One cruise company is creating its own luxury location for its travelers by making a whole new island.
MSC Cruises, the world’s third-largest cruise line, already owns Ocean Cay Marine Preserve in The Bahamas. The artificial island was first built in the late 1960s and MSC Cruises, which holds a 100-year lease, redeveloped it in 2015 as a luxury destination. Now, the company is working to develop a new island that will be about a third of the size of Ocean Cay.
Known informally for now as “Little Cay,” the new island will be built on a natural sandbank. The project is in the early stages of development and is being undertaken in cooperation with The Bahamas.
“This presents an opportunity for us to further develop an exclusive luxury experience for our guests,” Sidney Sterling, director of media relations with MSC Cruises USA, said in a statement shared with Travel + Leisure. “This second island will stay true to the ethos of Ocean Cay, offering an experience that connects guests to nature, pristine beaches, and the beauty of the ocean plus luxury facilities and water features. More information will be shared as it becomes available.”
Pierfrancesco Vago, an MSC executive chairman, added in a statement: “This will offer a different experience for the different brands. We design the island to be an incredible luxury experience. We’re very proud and very happy to have developed again something from nothing like this so we don’t spoil the existing paradise.”
Little Cay will offer a new private exclusive luxury experience to cruisers with MSC. The Bahamas is a popular spot for private islands, and Little Cay will join others that include Royal Caribbean’s CocoCay, Carnival’s Half Moon Cay, Montage Hotels & Resorts’ Montage Cay, and Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Cay.
On April 10, MSC Cruises opened its new Marine Conservation Center on Ocean Cay as a resource for biologists, scientists, students, and visitors to the island. Ocean Cay has eight beaches on its long shores.
