How to get a taste of the billionaire lifestyle on a cruise

Owning a paradise island is an unachievable dream for most of us – but the next best thing is to visit one on a cruise.

From Disney to Virgin, cruise lines are developing private resorts that offer not only white sandy beaches but also watersports, wildlife-spotting and adrenaline-pumping thrill-rides.

Spots in the Bahamas within a day’s sailing from Florida are the most popular getaways, but now these pleasure islands are beginning to pop up around the world too.

As well as offering an idyll for cruise passengers, these multi-million-pound developments also safeguard wildlife with marine reserves, nesting areas and animal sanctuaries.

More are in the pipeline, with Royal Caribbean opening its first private island in the southern hemisphere later this year, and Carnival planning its own Grand Bahama Cruise Port for 2024.

So join us under the swaying palm trees for a tour of these sun-kissed holiday havens...

The Beach Club at Bimini

Where is it?

Virgin Voyages’ exclusive resort is in the Bimini islands, 50 miles east of Miami and part of the Bahamas.

What’s there to see and do?

The club is based around a lagoon-style pool. Mornings begin with yoga and meditation, giving way to DJ-led pool and flotilla parties in the afternoon before winding down to watch sunsets from the shore.

There are six bars, and food includes island favourites such as conch and mango salad, savoury ribs, queen snapper wrapped in banana leaf, and Bahamian rum cake.

Green credentials

The beach club uses natural materials and recycles waste.

Virgin Voyages has partnered with a local foundation to create public murals highlighting the island’s cultural and natural heritage and raising awareness of plastic waste and biodiversity loss.

Get onboard

5-night ‘Dominican Daze’ cruise aboard Scarlet Lady, round trip from Miami via Puerto Plata and Beach Club at Bimini, departing 3 March 2023, from £757.

Castaway Cay

Where is it?

Disney’s private island is a 1,000-acre retreat in the Abaco chain of the Bahamas.

What’s there to see and do?

As you leave the ship, electric trams whisk you to beaches, lagoons and play areas – or you can simply walk and enjoy the view.

As well as water sports and boat hire, guests can play volleyball and football.

A family beach is set aside for children, while adults have their own oasis at Serenity Bay, with cabanas for hire.

Fitness fans can get their endorphins pumping on a 5k running route.

Green credentials

Most of the island remains undeveloped, with native plant and marine species – including loggerhead turtles and sea urchins – enjoying a natural habitat. Solar power provides 70 per cent of the resort’s electricity needs.

Get onboard

3-night ‘Bahamian’ cruise aboard Disney Wish, round trip from Port Canaveral via Nassau and Castaway Cay, departing 3 February 2023, from £1,573.

Great Stirrup Cay

Where is it?

All Norwegian Cruise Line sailings to the Bahamas include
a day on the 270-acre private resort of Great Stirrup Cay – once a pirate hideout, now a haven for holidaymakers.

What’s there to see and do?

An underwater sculpture garden filled with mermaids, sea creatures and fountains tempts snorkelers.

Above the water, guests can go for an adrenaline-pumping ride on a WaveRunner jet ski.

There are white-sand beaches and private cabanas under swaying coconut palms, and foodies will love the 8,500sq ft buffet.

Green credentials

NCL partners with a university to conserve, re-establish and protect the biodiversity of the marine environment, including restoring coral reefs.

Get onboard

4-night ‘Great Stirrup Cay & Nassau’ cruise aboard Norwegian Pearl, round trip from Miami via Grand Bahama, Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay, departing 16 January 2023, from £419.

Half Moon Cay

Where is it?

The island previously known as Little San Salvador lies about 100 miles southeast of Nassau. Ships from sister lines Holland America and Carnival call there.

What’s there to see and do?

For the best view of the crescent-shaped beach that gives the resort
its name, you can ride on horseback through the surf.

Other options include kayaking through protected mangroves or hiking an ornithological trail to spot ospreys, mockingbirds and owls.

Green credentials

As part of its purchase agreement, Holland America promised to maintain a nature reserve and wild bird sanctuary.

Only a small corner of the island is developed, leaving the 700-acre saltwater lagoon at its centre as a breeding area for turtles.

Get onboard

7-night ‘Eastern Caribbean’ cruise aboard Nieuw Statendam, round trip from Fort Lauderdale via Grand Turk, St Thomas and Half Moon Cay, departing 7 January 2023, from £639.

Harvest Caye

Where is it?

This 75-acre oasis off the coast of southern Belize is used by Norwegian Cruise Line.

What’s there to see and do?

Snorkellers get a chance to explore the world’s second-largest barrier reef, while daredevils can buckle up for a zipline across the island, giving great views of the seven-acre beach.

If lazing in the sun is more your style, there’s also a large pool with a swim-up bar.

Green credentials

NCL has set up a conservation foundation to protect natural habitats and endangered species.

Harvest Caye is also a wildlife sanctuary with a reptile terrarium, butterfly garden and aviaries housing rescued birds.

Get onboard

7-night ‘Harvest Caye, Cozumel and Roatan’ cruise aboard Norwegian Joy, round trip from Miami via Roatan, Harvest Caye, Costa Maya and Cozumel, departing 8 April 2023, from £687.

