NCL’s New Waterpark Costs Extra. Watch the Cruise Fare, Too.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s chief sales officer expects cruises calling at Great Stirrup Cay eventually to command a premium. That is the price I would watch, even more than the suggested $99 adult ticket for the island’s new Great Tides Waterpark.

A separately ticketed waterpark gives passengers a choice. A higher cruise fare would reach everyone booking that sailing, including people with no intention of climbing a waterslide tower. I would judge that premium on how much better the included island day becomes, not on the presence of an attraction I would still have to pay to enter.

Great Tides opened Sept. 4, adding 19 waterslides and other attractions across nearly six acres of Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas’ Berry Islands. It is available exclusively to NCL passengers on Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries visiting the island.

Chief Sales Officer John Chernesky said those itineraries are expected to attract first-time cruisers and encourage repeat bookings. He expects that premium to follow as awareness and demand increase, citing Royal Caribbean’s nearby Perfect Day at CocoCay as a precedent. That remains an expectation, not an announced fare change.

The included island day still matters

Great Stirrup Cay’s expansion includes a new two-berth pier designed to eliminate tendering for most guests. NCL Chief Experience Officer Mark Kansley said it will make visits less dependent on weather.

That improvement has value whether a passenger buys a waterpark ticket or spends the day on the beach. For an island expected to receive more than 1 million visitors annually from 17 ships, including Norwegian Aqua and Norwegian Luna, getting people ashore is hardly a secondary detail.

The complimentary options include beaches, buffet dining, the 28,000-square-foot heated Great Life Lagoon pool with two swim-up bars, and the Splash Harbor children’s play area. A new tram system serves the destination. The adults-only Vibe Shore Club, Silver Cove, cabanas and villas are among the extra-charge options.

Passengers can have an island day without buying waterpark admission, and the quality of that day is what would make a higher cruise fare easier to defend.

“These private island experiences rise to the very top when you ask them, why do you cruise?” said Lee Applbaum, NCL’s chief marketing officer. He said guest feedback is helping guide the investment.

What a Great Tides ticket buys

The centerpiece is the 170-foot Tidal Tower, containing eight slides. Breakwater Blasters uses water jets to propel inner tubes uphill before drops and turns, while Tropic Spiral is a two-person tube ride. A conveyor carries rafts up the tower. Guests have 152 steps to climb themselves.

Cliffside Cove offers jumps from 10 and 15 feet, which NCL describes as the cruise industry’s first cliff-jumping attractions. The Great Slide accommodates four people together on a body slide. There is no family raft slide or wave pool, useful distinctions for families deciding whether this is their kind of waterpark.

Younger children have Splash Cay, a 9,000-square-foot play area with eight small slides, spray features and a large tipping bucket. The Wandering River runs for more than 800 feet, with an accelerated current, a tunnel with changing projections and a route past a float-up bar. WhiteWater and Martin Aquatic worked with NCL on the design, engineering and rides.

New à la carte food outlets include barbecue venue Low Tide Smoke, seafood-focused Catch of the Cay and dessert outlet Tidal Treats. Complimentary buffet dining is also available. Guests with NCL’s Free at Sea unlimited beverage package can use it on the island.

The $99 figure is guidance, not a fixed price

Chernesky described admission pricing as still being developed, with rates varying by sailing and season. For cruises later in the year, he cited a $99 adult day pass and free entry for children younger than 3. Pricing for older children was not specified.

Tickets are sold as shore excursions, with reservations opening one year before departure. Guests can book before their visit, while onboard purchases may be possible depending on demand. Itineraries visiting Great Stirrup Cay depart from homeports including Miami, New York, Jacksonville and Port Canaveral.

During the initial ramp-up, attendance is capped at 1,200 guests, below the park’s design capacity of 1,800. NCL may consider timed entry later, recognizing that passengers may spend only part of their island day there.

That makes the value calculation fairly personal. Someone planning a full day of slides is buying a different experience from someone hoping to squeeze in a few rides between the beach and lunch.

The less visible investment

The project took 15 months, comprising four months of development and 11 months of construction, according to Joel Garcia, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ vice president of construction and engineering. Great Stirrup Cay stayed open throughout, so construction had to accommodate continuing guest visits.

The workforce exceeded 625 people at its peak, with six main contractors and 12 subcontractors. Equipment, materials, steel and workers all arrived by sea. Bahamas Environmental Group and Island Site Development were among the Bahamian partners supplying resources and personnel.

Tidal Tower required excavation to a depth of 30 feet to secure it against Category 5 hurricanes. The wider project needed two concrete plants. New power-generation and water-treatment plants serve the entire destination, not only the waterpark, and are intended to support Great Stirrup Cay for the next couple of decades.

Those facilities and the pier give this expansion substance beyond its tallest attraction. A waterpark ticket buys a day on the slides. A higher cruise fare needs to buy a better island day for the people who never climb the tower.

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