The nearly six-acre attraction will debut for cruise guests when Norwegian Luna calls at NCL’s Bahamas private island, adding a 170-foot slide tower, river, cliff jumps and family splash zones.
Great Tides Waterpark, Norwegian Cruise Line’s new nearly six-acre attraction at Great Stirrup Cay, is scheduled to open to cruise guests on Sept. 4, 2026.
- Great Tides Waterpark is scheduled to open to guests on Sept. 4, 2026, when Norwegian Luna calls at Great Stirrup Cay.
- The nearly six-acre park is organised around Tidal Tower, Cliffside Cove, Wandering River and Splash Cay, with slides, cliff jumps, a swim-up bar and family water-play areas.
- Access to Great Tides requires a separate day pass, while Great Stirrup Cay also offers included beach, dining, pool and splash-pad amenities alongside other paid experiences.
- The opening forms part of Norwegian Cruise Line’s wider investment in turning its 270-acre Bahamas private island into a more extensive resort-style port experience.
(NEWS) MIAMI, Florida, United States, 2026-Sep-02 — /Travel PR News/ — Norwegian Cruise Line is preparing to open its biggest new attraction at Great Stirrup Cay on Sept. 4, when Norwegian Luna calls at the cruise line’s 270-acre private island in The Bahamas. The nearly six-acre Great Tides Waterpark adds a large paid water-play complex to a destination that NCL has been steadily reshaping from a conventional beach stop into a broader resort-style day ashore.
The public opening follows a Sept. 1 preview and ribbon-cutting attended by Bahamian officials, travel partners, media, more than 100 content creators and invited guests. Speakers included John Chidsey, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings; Marc Kazlauskas, president of Norwegian Cruise Line; Herschel Walker, U.S. ambassador to The Bahamas; and Randy Rolle, Member of Parliament for Bimini and the Berry Islands. NHL player Taylor Hall and actor, author and podcast host Josh Peck were among the invited guests who sampled the new attractions.
Four zones anchor the new waterpark
Great Tides is organised around four principal areas. The most visible is Tidal Tower, a 170-foot structure with eight slides. NCL describes the Tropic Spiral as the world’s first Nautilus slide and the Breakwater Blasters as the Caribbean cruise sector’s first duelling Master Blaster slides, using water jets to propel riders uphill as well as through drops and turns.
Cliffside Cove shifts the focus from enclosed slides to open-water thrills. Its Cliffside Leap offers 10-foot and 15-foot jumps that NCL says are the tallest cliff jumps of their kind in the Caribbean and a first for the cruise industry. The same zone includes The Great Slide, designed for four riders at a time, and Fearless Falls, which sends riders into the water from slides ending five feet above the surface.
The Wandering River extends for more than 800 feet and includes an immersive tunnel plus Floataway Bar, a swim-up venue positioned alongside the river. For younger visitors and families, Splash Cay covers more than 9,000 square feet and combines eight mini-slides, interactive water features and an oversized tipping bucket capable of holding 300 gallons.
The park’s food offering is also being expanded with three new food trucks: Low Tide Smoke for barbecue, Catch of the Cay for seafood and Tidal Treats for handcrafted ice cream and soft serve. During the preview, beverage partners Aperol, Coca-Cola, Casamigos and Hampton Water staged branded activations around the park; NCL says similar partner experiences will be available during the Sept. 4 opening celebration.
A larger resort-style day on Great Stirrup Cay
The waterpark is only one part of the wider redevelopment of Great Stirrup Cay. The island’s recently added Great Life Lagoon provides a large pool area with two swim-up bars, private cabanas and complimentary loungers and umbrellas, while Splash Harbor offers a complimentary family splash pad. Those spaces sit alongside the island’s existing beaches and shore activities.
Guests seeking additional paid experiences can book the adults-only Vibe Shore Club, reserve an air-conditioned villa or spa treatment at Silver Cove, rent snorkeling equipment and paddle boards, or purchase a zipline excursion from the island’s Flighthouse. The mix gives cruise passengers a choice between included amenities and a growing menu of separately bookable upgrades.
Great Tides itself requires a day pass. NCL’s current booking information says guests with a confirmed cruise can reserve admission through their MyNCL account, subject to availability, up to two days before sailing. Any remaining passes may be offered through the ship’s Shore Excursion Desk. The first eligible sailing departed aboard Norwegian Luna on Aug. 31 and is due at Great Stirrup Cay on Sept. 4.
Kazlauskas said the park was designed to broaden the range of ways families can spend their island call, combining high-energy attractions with more relaxed spaces. The addition is particularly significant for repeat NCL passengers because Great Stirrup Cay is a year-round destination on the line’s itineraries, with voyages sailing seasonally from homeports including New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Tampa, Port Canaveral and Jacksonville.
For Norwegian Cruise Line, the opening also reflects a wider cruise-industry push to make private destinations more substantial components of the holiday rather than simple beach calls. At Great Stirrup Cay, the result is an increasingly layered shore experience in which complimentary beaches, dining and pool facilities sit alongside premium clubs, villas, excursions and, from Sept. 4, a full-scale ticketed waterpark.
Travelers can explore current Great Stirrup Cay itineraries and broader cruise options through Norwegian Cruise Line.
