Royal Caribbean’s new private destination in Vanuatu is drawing sharp criticism from experienced Australian cruisers who say they want cultural immersion, not a resort on a company-owned island
Royal Caribbean made a major announcement this week, revealing new details about its upcoming private destination at Lelepa in Vanuatu and releasing the first itineraries set to visit the new spot. For the cruise line, it is a significant strategic shift. For many of its most loyal Australian passengers, it is not the shift they were hoping for.
With nearly all of Royal Caribbean’s Australian itineraries now oriented around Lelepa in the South Pacific, and domestic cruise availability significantly reduced, a wave of frustration has emerged among experienced cruisers who feel the change moves the product further from what drew them to cruising in the first place.
The culture argument
The most consistent complaint running through passenger feedback is philosophical. Many cruisers say the appeal of travel lies in genuine connection with a destination, its people, its markets, its everyday rhythms, and that a privately owned island strips that experience away almost entirely.
One longtime passenger captured the sentiment directly, saying the joy of travel is meeting local people, visiting local shops, and witnessing how people actually live, rather than being contained within a resort owned by the cruise line itself. Another echoed that concern, describing private destinations as feeling fake, overpriced, and disconnected from the countries they nominally represent, drawing on a previous visit to Royal Caribbean’s Labadee destination in Haiti as a reference point.
The broader criticism is that passengers who sail to the South Pacific want to engage with Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, or the Cook Islands as living places, and that Lelepa, however beautifully positioned, cannot offer that.
Weather and long-term viability
Practical concerns have also emerged alongside the cultural ones. Several passengers flagged Lelepa’s weather exposure as a meaningful risk, noting that the region’s rainfall patterns could make the destination unreliable for a beach-focused experience. One cruiser questioned what the response will look like in December when seasonal rain sets in, and whether a tender-dependent stop with limited onshore infrastructure will hold its appeal over repeated visits.
Sustainability over time is another concern being raised. One passenger who acknowledged that first-time visitors may enjoy the novelty of a fresh, well-designed private destination questioned what happens when that novelty fades. If Australian itineraries continue to center on a single private spot, the argument goes, repeat passengers will have little incentive to return. The concern is not that Lelepa will fail immediately but that it will become stale within a few years as the menu of options fails to grow.
What passengers say they actually want
The feedback is not simply opposition to Lelepa but a clear expression of preference for something different. Passengers have pointed repeatedly to the lack of New Zealand sailings, the absence of Tasmanian itineraries, and the disappearance of routes to Melbourne, Adelaide, and domestic Australian ports as the more pressing gap. Round-Australia voyages, longer multi-port itineraries, and routes to Norfolk Island were all raised as alternatives that would better serve the Australian market’s appetite for variety.
Not all feedback has been negative. At least one cruiser who recently visited Tranquility Island, neighboring Lelepa, described the snorkeling as remarkable and expressed hope that the new destination might replace less popular existing stops. Royal Caribbean has not yet responded publicly to the criticism, and the itineraries are set to proceed as announced.
Story credit: AOL