MSC Cruises is doing something no other line is, it’s building its own luxury Caribbean island to accompany its incredible Ocean Cay Marine Reserve.
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Revealed: Little Ocean Cay [Working Title]
At a pair of industry events, MSC Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago, revealed that the brand is building a second private island, paired with its Ocean Cay Marine Reserve. The island will be significantly smaller than Ocean Cay and focused solely on luxury.
As the brand expands its fleet with ever larger vessels like the newly launched MSC World America and the upcoming MSC World Atlantica, the dock required further dredging. Removed sand was piled nearby where it created the start of what’s being called Little Ocean Cay, or Little Cay – it’s not yet clear.
As the island is under development, there’s no statistics officially for the size and no tours. Various construction equipment was hard at work during a recent visit.
While the facts are scant, some conclusions can be drawn based on conversations with staff members and what we know from observation.
- The island is likely too small for it’s own dock, even for smaller Explora Journeys ships which means that that reaching the island will likely require tenders either from the shore or from the vessel itself.
- Support staff and major catering infrastructure will likely remain on Ocean Cay
- Yacht Club-designated restaurant may be converted to specialty dining or for Aurea Spa suite guests
- Space will be limited
- The island is unlikely to open this year, but could open late next year. More likely, it will coincide with the 2026 launch of Explora III.
Ocean Cay, MSC’s Marine Reserve
Most contemporary cruise lines now have their own private islands (usually in the Bahamas):
- Royal Caribbean – Perfect Day at Coco Cay
- Norwegian – Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas), Harvest Caye (Belize)
- Holland America – Half Moon Cay
- Disney – Castaway Cay
- Carnival – Celebration Key (Opens later in 2025)
- MSC – Ocean Cay (Bahamas), Portuguese Island (Mozambique)
- Paul Gauguin – Moto Muhana (French Polynesia)
The island is just under 100 acres, home to 150 staff members (increasing to 280), and known for its signature north beach lighthouse LCD light show. It offers water sports from JetSkis and catamarans to peddle boats and stand up paddle boards. It also has an incredibly secluded and exclusive wedding venue for guests tying the knot.
What makes Ocean Cay so different from the others, is that it was initially a industrial use site that was refurbished into a stunning island oasis. In fact, the MSC Foundation Marine Conservation Center just opened on the island and its initiative rebuilding coral around the island has been a significant success.
Another distinction from other contemporary cruise line private islands is that it focuses on natural beauty and pristine beaches. Royal Caribbean has built a beautiful island in Coco Cay but beach cabanas for some itineraries can run into the six figures for a single day. The associated water park incurs an additional charge at more than $100 per person for most trips which can be a very expensive day for families.
Industry-First
Paul Gauguin, a boutique luxury line with a single 230-passenger ship, owned by Ponant does have its own island in French Polynesia, but it’s a far more limited experience for far fewer passengers. On this scale, a separate island solely for premium passengers has not been done and nothing like it in the western hemisphere.
What will make Little Ocean Cay even more of an outlier (or perhaps a model for competitors) is that it is being built at all. Carnival Corporation’s US brands Seabourn, Princess, Holland America, and Cunard in addition to its namesake hold a variety of market positions. Despite the success of competitor, Royal Caribbean, at Coco Cay, and despite its own Holland America island (Half Moon Cay), Carnival is only opening its first island this year. Princess has its own resort, but Seabourn won’t likely get its own island despite being several times larger than Explora Journeys. Royal also owns Silversea, an even larger luxury brand, Norwegian owns Regent (luxury) and Oceania (premium) and yet none have their own islands.
Perhaps this will inspire other brands to develop their own islands in the Bahamas (or elsewhere in the Caribbean) to expand service for their guests. It also expands the lines’ offering to a land component experience. Silversea is building a resort in southern Chile to serve as a home for its Antarctica guests and extend its signature luxury experience to hotels. We’ve seen hotel brands, Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons (soon Aman), expand to ships. The Le Meridien hotel brand was originally built by and for Air France flight crews. Does a land experience for luxury customers at sea help to overcome the limitations of a floating experience? We are about to find out.
Conclusion
The (yet-to-be-officially-named) Little Ocean Cay is in the early stages of construction. It will be a welcome addition to the MSC’s offering in the Caribbean that distinguishes it from competitors. Logistically, it will be interesting to see how service unfolds and what kind of market impact it has for guests. I fear that the island itself may be a little smaller than necessary for the amount of premium passengers MSC already welcomes. Passengers already choose MSC in part because of Ocean Cay’s success, will the same be true for luxury customers?
What do you think?
Tourism at its ugliest
I’ve been to most of the cruise industry’s private islands. MSC’s “big” Ocean Cay is one of the best. It lacks the big water park of Royal’s island, but it has much better beaches and water. I assume this “little” version will just have tenders from the big island to the little one for Yacht Club and people who want to pay big bucks (Cabana clients).
In your list of Cruise Lines with private islands, you left out Disney’s Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, having opened recently.
Bad news, China just claimed it.
That would leave the real estate occupied by the Yacht Club venue on (Big) Ocean Cay for water park development.
Ocean Cay is beautiful just the way it is
No water park PLEASE!