Royal Caribbean’s Private Island Voted Best of 2022

Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay has been voted Best Cruise Line Private Island of 2022 in Cruise Hive’s annual Cruise Ship Awards. The island oasis in the Bahamas also earned the coveted title in the 2021 awards.

Perfect Day at CocoCay Wins Again!

Perfect Day at CocoCay has again been voted top in the Best Cruise Line Private Island award category, getting 34% of the vote. Carnival Corp’s Half Moon Cay was a very close second, coming in with 33% of votes (it also won second place in 2021), and MSC Cruises’ Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve was third, with 7% of votes.

Other private islands in the competition were Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Cay, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Great Stirrup Cay and Harvest Caye, Royal Caribbean’s Labadee, in Haiti, and Princess Cruises’ Princess Cays.

Voting for the 2022 awards opened up in September, with readers being able to make cast a single vote in each of the eight categories. Any suspicious or repeated votes were not included in the final result. The awards have been running since 2014 and, each year, are open for Cruise Hive readers. You can check all the results so far right here.

CocoCay Offers Multiple Beaches, Thrill Rides

Perfect Day at CocoCay is located in the Berry Islands of the Bahamas, about 55 miles north of Nassau. A major $250 million refurbishment in 2019 transformed the island, and it reopened to Royal Caribbean cruise guests in 2020. Among the upgrades was an exclusive VIP area, Coco Cay Club, which wowed guests with floating cabanas.

In fact, the cabanas made CocoCay the first cruise line private island to feature the overwater luxury amenity. The club complex also has an infinity pool and an exclusive restaurant.

CocoCay has three beaches and a slew of water activities in its Thrill Waterpark, offering the biggest wave pool in the Caribbean, and 13 waterslides, including Daredevil’s Peak, the tallest waterslide in North America at 135 feet high.

The Splashaway Bay children’s water park, a 1,600-foot-long zip line, Oasis Lagoon, which is the largest freshwater pool in the Bahamas, plus helium balloon rides and other adventure activities are offered.

The island’s South Beach area is geared toward sports lovers, and features volleyball, soccer, and basketball courts, plus equipment for paddle boarding and kayaking. The private island is available only to Royal Caribbean cruise guests. Its pier accommodates two ships, and no tendering is required.

Half Moon, Ocean Cay Are Runners Up

Coming in a hair’s breadth (1 percentage point) behind CocoCay, second-place winner Half Moon Cay is located midway between Eleuthera and Cat Island in the Bahamas, about 100 miles southeast of Nassau.

The Carnival Corp island, comprising 2,400 acres, has a water sports center for adults and the Half Moon Lagoon Aqua Park for youngsters, featuring slides and a pirate ship. Horseback riding on the beach is a featured activity, and a food pavilion and bar, plus other eateries and shopping opportunities are offered as well.

There are no docking facilities at Half Moon Cay, so cruise guests board tenders to reach the island. Ships from multiple Carnival cruise brands call at the island.

Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve was the third-place winner in the cruise awards, with 7% of votes. Located about 65 miles east of Miami, the island has eight beaches on its 95 acres.

Read Also: 8 Cruise Line Private Islands You Must Escape To

The island does not have a waterpark or thrill rides, but offers water sports such as snorkeling, plus soccer and volleyball courts, massage huts on the beach, a Bahamian shopping village, and entertainment including a Junkanoo Parade, beach. Picnics, and a Luna Libre Party. MSC guests are transported to the island by tender.