“Great” water park coming to the Bahamas
Norwegian Cruise Line joins private island water park trend
Cruise lines can’t seem to get enough water park attractions. With their colorful, serpentine layouts adorning upper decks, water slides can be found aboard a slew of ships these days. And the splashtastic fun often doesn't stop when the boats pull into port. A number of cruise lines offer water parks at their private islands. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) will be the latest to take the plunge when it opens the Great Tides Waterpark this summer at its Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas.
We’re not talking about a couple of modest water slides here. The honest-to-goodness water park will span about six acres and include 19 different slides along with a host of other attractions. The focal point and highlight will be Tidal Tower, which at 170 feet will tie the record for the tallest water slide tower in North America. NCL hasn’t provided details, but the line does say that two of the tower’s slides, on which guests will use inner tubes, will take advantage of the extreme height and offer “splashing drops and thrilling climbs…for an exhilarating ride.” With eight slides in total, the tower will also include mat-racing slides and body slides. NCL says that the topmost slides will include conveyor belts to lift the tubes up to the starting point, thereby giving guests a break from having to lug them. (But guests will apparently still have to climb up a gazillion steps to get themselves to the slides.)
There will be additional racing slides at the park’s Cliffside Cove. The area will also include two “cliff jump” slides, so named because they will abruptly end in midair leaving guests to freefall into a splashdown pool. One will end 15 feet and the other will end 10 feet above the water. NCL says that the cliff jump slides will be a cruise industry first.
Rounding out Great Tides Waterpark will be an interactive splash zone structure with toned-down slides for younger splashers, all kinds of sprayers and water cannons, and a tipping bucket–a water park staple–that will rain down on guests every few minutes. Partially encircling the park will be a jazzed-up river that will include a faster-than-lazy current and send passengers on a trip through a tunnel that will include a “dreamlike bioluminescent scene” according to NCL. The 270-acre Great Stirrup Cay also features beaches, a huge heated pool, a spa, water sports, dining spots, bars, and activities such as jet skiing.
Royal Caribbean is also building a waterpark at its new private destination, Perfect Day Mexico. That’ll be the place where the other record-breaking, 170-foot-tall water slide tower (to be dubbed Jaguar’s Peak) will be found. I got to experience Daredevil’s Peak, the tallest water slide on the 135-foot-tall Daredevil’s Tower at Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay island retreat in the Bahamas. When it debuted, it was the tallest water slide tower in North America.
It’s since been topped by the 142-foot-tall Thrillagascar and Jungle Jammer slides at DreamWorks Water Park in New Jersey’s American Dream retail, dining, and entertainment complex and the 145-foot-tall The Rise of Icarus that opened in 2024 at Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells. NCL’s Tidal Tower and Royal Caribbean’s Jaguar’s Peak may be able to claim North American bragging rights, but they fall far short of Icon Tower at Meryal, the water park that opened in 2023 in Qatar. That monster reaches a staggering 260 feet into the air.
Have you been on a cruise ship with water slides? Would you prefer to chill on the beach at a private island getaway, or does a waterpark sound appealing to you?
Terrific article, Arthur! Any word if this will be included in the price of the cruise, or will it be an additional fee?