Royal Caribbean’s hopes of opening a Perfect Day destination in Mexico were dashed this week after Mexican authorities responded to growing concerns about the environmental impacts of the plan.
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“Royal Caribbean’s ‘Perfect Day’ project will not be approved,” said Alicia Bárcena, Mexico’s secretary of environment and natural resources (SEMARNAT), during a news conference Tuesday.
The remarks follow comments from Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, who earlier this week asked Bárcena and her agency to review the project carefully.
“There have been many protests, and many people are against it,” she said during a news conference Monday. “SEMARNAT is conducting a very detailed analysis, but I can tell you in advance that we are not going to do anything that puts the ecological balance of that area at risk.”
In July 2025, Royal Caribbean spent $292 million to purchase the Port of Costa Maya and its surrounding properties, then planned to spend an additional $529 million for construction, according to Cruise Hive.
The more than 200-acre Perfect Day Mexico was planned to be twice as large as Royal Caribbean’s “Perfect Day” island in the Bahamas. The destination, which was slated to open in late 2027, boasted 30 waterslides, the world’s largest sombrero and the world’s longest lazy river.
A Change.org petition that recently neared 4.8 million signatures urged the Mexican government to reconsider the project, which would bring 21,000 people per day to Mahahual in the state of Quintana Roo, which is home to the port of Costa Maya. A village of roughly 3,000 people on Mexico’s southern Caribbean coast, Mahahual has sensitive mangroves and the world’s second-largest barrier reef.
A statement from Royal Caribbean said the company continues to “believe in Mexico” and is “optimistic in the potential to advance our investment responsibly.”
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“We are disappointed by SEMARNAT’s decision and respect the role of Mexico’s environmental authorities. Mahahual is a special place that deserves care and protection,” the statement reads. “Over the coming weeks, we will re-engage stakeholders to move forward in a way that delivers shared prosperity through the development of essential environmental infrastructure, the creation of thousands of local jobs, and community programs that support the people of Mexico.”
The website for Perfect Day Mexico was taken down as of Wednesday morning, instead redirecting to the Royal Caribbean homepage. The company’s stock hit a 52-week low, sliding to $232.10 per share in early trading Wednesday.
Greenpeace Mexico hailed the decision to halt the project as a “victory for citizens.”
“The victory also belongs to the territory of Mahahual, its mangroves, its reef system, the life that inhabits them, its local community, and the independent and autonomous work of the organizations articulated in its defense,” reads a statement from the environmental organization. “The Mexican government has the historic mission of comprehensively protecting the Peninsula and thereby guaranteeing its existence for future generations within the framework of the fight against the climate crisis. Greenpeace Mexico will remain vigilant regarding the announced possibility of relocating the project.”
The Royal Beach Club Cozumel is still expected to open in early 2028, later than the late 2026 opening that was originally targeted. Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean continues to expand its massive Icon class with four more ships under construction through 2030.
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