Disney Cruise Line’s Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point Opens to Guests

Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, Disney Cruise Line’s new private destination located on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera, welcomed its first guests on June 7 after five years in development. We were onboard Disney Magic for its inaugural call, which according to the Disney sales team consisted of about 30% media, trade, and friends and family (including about 150 trade clients from across markets) and 70% guests.

As Disney Cruise line expands its fleet with Disney Wish and Disney Treasure after a decade with only four ships, the company has now doubled its portfolio of private “islands” from one to two. Castaway Cay, off Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas, became the very first cruise line private island in 1997. More than 25 years later and an estimated 100 nautical miles away, the joyous sounds of Junkanoo welcomed Disney passengers to Lookout Cay for the first time in what Disney officials hope will be an authentic take on life in the Bahamas.

We sat down with executives from the Disney sales team — including senior vice president of Disney Destination sales Javier Moreno — to discuss their vision for the Disney Cruise Line private port and how travel advisors should approach selling this never-before-seen destination.

Differentiating Disney’s private islands
“There are not islands available every day to allow us to do something like this,” said Jeff Van Langeveld, vice president of marketing sales international, referring to the initial purchase of Lighthouse Point in 2019. “Guests are expecting ports as part of their itinerary, and it’s very crowded in the Caribbean and the Bahamas, so it helps us from an availability standpoint. It’s an experience that we can have more control over.”

In terms of positioning Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay to clients, Van Langeveld told us that they are “both beautiful beach destinations — you have the Bahamian beach and the barbecue — but here [Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point] we worked really hard to differentiate it from a cultural standpoint.”

“I think about [Lookout Cay] almost like a port of call — there will be excursions — while Castaway Cay is more a day at the beach; from a music, cultural and architectural standpoint, it’s that combination of bringing the Bahamian culture to a day at the beach,” said Van Langeveld.

Up to 30 port adventures will be available at Lookout Cay; some will be available beginning with Disney Fantasy’s June 10 call, but bookings have already begun online. The tours will not only include opportunities to take a boat ride or diving excursion around the island but include excursions into downtown Eleuthera. A bike trail and a nature trail will also be exclusive to the island.

“You think about Castaway Cay; you get off, you grab your beach towel and head to the beach — it’s a day of fun in the sun and the water. But here, we’ve infused lots of different types of experiences, which just means you have really unique choices across the two islands, giving guests two different experiences,” Jodi Bainter, vice president of domestic leisure sales, explained.

Missing from Lookout Cay is a pool. The decision was made to leave Lighthouse Point as much in its natural habitat as possible. There are freshwater splash areas for kids, which include Sebastian’s Cove for children ages 3-10 and a small waterpark with two slides called Rush Out, Gush Out. And of course, the clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea.

There will be itineraries that have only Castaway Cay or only Lookout Cay and a few that have both, so it’s about providing more destination options to guests. There will be seven-night itineraries on either Disney Magic or Disney Fantasy throughout the summer, beginning with the June 9 sailing of Disney Fantasy that calls on both islands. Generally, sailings will go to one destination or another.

Taking a Bahamas-first approach
The creative team known as Disney Imagineers worked with local artists and cultural advisors to bring Lookout Cay to life. This includes the colorful murals and artwork found around the island as well as locally designed character costumes, exclusive Lookout Cay merchandise and original songs scored by a Bahamian music producer.

The island also has a robust entertainment lineup with plenty of Disney character moments for families that complement the vibrancy of Junkanoo and the local people. For example, guests can join Michelle — a local school teacher from Eleuthera — in making their own simple Junkanoo headdresses prior to the celebration.

Disney Cruise Line’s regional public affairs director for The Bahamas and Caribbean, Joey Gaskins, helped make many of these connections in the port’s development and hosted a panel with some of the Bahamian contributors during the preview sailing. Gaskins is an Eleuthera native. Overall, the development here in South Eleuthera has created an estimated 200 jobs for local Bahamians

“It was a collaborative effort [with the Bahamian government] with the spirit of creating an environment that is authentically Bahamian with the least environmental impact that we could manage,” noted Van Langeveld. “In working on the Aulani business in the past, we always referred to ‘big H, small d,’ meaning Hawaii first, then Disney — and I believe this is comparable in terms of a Bahamas-first approach.”

A new product for the portfolio
When it comes to educating clients about this new Disney destination, Bainter promised that resources will be available as soon as possible. Alongside guests, a team from the Disney Travel Professionals social accounts were on the island Friday curating content for advisors who can also get all the latest details on the regularly updated disneytravelagents.com. The Learning Services team was also on the ground with plans to build Lookout Cay into Disney Cruise Line’s educational programs.

“We’re thrilled to now have two islands; we have trade that have been selling our products for a very long time, so it’s great to have this new tool to add into the collection,” said Bainter. “We’ll be bringing many of our top agents from key markets down to experience the island as soon as we can,” added Van Langeveld.

“It’s a really big moment for us. And we’re excited to share it with the trade,” gushed Bainter. “This is a crown jewel for us.”