Princess Cays Disappears From Princess Cruises’ Future Schedule

Princess Cays has been part of the Princess Cruises Caribbean experience for decades, but its future is suddenly a lot less clear.

After seeing chatter about Princess Cays suddenly disappearing from itineraries, I reviewed all 160 Caribbean cruises currently available in Princess Cruises’ booking system as of September 4, 2026, and found just five itineraries that still include Princess Cays. Three of those are already sold out, and the last remaining Princess Cays sailing I found departs on October 17, 2026 aboard Regal Princess. After that, Princess Cays disappears from the currently published Caribbean schedule.

That doesn’t mean Princess has announced the destination is closing, being sold or permanently abandoned. It hasn’t. But Princess is already selling Caribbean cruises well into 2028, and while Princess Cays drops off the schedule, Carnival Corporation’s newer private destinations, Celebration Key and RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, continue showing up again and again.

That makes this more than a simple itinerary change.

Princess Cays Is Still a Great Beach Day

I was at Princess Cays just a few weeks ago while sailing aboard Regal Princess, and there was nothing about the experience that made me think the destination had run its course.

Princess Cays is far from the biggest private destination in Carnival Corporation’s portfolio, and technically it isn’t even a private island. It’s a private section of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, and ships still have to tender passengers ashore.

What it does offer is something that’s becoming a little harder to find at cruise line private destinations: a simple beach day. You can get off the tender, find a chair, enjoy the water and spend the day without feeling like you’ve entered a giant cruise resort that wants to also be an amusement park. There are the usual bars, food, cabanas and excursions, but Princess Cays is not as heavily developed or commercialized as the newer destinations.

I’ve said before that Princess Cays is the one Carnival Corporation private destination Carnival hasn’t really “taken over.” That may also be what puts it in a difficult position now.

Carnival Corporation Is Moving in a Different Direction

Carnival Corporation has been investing heavily in larger private destinations that can handle bigger ships and more passengers which means more spending ashore.

Celebration Key was built on a much larger scale, with a pier that can accommodate up to FOUR ships and far more acreage to pack in more people willing to spend money on food, drinks, premium areas, cabanas and other paid experiences. Half Moon Cay is another example.   It’s just been expanded and rebranded as RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, including a new area with a pier capable of handling two ships, including Carnival Cruise Line’s largest Excel-class vessels.

Princess ships are now being sent to both. The current Princess lineup includes Caribbean Princess at Celebration Key in February 2027, Regal Princess at RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay in March 2027, and even a November 2027 Sky Princess itinerary that visits both Celebration Key and RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay on the same cruise.

Meanwhile, Princess Cays is gone from the schedule after October 2026.

That doesn’t prove Carnival Corporation is finished with Princess Cays, but it certainly raises the question of whether the company would rather send Princess ships to destinations where it has already invested heavily and where there are more opportunities to generate revenue.

So What Happens to Princess Cays?

At this point, nobody outside Carnival Corporation really knows.

Princess Cays could return to the schedule later, and there may still be value in keeping a quieter, less-developed destination for Princess passengers who prefer that kind of experience.

Carnival could also decide to invest in the property and give it a major overhaul, but I think that’s the less likely outcome. With Celebration Key already open and Half Moon Cay’s expansion complete, it’s hard to see Carnival Corporation putting another large pile of money into turning Princess Cays into a smaller version of the same thing.

What I find more believable is that Princess Cays has become less important and as it fades from regular use, we’ll see an announcement very soon about its future.

Princess Cays: The Remaining Visits

Princess Cays hasn’t officially gone anywhere, but when only five of 160 currently published Caribbean cruises still call there, and none do after October 2026, it’s fair to wonder whether we’re watching the beginning of the end for one of Princess Cruises’ longest-running Caribbean destinations.