Definitely not when the island has to be shared with one or several RCL ships that day. No thanks.

[Honolulu Blue]

Thanks everyone.  I'm surprised that no one has heard the true answer from anyone official.  It's either that Celebrity wants to get spaces at PD@CC, but Royal has monopolized them and isn't keen to share; or Royal has slots to offer, but Celebrity for its own reasons doesn't want them.  Oh well, it's something to ask the guys and gals at the top when I see them next - probably in my next lifetime.

[bap335i]

Cruise demographics are a part of this.  Hard to picture passengers on any of the Celebrity cruises I have been on willing to pay a premium for the waterpark or the adventure sports.  At 66 I was in the lower third of the age demographic on our Equinox cruise in February.  On our Harmony of the Seas cruise with my grandchildren in March I was at the upper end of the age demographics.  Almost zero kids in February, nearly half of the ship in March.   We did have a fantastic time on Coco Cay with my family.  Also had a fantastic time on Equinox.  Totally different cruises for a totally different audience.

[phoenix_dream]

On 5/5/2023 at 1:31 PM, Tierun said:

With a more mature demographic, perfect day doesn’t really fit with the X clientele. 

I guess you haven't sailed on Celebrity recently.  On all my recent cruises (and there were many) the demographic had changed dramatically to what I am used to.  Lots more families with kids, lots more people under 60.  Granted, nowhere near what it would be on a Royal ship, but very, very different from what I consider the norm (after sailing on X more than 70 times)

[neverlaysup]

On 5/5/2023 at 9:56 AM, Honolulu Blue said:

Hi guys.  I was inspired to ask this by reading the transcript of Royal's latest earnings call, where they mentioned Perfect Day several times, but Celebrity only a couple of times (about their newest ships/builds).  I tried to find a cruise on Celebrity that goes to RCCL's crown jewel, and I couldn't find any.  There are some that go to Labadee (which, BTW, wasn't mentioned in this earnings call) and other interesting destinations, but not this one.

 

Does anyone have an explanation for this?  A link to an article discussing this subject would be fine.  Thanks for satisfying my curiosity. 🙂

The answer is very simple.....The island is a Royal Caribbean Cruiseline private island and Celebrity is not affiliated with them in that way. They two lines may be owned by a parent entity but they are 100% separate with the exception of reciprocal benefits with the Captain's Club/Crown & Anchor. PD @ CC is a fun day but not really in line with the clientele that sail on Celebrity. If X did get a private island, I would imagine there would be no waterpark or wave pool and no mass collection of children play areas. I would love to see a chill kickback island so maybe X will eventually join the masses.

[neverlaysup]

7 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Thanks everyone.  I'm surprised that no one has heard the true answer from anyone official.  It's either that Celebrity wants to get spaces at PD@CC, but Royal has monopolized them and isn't keen to share; or Royal has slots to offer, but Celebrity for its own reasons doesn't want them.  Oh well, it's something to ask the guys and gals at the top when I see them next - probably in my next lifetime.

Logistically, there are tons of hurdles you haven't considered. First of all, they can only handle two ships at a time or (xxxx number of people). If an X ship is there with a Royal ship, how do they handle cross booking activities, cabanas, rentals..... How do they charge for drinks...towels. Honestly, it would not work unless every concession on the island had a RC line and an X line for payment and services. X wants nothing to do with Coco Cay and is not trying to get spots or make it a port stop.

[Boo's Mom]

On 5/5/2023 at 1:31 PM, Tierun said:

With a more mature demographic, perfect day doesn’t really fit with the X clientele. 

Exactly.  

What Tierun said. 

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

2 hours ago, neverlaysup said:

They two lines may be owned by a parent entity but they are 100% separate with the exception of reciprocal benefits with the Captain's Club/Crown & Anchor.

They are not as separate as you might think. There are quite a few shared services between the brands. They are not 100% separate.

[Cruise Gopher]

They used to stop there before it was remodeled into PDCC. We stopped there in Jan 2017 on the Summit. 
 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Cruise Gopher

[neverlaysup]

25 minutes ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

They are not as separate as you might think. There are quite a few shared services between the brands. They are not 100% separate.

Such as? 

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

IT, technology, shipbuilding, accounting, HR, environmental, social. I'm sure there are leads at the brand level, but it's all overseen by heads at the RCG level.