Forget cruise ships — Carnival is spending big in a race to compete with Royal Caribbean's private island resorts

• Carnival Corp is growing its land-based portfolio with an expanded private island and a new resort.
• Carnival expects to spend $600 million on the coming Celebration Key.
• Popular cruise lines like Royal Caribbean have seen massive success with their private islands.

Carnival Corp is best known for its vacations at sea. Now, it's pouring millions into developing its on-land portfolio in a race to compete with Royal Caribbean's ever-expanding private resorts collection.

The cruise giant announced plans on Tuesday to expand its 27-year-old private island, Half Moon Cay (now renamed RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay), by the summer of 2026. It'll be a busy year for the company, which also expects to debut a new exclusive resort, Celebration Key, in the prior year.

The impending launches are part of a growing trend of land-based destinations to attract more travelers by cruise lines. It may sound ironic at first glance, but the real estate investments have been no laughing matter — the $600 million Celebration Key project is set to be Carnival Corp's largest.

Plans for the mile-long slice on Grand Bahama Island include more than 30 food and drink venues, an adult-only beach club, and a kid-friendly lagoon. So far, 20 of Carnival Cruise Line's 27 ships are scheduled to sail to the exclusive resort-like port.

Celebration Key is being billed as a beacon of exciting entertainment — seemingly antithetical to the peaceful white sand beaches of RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay.

Don't expect a new waterpark when the Caribbean island unveils its expansion in 2026. Instead, the mile-long beach would be updated with additional food and beverage venues, a new tram, expanded lounges, cabanas, and a second pier to accommodate Carnival's largest Excel class ships. (It plans to debut three larger ships starting in 2029.)

In 2026, Carnival itineraries that include both RelaxAway and Celebration Key start at about $350 per person for a four-day cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida.

Travelers are already booking cruises to Celebration Key, half a year from its debut. With success seemingly impending, Dave Bernstein, Carnival Corp's CFO, told investors in October that the company expects the project to be a "smash hit and provide an excellent return on our investment."

The prediction should come as no surprise — competitor Royal Caribbean Group has already proven the star power of the private port playbook.

The cruise giant's recently expanded island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, is its highest-rated port. Using this momentum, the company plans to launch another private resort, Royal Beach Club Paradise Island, in the Bahamas in December 2025.

Like Celebration Key, the 17-acre getaway would have 10 bars and several pools and beaches, including some for families. Travelers would have to pay for admission, but once inside, the resort would be all-inclusive.

Expect to see more from Royal Caribbean's real estate pipeline — Paradise Island will inaugurate its Royal Beach Club Collection. And in 2027, the cruising powerhouse plans to launch Perfect Day Mexico, another private port it recently acquired for $292 million.