After decades of sharing a private island (Half Moon Cay) with sister brand Holland America Line, Carnival Cruise Line finally has a private destination to call its own. Carnival’s Celebration Key is an exclusive port in the Bahamas that allows guests to enjoy a beach or pool day filled with fun — from water slides and games to delicious food and drinks.

If you’re looking for an overview of what you need to know about Celebration Key, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s our full guide to Celebration Key, Bahamas.

Guide to Celebration Key Bahamas

What is Carnival’s Celebration Key?

Celebration Key is an upcoming private port for Carnival Cruise Line, located in the Bahamas. It can be found on the southern coast of Grand Bahama, about a 23-mile (40 minute) drive from the Freeport Cruise Port on the western side of the island.

Construction on Celebration Key officially broke ground in spring 2022, and design and construction has been underway since. The first cruise ship scheduled to visit the beach destination is Carnival Vista on July 12th during an eight-night southern Caribbean cruise.

Celebration Key will feature its own cruise pier, able to accommodate up to two of Carnival’s largest Excel-class vessels simultaneously. The destination will be split into five areas that Carnival calls “portals.” They are the Paradise Plaza welcome area, the family-focused Starfish Lagoon, the adult-centered Calypso Lagoon, the Locono Cove shopping area, and the adults-only private beach club, Pearl Cove. Starfish Lagoon will feature the largest freshwater lagoon in all of the Caribbean.

Getting to Celebration Key Bahamas

Carnival’s Celebration Key will be exclusively for Carnival cruise ships. This means that you cannot visit the destination unless you’re on a Carnival cruise. Most sailings that include a call at Celebration Key will originate in Florida, including voyages from Miami, Port Canaveral, Jacksonville, and Tampa. However, other homeports will also offer cruises to Celebration Key such as Mobile, Alabama; Galveston, Texas; and Baltimore, Maryland; among others.

The majority of the ships in Carnival’s fleet will sail to Celebration Key over the next couple of years. These include the line’s three newest and largest ships, Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee, which offer mostly six to eight-night sailings. Shorter Bahamas and Caribbean cruises on ships like Carnival Sunrise, Horizon, Freedom, and Vista will also visit Celebration Key.

What’s Free at Celebration Key?

A number of included activities, amenities, and entertainment will be available for visitors to enjoy at Celebration Key. As guests arrive to the destination, they’ll be greeted by live music and a fountain at Paradise Plaza.

Starfish Lagoon is filled with fun for the whole family. The focal point of the entire destination is located here: the towering Suncastle, constructed to look like a sandcastle. This structure will house dual racing waterslides, which are 350-foot-long, 10-story attractions called Flash Flamingo and Mach III Marlin. The Starfish Lagoon portal is also where you’ll find a lagoon swimming pool, the family-friendly beach, and the Guppy Grotto splash pad with fun water features for the littlest visitors. A gaming pavilion also offers activities like ping-pong, foosball, and cornhole.

Calypso Lagoon will be the more adult-friendly portal, though it’s not limited to just adults like the exclusive Pearl Cove Beach Club is (more on that below). This area is located on the other half of the lagoon-style pool, offering a more laid-back atmosphere complete with DJ-spun music. This portal also offers access to the beach.

Competitive guests might want to play a few games at the pickleball, basketball, or volleyball courts, which are accessible from both the Starfish and Calypso Lagoon areas.

Food at Carnival’s Celebration Key

Island Eats

Instead of offering a full picnic-style buffet for free to guests like many private cruise destinations, Celebration Key will operate a bit differently. The destination will feature a number of both sit-down and casual walk-up dining venues that are an extra fee. Each guest will receive a dining credit called Island Eats. This entitles passengers to a complimentary meal at one of the quick casual venues, or a 25 percent discount on one entree from the full-service restaurants (excluding the Pearl Cove restaurant).