Labadee

Where is it?

Just off the northern coast of Haiti, this is Royal Caribbean’s private bolthole.

What’s there to see and do?

With place names such as Columbus Cove, Buccaneer’s Bay and Dragon’s Plaza, the resort offers pristine sands, coral reefs, jungle-covered hills and wide bays, as well as five beaches.

The Artisan’s Village sells hand-made crafts and souvenirs, while thrill-lovers can ride a zipline and a 300ft waterslide.

Green credentials

Royal Caribbean International worked with the World Wildlife Fund to set environmental sustainability targets, including carbon emissions, for Labadee, and these were surpassed in 2019.

Get onboard

4-night ‘Eastern Caribbean’ cruise aboard Mariner of the Seas, round trip from Port Canaveral via Labadee, departing 4 May 2023, from £260.

Motu Mahana

Where is it?

The private island of Paul Gauguin Cruises, Motu Mahana is off the coast of Taha’a in French Polynesia, South Pacific.

What’s there to see and do?

Local hosts demonstrate how to open a coconut or tie a wraparound skirt known as a pareo.

Passengers can swim or snorkel among the coral or paddle further out in kayaks from the ship’s watersports marina. Cocktails from a floating bar accompany the beach barbecue, and there may even be time for a game of beach volleyball or an overwater massage.

Green credentials

Paul Gauguin, now part of the Ponant group, partners with a South Pacific marine education and conservation foundation and supports local businesses.

Get onboard

12-night ‘Fiji, Tonga, Cook & Society Islands’ cruise aboard Paul Gauguin, from Lautoka to Tahiti via Motu Mahana, departing 20 March 2023, from £6,260.

Ocean Cay

Where is it?

In the western Bahamas, 65 miles east of Miami, Ocean Cay Reserve is used by MSC Cruises.

What is there to see and do?

Kayaking, snorkelling, paddleboarding and scuba diving are among the activities offered, or you can simply relax on two miles of sand, spread
over eight beaches.

For the best view, climb 165 steps to the top of the island lighthouse. Food options include trucks serving Bahamian dishes, there’s also an ice cream bar, and massages are available in beach huts overlooking the blue waters.

Green credentials

More than 1,500 tons of scrap metal were removed from this former sand extraction site, while 400 coral colonies were relocated to help them grow more easily within the 64-square-mile marine reserve.

More than 75,000 new plants and shrubs, including 4,600 trees and palms, were put in.

Get onboard

7-night ‘Caribbean and Antilles’ cruise aboard MSC Meraviglia, round trip from Port Canaveral via Nassau, Ocean Cay, Belize City and Cozumel, departing 5 February 2023, from £419

Perfect Day At CocoCay

Where is it?

The former Little Stirrup Cay is in the Berry Islands, about 55 miles north of Nassau.

What is there to see and do?

Royal Caribbean has gone all-out to provide the perfect day for guests, with everything from a waterpark – including the biggest wave pool in the Caribbean and the tallest slide in North America – to the Oasis Lagoon and Chill Island. Passengers can even board a helium balloon to enjoy the highest vantage point in the Bahamas.

Green credentials

CocoCay has been awarded a gold-level Eco-Certification by Sustainable Travel International for its environmental management policies and practices.

Get onboard

4-night ‘Bahamas & Perfect Day’ cruise aboard Freedom of the Seas, round trip from Miami via CocoCay and Nassau, departing 6 March 2023, from £373

Princess Cays

Where is it?

This 40-acre exclusive resort is on the southern tip of Eleuthera in the Bahamas.

What is there to see and do?

Guests can enjoy a beach barbecue, play beach sports or browse the craft market. Couples can hire private bungalows for a romantic hideaway, while wildlife lovers can meet stingrays in waist-high water.

To explore further afield, take a bike ride, join a coastal cruise or kayak on the lagoon. Keen anglers can try their luck on a rocky shore.

Green credentials

Here they turn seaweed into fertiliser, seawater into drinking water and recycled tins into funds for local projects. All the staff are Bahamians.

Get onboard

7-night ‘Western Caribbean with Bahamas’ cruise aboard Regal Princess, round trip from Fort Lauderdale via Princess Cays, Grand Turk, Falmouth and Grand Cayman, departing 2 April 2023, from £879.

Sir Bani Yas

Where is it?

Just over 100 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi, this beach oasis in the Persian Gulf is government owned but exclusively reserved for MSC Cruises.

What is there to see and do?

More than 2,000 sunbeds and six bars are spread out along the long sandy beaches, with activities including tennis, dance parties and banana boats.

As well as a family playground area and inflatable water park, a Bedouin tent sells hand-made craft items and there’s a lounge space with live music.

Visitors wishing to explore the island’s nature reserves can go by horseback, Jeep or on foot.

Green credentials

Almost half of the island is given over to an Arabian wildlife park, established by the late Sheikh Zayed, which is home to more than 100 bird and 30 mammal species, many of them endangered.

MSC Cruises also worked closely with ecologists for more than two years to develop the beach and support conservation work.

Get onboard

7-night ‘Emirates’ cruise aboard MSC World Europa, round trip from Abu Dhabi via Sir Bani Yas, Doha and Dubai, departing 8 January 2023, from £579.