Mahahual, Q.R. — Royal Caribbean has officially taken administrative control of the Port of the Grand Costa Maya. With this, the Mahahual cruise port will soon begin a revamp into the cruise company’s Perfect Day Mexico.
The ambitious tourism transformation project will position Mahahual as one of the company’s global flagship destinations. The announcement was made July 11 by Jay Schnaider, the Director of Product Innovation for Royal Caribbean.
He reported that the legal and financial transaction for the Royal Caribbean takeover had been finalized, allowing the company to formally assume operation of the port.
“We are now administrators of the port and have begun working on the development of Perfect Day Mahahual,” said the company representative. According to Schnaider, the port of Mahahual will not be closed during the extensive two-year renovation process.
Schnaider said that cruise ship operations will continue as usual while the construction is done to carry out the Perfect Day Mexico transformation. He also confirmed that as part of their agreement, the port will continue to accept all cruise lines, not only Royal Caribbean ships.
In June, the financial transaction to buy the port of Mahahual was finalized. Royal Caribbean bought the port and 34 surrounding properties for $292 million USD. The deal includes the port and adjacent land.
This initial investment will be accompanied by an additional $600 million, reaching a total of $821.3 million USD for the development of the ambitious Perfect Day Mexico project, the first of its kind in the country.
The finished Perfect Day Mexico tourist complex at Mahahual will feature a large water park, pools, shopping areas, beach clubs, hotels and other attractions. The company plans to attract nearly 4 million tourists to the revamped port annually.
In addition, the project will include a community center, local training programs and sustainable infrastructure and will be connected to the Maya Train, strengthening its potential as a regional tourism hub.
In late June, a developer submitted environmental impact statements to the federal government for permission to construct 24 hotels in two projects outside the seaside town of Mahahual.