However, if you’re still looking for a buffet-style restaurant, there is one at Celebration Key that you can use your Island Eats credit for — Captain’s Galley Food Hall. Located in the Starfish Lagoon portal, the food hall will serve subs, burritos, hot dogs, pizza, burgers, salads, Mediterranean bowls, desserts, and more.

Between dining venues and bars, there will be over 30 options to choose from at Celebration Key.

Casual Venues

There will be a number of casual dining options at Celebration Key in addition to the aforementioned food hall, including food trucks and carts, snack shacks, and the fast-casual venue Mingo’s Express.

Calypso Lagoon, Starfish Lagoon, and Lokono Cove will all have food carts. Paradise Plaza will feature an ice cream shop called Yumshine Scoops.

Snack shacks can be found in both Calypso Lagoon and Starfish Lagoon, serving things like wraps, sandwiches, salads, and other grab-and-go items. Those two portals have their own food truck plazas too, offering beachside classics like burgers and chicken sandwiches as well as local Bahamian dishes like conch fritters.

Mingo’s Express, located at Calypso Lagoon, will offer hamburgers, salad, fish sandwiches, and Caribbean specialties.

Full-Service Restaurants

Celebration Key will be home to four full-service restaurants for visitors to enjoy as well.

Located in Calypso Lagoon are two sit-down restaurants: Mingo’s Tropical Bar & Kitchen and Surf N’ Sauce BBQ & Brews. Named for the Bahamas’ national bird, Mingo’s will serve up island favorites like jerk chicken and coconut shrimp, as well as classics including tacos and burgers. Surf N’ Sauce BBQ & Brews is exactly as it sounds — a barbecue joint. Complete with an outdoor smoker, guests can enjoy slow-cooked meats alongside sides and sauces right next to the lagoon. Bonus: guests will also be able to grab a craft beer from a local brewery at the venue’s full-service bar.

The family-friendly Starfish Lagoon will be home to Gill’s Grill, a full-service restaurant pairing land and sea with dishes like seafood baskets, steamed crab, shrimp, lobster, local fish, chicken, and burgers.

The Pearl Cove Beach Club has its own full-service venue too, aptly named Pearl Cove Beach Club Restaurant & Bar. The space will include a restaurant with an elevated menu, bar, and lounge area. It will serve dishes such as lobster, shrimp, fresh sushi, and salads.

Drinks at Celebration Key

A number of bars will be dotted around Celebration Key, ensuring that guests will never be far from a tropical cocktail or ice-cold beer. But before we get to that, we first have to talk about coffee. Many visitors will want to start their island day with a burst of energy from Suncastle Grounds Coffee, located in Locono Cove. It will serve up hot, iced, and frozen coffee beverages.

Now, onto Carnival’s Celebration Key bars. We don’t know exactly what drinks will be offered at each bar, as menus have not yet been revealed and the destination is not yet open.

Calypso Lagoon is home to three bars. Long Necks Bar in a swim-up bar in the lagoon with a whopping 100 seats. There, guests can enjoy a Bahamian cocktail, frozen drink, or beer amidst a fun atmosphere curated by an on-site DJ. Visitors may also want to swing on over to one of the 40 swings at the Sunshine Swings Bar. The last bar at Calypso Lagoon is the Lagoon Bar West.

Over at the Starfish Lagoon, guests will find Lagoon Bar West’s counterpart, Lagoon Bar East. Starfish Lagoon is also home to Parrotfish Swim Up Bar, which offers variety with both in-water and out-of-water seating. The AquaBana area will also have its own bar.

Over at the beach club is the Pearl Cove Beach Club swim-up bar, serving up its own tropical cocktails and other libations.

Remember that the full-service restaurants mentioned above include bars of their own, too.

As for standard non-alcoholic beverages that guests don’t have to pay extra for, Carnival has not revealed what will be offered at Celebration Key. However, you can expect that offerings will likely be similar to what you can find on other cruise line private islands such as ice water, lemonade, and iced tea.

Does Carnival’s Cheers drink package work at Celebration Key?

