Royal Caribbean’s New Royal Beach Club: Worth the Hype… or a One-and-Done?
At the beginning of 2026, our family was fortunate enough to go on a quick, 3-night cruise out of Port Canaveral on Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas. Other than watching our youngest son go ziplining for the first time and finally getting to go on the jet ski tour at Cococay, our main goal of the cruise was to experience Royal Caribbean’s newest Royal Beach Club for the first time.
We booked this cruise last minute, with about 35 days to go so we didn’t have much of a chance to shop around for pricing of the beach club. We did pay roughly $140 per person for the all-inclusive (free drinks, wifi and food) option. You could also opt for the non-alcoholic drinks option but it was only about $20 less so didn’t seem to make much sense for us. Also, I would note that we didn’t go with our kids (they stayed on the ship), so we can’t speak to the family experience, although there were plenty of families there.
You too can be the captain of whatever ship you are on!
The Royal Beach Club at Paradise Island in Nassau opened officially in late December of 2025. The beach club itself is designed for passengers of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships while they are in port in Nassau. The beach club is staffed and run by Bahamians (whereas Perfect Day at Cocoay is staffed mainly by the ship’s crew) and consists of three major zones: Chill Beach, Party Cove and Family Beach. To get to the beach club, you will take a fun colored ferry from the port over to one of the two entrances to the beach club. Each area has a heated pool and beach access with the main focus in the Party Cove area being the swim-up bar and DJ area. There are restaurants in each zone and multiple bars. There are as well servers that will bring drinks directly to your chairs or loungers. Each area has really nicely maintained bathrooms (to be fair: the place had only been open maybe 3 weeks), and there were first aid areas and even an area to shop. Also, in each zone there were cabanas, even an Ultimate Family Cabana that was complete with a waterslide, that you can rent as various price points.
Because we like to get going early and we also like to have a quiet ship to ourselves, we got off the ship to head to the beach club as soon as possible. Upon entering the beach club, we grabbed some nice, fluffy towels (you don’t have to bring one off the ship with you) and we found ourselves some loungers near the Party Cove, which is located in the middle of the Island. We immediately walked around the whole beach club so we could get an idea of the property and what it had to offer. We walked all the way down to the end of Chill Beach where the fancy cabanas were, as well as the beach that could lead straight to Atlantis (why you would want to leave, not sure). On the opposite side of Chill Beach is the Family Beach where they had a pool with fun fountains and other kid-friendly areas. That area filled up quickly but we stayed away from it for the most part.
We spent almost all of our time at the Party Cove and especially enjoyed the heated pool and the vibe that came along with it. The crew that served us at the swim up bar was super friendly, high energy and seemed very happy to be there. Every once in a while the bar staff would randomly cheer and ring some bells. It got to be pretty funny because it was as if they were told that in order to keep the energy up that random cheering would do that. At each pool, including the pool at Party Cove, there were lifeguards stationed who took their job very seriously. Also, in the pool were some floating pool games such as beer pong, which we saw many fellow cruisers taking advantage of. We had a really fun time swimming, relaxing, dancing and drinking.
At some point we decided that we were hungry and wanted to try out the food. It’s my understanding that the food menu has been updated some since we were there, so I can’t speak on the entirety of what is currently being offered. We tried a bit of everything. While the seafood items were the star of the show, my husband enjoyed the chicken tenders and fries also. They had a crab cake sandwich, which was really tasty, and a shrimp skewer that had a delicious sauce on it. My husband was pleased to find that not only did they have soft serve on the island but they also had a pineapple flavor, which was a nice change of pace from the vanilla and chocolate that is typically offered. While we found that the food was all pretty tasty, we didn’t really feel that it provided the plussed experience that was even offered at the Hideaway Beach Club, nor was there the variety that you could find at the complimentary buffet offered on Cococay. The food is definitely an area that could be improved, especially if they are going to continue with their higher price point.
Don’t forget to pack your Drip Drop before you head to the Beach Club
As far as the drinks are concerned, we did really enjoy having everything be unlimited. Since we have loyalty status that gives us complimentary drinks while on board, we usually don’t splurge for the drink package anymore. But, we do enjoy the freedom that a drink package provides. One nice thing about it is that you can order a drink and if you don’t like it then you can trade it in for something that you enjoy more. The beer that was served, which comprised of beer only made in the Bahamas- which hwile great, was very limited and did not really appeal to us. They had wine available as well but the idea of drinking a glass of pinot in the pool did not sound ideal. Mainly, we enjoyed the liquor drinks that were available. You could order drinks from a frozen machine or the bartenders could make you a drink. The bartenders had been educated on how to make all of the drinks listed on their menu, but if you were ordering off of the menu then the drinks that you received, we found, were hit or miss. This was likely due to the availability of only a certain selection of alcohols and mixers, and also in part to the fact that many of the bartenders were relatively new to their position. With time, our hope is that the beer selection will improve, and we are confident that the very eager to please bartenders’ skills and knowledge base will improve as well.
Lastly, I need to mention two areas that were definitely a con to the whole experience. Because we got there as early as possible, we had our choice of loungers but everything quickly filled up. Once we moved down to Chill Beach for a bit (they also had a swim up bar but certainly a more chill experience), we were unable to find available loungers. Depending on which ships are at port, I can see the area getting very crowded, especially in the main areas. When I am paying as much as I am to be at the beach club, I don’t want to fight over beach loungers. Another somewhat annoying aspect to the whole experience was that, while the ferry ride to the island was quick and right next to where we got off the ship, on the way back we were taken around all of the ships to another little dock so that we could walk through the straw market. This was a 15-20 minute crowded walk through a not very wide area and even required that we needed to go through security. We understand that Nassau probably has an agreement with Royal Caribbean that requires us to all walk through their duty free areas, but my hope is that this will change in the future.
But is it all worth it? With prices as they currently are, we don’t think so. With it being over $100 per person, I imagine that many people, like us, will see it as a one and done experience. My husband and I couldn’t agree, however, on what would be the right price for us to go back. I was thinking that I would go back if prices got down to $80, while my husband wanted it to be even lower than that. While it was nice to have unlimited drinks, I would almost prefer to pay less and pay for drinks as we go so that we could enjoy a more affordable experience. Also, I would want the variety and luxury of the food items to be greatly improved before I visit again. As I said, we enjoy a quiet ship on port days and so will likely opt to stay on the ship next time. Another thing that we noted was that our experience seemed very similar to the complimentary visit to the Beach Club at Bimini that you get with Virgin Voyages. The drinks are not included on Bimini but are very, very good, the vibe is excellent and the food so, so much better.
All of my swimsuits are reasonably priced.
Are you planning on visiting the Royal Beach Club at Paradise Island on your next Royal Caribbean cruise that visits Nassau or will you plan on staying on the ship? Regardless, Contact me today so I can help get your next vacation planned.
