I visited Carnival's newly upgraded private island. Here's what's new.

New investments in the Bahamas and beyond show how Carnival is reshaping cruise itineraries around exclusive destinations.Show Caption

Carnival Cruise Line has upgraded and renamed its private island in the Bahamas to RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay.New additions to the island include a pier, tram service, eateries, and complimentary loungers and umbrellas.Carnival is expanding its portfolio of private destinations, known as the Paradise Collection, to accommodate larger ships and enhance guest experiences.The sun beamed down as I walked along the Papaya Pathway at Carnival Cruise Line’s Bahamas private island, RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay. Visitors lunged after volleyballs on a sandy court nearby, while others reclined in rows and rows of loungers.Trams whizzed by the walkway, dropping guests at stops – all named for various fruits, from lime to guava – and beach rental stations boasted one- and two-person kayaks, paddle boards, snorkel masks and fins, three-wheeled Aqua-Cycles and more. But this was no raucous beach party: Visitors seemed unhurried and at ease, whether sipping tropical drinks or taking a dip in the ocean.Until recently, much of that wasn’t there. The cruise line welcomed guests to the upgraded island on June 1, with passengers from the nearly 3,000-guest Carnival Sunrise ship exploring its newly developed north side for the first time.RelaxAway, with its expanded white-sand beachfront beckoning visitors to turquoise waters, represents a major investment in the company’s land-based offerings – and it’s not the only one. Carnival is leaning into its shoreside portfolio, developing its Paradise Collection of destinations.Here’s why, and what guests should know.What’s new at RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay?The destination's new name – it was previously just Half Moon Cay – is one of many updates.I stepped out on my cabin balcony in the morning to see Carnival Sunrise docked at a new pier, roughly a five-minute walk from a welcome plaza. The tram service – also a new addition – visits six stops that function as their own sections, or guests can walk between them (handy on-site maps note how long that takes; the longest is 15 minutes on foot).Each section has its own activities and facilities, from an artisan market at the Coconut Line Tram Station where guests enter to the Lil’ Tiki Bar at the Lime tram stop – try the Bahama Mama, which was refreshing and sweet but not too strong – and the Luna Tide Beach Bar at the Avocado stop. Onboard drink packages do not currently apply on the island, and drinks such as cocktails and sodas must be purchased a la carte (though water and juice are available at no cost).Two of the stops have buffet-style eateries. During my visit, diners lined up for lunch at the Hibiscus Beach Grill, which had complimentary burgers, fries and a nacho bar with toppings including pulled pork and chili con carne – along with lighter fare like salads and fruit.Loungers and umbrellas – the latter of which previously came with a fee – are complimentary, while other options such as cabanas and daybeds are available for an extra charge. Pricing varies by sailing and the package a guest chooses.The cruise line also retained certain trademarks of the island, like an excursion that takes guests horseback riding on the beach.The destination can accommodate two ships docked at the pier, and one via tender boats, according to Carnival President Christine Duffy, including its Excel Class and even larger upcoming Project Ace ships. However, the cruise line plans to limit capacity at the island through September as operations ramp up.Holland America Line – also part of Carnival Corp. – visits the existing south side of the island as well, which is getting its own “new design elements and food and beverage venue upgrades,” according to a news release.As their names suggest, Duffy said RelaxAway is “a little bit more relaxed and low-key” than Celebration Key, another Paradise Collection destination that opened on Grand Bahama last year with waterslides and massive freshwater lagoons.“The beach is what is really so amazing,” she said during a media briefing aboard Sunrise. “I mean, the colors of the water, the beauty of nature, that sometimes I think it gets lost if you load it up with just too many other things to distract from that.”However, guests can visit both on the same sailing: my five-night itinerary departed round-trip from Miami with stops at the two private destinations and Nassau.What other private destinations is Carnival developing?Carnival unveiled a new name and upgrades at Isla Tropicale in late May, its exclusive destination in Roatán, Honduras, which opened as Mahogany Bay in 2009. The new Mangrove Bay pool area – with a swim-up bar and splash pad for kids – gives guests 48,000 more square feet of recreational space.In addition to RelaxAway, Celebration Key and Isla Tropicale, Carnival also has exclusive destinations at Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos and Puerta Maya in Mexico.While RelaxAway and Celebration Key are their own destinations, Duffy said during the ship’s Wave Morning Show that the company refers to the others as “gateways, because these are places we take you where we have an exclusive experience in the port, but then also it's a gateway to go and visit and take some shore excursions into these very beautiful places.”Why is Carnival leaning into private destinations?As Carnival has built new – and bigger – ships, there are only so many ports those vessels can visit, according to Duffy. Many of the private destinations had been part of the Carnival Corp. portfolio for years, but not necessarily marketed the way they are now.“And so now the focus has been on, as we're investing in these new ships and the bigger ships that we have, we're saying, ‘OK, we've got to invest in these destinations,’” she said in the press briefing.Carnival still operates longer cruises, such as popular eight-day sailings to Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, but many of the cruise line’s itineraries are shorter. Having its own destinations nearby in the Bahamas has multiple advantages.“It's close by, so obviously there's a big environmental benefit,” Duffy said. “There's a fuel benefit as well, and guests love it.” The new pier also makes calls there more reliable, since ships may not be able to operate tenders in bad weather.The changes come as many other cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises are adding to or upgrading their land-based offerings, from private islands to smaller beach clubs.Marilyn Macallair, a cruise travel analyst for Phocuswright, told USA TODAY in 2025 that having their own destinations also enables cruise lines to control much more of the experience, from the design to which ships stop there and the food and drink prices. With some communities pushing back against overtourism and geopolitical developments that could affect itineraries, private destinations can be more predictable and convenient.Carnival isn’t done. There is an opportunity to further expand Isla Tropicale, for example, and the cruise line is planning to make additional investments in Celebration Key, Duffy added. “We're always going to look at what's next.”Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.