Unfortunately, Carnival’s beverage packages do not apply to the line’s private destinations, which include both Celebration Key and Carnival Corporation’s private island Half Moon Cay. So you’ll have to pay menu price for alcoholic and specialty beverages.

Things to Do at Celebration Key That Cost Extra

Shore Excursions

During a visit to Celebration Key, cruise passengers don’t have to stay in the port area. Whether exploring on their own or taking a Carnival shore excursion, guests have the option of seeing other parts of Grand Bahama Island. However, these explorations are not included in the cruise fare and will cost extra. Some of Carnival’s shore excursions available at Celebration Key include:

• ATV off-roading with visits to a garden and Taino Beach
• Pirate’s Cove ziplining and beach break
• Open-air tram city tour with a guided tour of Cooper’s Castle and a visit to the Port Lucaya Marketplace
• Jet-skiing along Millionaire’s Row and a visit to Taino Beach
• Open-air tram tour with a wine-and-paint class and visit to the Straw Market
• Disco Bus tour with rum and beer tasting along with a stop at the beach

Guests can also rent equipment for water activities within Celebration Key, including kayaks and paddleboards.

Shopping

Carnival’s Celebration Key will include a number of shops offering handmade craft items, duty-free items, jewelry, and other souvenirs. Locono Cove, the shopping portal, will also feature a Bahamian artisan market. There are also shopping opportunities on other parts of the island, and many shore excursions build in time for visitors to peruse local shops as well.

Cabana and Daybed Rentals

Cabanas

Standard cabanas will be available at several spots surrounding the lagoons as well as close to the kids’ splash pad. They can accommodate up to four guests and include armchairs, a couch, sun loungers, a cooler with chilled bottled water, and fruit and snacks upon arrival.

Over-the-lagoon cabanas, located on peninsulas over the lagoons, add a private sun shelf and ceiling fan. Large cabanas can also be found around the lagoons, accommodating groups of up to six. They include a few extras such as a dining table, soda, and lunch delivery.

AquaBanas are fun floating cabanas centered around a peninsula with its own bar at Starfish Lagoon. They offer seating for up to eight people around a table, with their feet in the water under a shady canopy.

Villas

Supervillas are the largest private cabanas at Celebration Key with the ability to accommodate up to 10 guests. They include the same things as the other cabanas, plus hammocks, swing chairs, dedicated sun shelves with water loungers, and a waterslide into the lagoon. There are two Supervillas at Calypso Lagoon, and two at Starfish Lagoon.

Four Beach Supervillas will also be available: two at the family-friendly beach and two at the adults-only beach.

Daybeds

For a slightly more premium experience at a lower cost, guests can also opt to reserve a daybed, many of which are located at both Calypso and Starfish Lagoons. The plush daybeds include pillows, a canopy for shade, and privacy curtains. Water daybeds include lounging for two on the sun shelf at Calypso Lagoon.

Pearl Cove Beach Club

If you’re looking for a more upscale and laid-back place to hang around the pool or beach, Pearl Cove Beach Club is the place to be. This exclusive portal is open only to adults 18 and older, and requires a fee for access.

The focal point of Pearl Cove is an 11,000 square-foot infinity pool complete with a sun shelf, premium loungers, and umbrellas. Villas and cabanas are available in the beach club for rent. Pearl Cove also has its own private end of the beach, which will offer food and drink service.

There will be three types of bookings available for access to Pearl Cove Beach Club. The first is basic beach club access, which includes a welcome drink of fruit or rum punch starting at $100 per person.

The second is open bar access, which consists of rum punch, draft domestic beer, house red and white wine, well drinks, frozen strawberry daiquiris, and piña coladas. This option includes up to 10 drinks and starts at $140 per person. The third option is all-inclusive access, which is the same as the open bar except it also includes lunch at the Pearl Cove full-service restaurant. This package also has a 10-drink limit, and starts at $180 per person.

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