Norwegian Cruise Line has released the first images of Great Tides Waterpark, the six-acre attraction it has built on its private Bahamian island, Great Stirrup Cay.
It opens on 4 September, during a Norwegian Luna Caribbean sailing from Miami. NCL expects a million guests across 15 ships to call at the island this year.
Stepping onto the island stays free for every NCL passenger. The waterpark does not.
What it costs
Day passes are listed from $99.99 per person, and children pay the same as adults. Only under-3s go free.
For a family of four, that is $400 for the day before anyone eats or drinks, on top of the cruise fare.
NCL’s own small print says pricing varies by sailing and availability, so $99.99 is a floor rather than a price. Passes are bought through your myNCL account after booking, and billed in dollars.
Private cabanas inside the waterpark start at $999, with admission for up to six included.
What you get
The pass buys a genuinely big park. Nineteen slides across four zones, crowned by the 170-foot Tidal Tower and its Breakwater Blasters, water coasters that fire inner tubes uphill on jets before dropping them again.
Cliffside Cove has cliff jumps of 10 to 15 feet, which NCL calls an industry first. The Great Slide takes four riders side by side. The Wandering River runs more than 800 feet, with an enclosed tunnel stretch, and Splash Cay is a 9,000-square-foot zone for younger children.
Towels, lockers, life jackets and the tram to the park are all included, and there is a complimentary buffet inside.
The three new food trucks are not included. Barbecue at Low Tide Smoke, seafood at Catch of the Cay and sundaes at Tidal Treats are all à la carte.
Drinks are included only if you have NCL’s Free at Sea beverage package.
The small print for families
Children aged 13 and under must be accompanied by a ticketed adult, so at least one parent buys a pass whether they fancy the slides or not.
Minimum heights run from 36 to 48 inches depending on the attraction. Weight limits run from 200 to 300 pounds per rider, with a combined cap of 800 pounds on the four-person slide.
The island’s new two-berth pier is open, ending tender transfers.
The bottom line
For UK cruisers this only arises on a Caribbean fly-cruise, and the arithmetic belongs in the holiday budget from the start: a family’s waterpark day costs around $400, in dollars, at a price that can rise with demand.
Norwegian’s last set of results leaned hard on growing what each passenger spends beyond the fare. A ticketed gate inside its own free island is that strategy made physical.
The park itself looks a serious piece of engineering, and $100 is not out of line with what a Florida waterpark charges at the gate. The difference is that Orlando’s parks are not inside a resort you have already paid to visit.
