Royal Beach Club Santorini Opens Summer 2026

Published on Oct 28, 2025, 3:36 pm CDT

4 min read

Key points

Royal Caribbean Group will debut Royal Beach Club Santorini in summer 2026
Access is exclusive to Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises guests, with limited local entry based on availability
The experience is part of an Ultimate Santorini Day that pairs the beach club with guided time in Oia and Fira
Bookings are live now as a shore excursion pass in the Royal App and My Royal Cruise
The beach club model aims to ease island congestion by better distributing cruise visitors

Impact

Who Is Affected: Guests sailing on Royal Caribbean International or Celebrity Cruises itineraries that call at Santorini
What It Changes: Adds an all-inclusive private beach-club option paired with guided island time under a single, prebookable experience
When It Starts: Opens in summer 2026 with excursion passes available to book now
Where It Applies: Santorini, Greece, with beach access on the island's south coast and tours to Oia and Fira
Why It Matters: Improves crowd management on peak days and gives travelers a predictable, curated Santorini plan with amenities secured in advance
What To Do Next: If your 2026 Greece cruise calls at Santorini, lock in the Royal Beach Club excursion early in the Royal App to secure preferred times

Royal Caribbean Group will expand its portfolio of controlled shore-day experiences in Europe with Royal Beach Club Santorini, opening in summer 2026. The new product combines a private black-sand beach club with guided time in Oia and Fira as one "Ultimate Santorini Day." Access is exclusive to guests of Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, with limited purchase options for local residents on a space-available basis. Passes are live now in the Royal App and My Royal Cruise, which means 2026 Greece sailings calling at Santorini can already add the experience to their plans. For travelers, the value is a guaranteed beach setup, dining, and logistics handled in advance, reducing stress on a high-demand port day.

Royal Caribbean Group: Private-destination pipeline

The Santorini project is part of a broader build-out from two land destinations today to eight by 2028. The company's first Royal Beach Club opens on Paradise Island, Nassau, in December 2025, followed by Royal Beach Club Cozumel in 2026 and Perfect Day Mexico on the Caribbean coast at Mahahual in fall 2027. Royal Caribbean continues to operate Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas and Labadee in Haiti, and it has a South Pacific destination at Lelepa moving through development, with timing communicated as the 2027 window by industry channels. Together, these additions give the brands more capacity-controlled options that smooth operations in busy ports and diversify the shore-day mix beyond standard tender queues and public beaches.

Latest developments

The Santorini beach-club experience is designed to ease island congestion by better distributing cruise guests. The day splits between time at the club on the island's south coast and escorted exploration in Oia and Fira, with transportation handled by the operator. Club admission includes beach access, loungers and umbrellas, Wi-Fi, and complimentary beachfront dining, with paid upgrades expected for cabanas and premium seating. Royal Caribbean says ships from Vision Class through Quantum Class will be accommodated, and that the product will maintain age-inclusive access for families.

Analysis

For travelers, Santorini is one of the Mediterranean's most constrained calls: tender operations, narrow streets, and bottlenecks at the cable car and coach lots often compress the usable day. A prebooked, capacity-controlled beach club plus a guided city segment mitigates those friction points while guaranteeing amenities that can sell out on public beaches. Booking early matters; Royal Caribbean destination products at CocoCay and, soon, Paradise Island demonstrate that premium seating, cabanas, and specialty areas are demand-driven and inventory-limited. Expect a similar pattern in Santorini once schedules open wide for summer 2026. Royal Beach Club Paradise Island unveils colorful ferry fleet and Royal Caribbean Takes Over Costa Maya Port for Perfect Day Mexico provide context on how the brand builds shore-day capacity to absorb big-ship volumes efficiently.

Background Royal Caribbean's controlled-destination strategy pairs large-ship throughput with shore-side experiences it can size and staff to demand. Paradise Island's December 2025 launch showcases the paid, capacity-limited "beach club" model in The Bahamas, while Perfect Day destinations bundle high-throughput waterparks and beaches with included lounges and fee-based upgrades. Santorini adapts that playbook to a European marquee port where crowding and transit frictions are seasonal constants, using a combined ticket to stage guests across venues and time blocks.

Final thoughts

Royal Beach Club Santorini gives Mediterranean cruisers a predictable, curated way to do one of the region's most coveted ports without sacrificing comfort or time to logistics. If your itinerary calls at Santorini in summer 2026, check the Royal App now for pass availability and plan the rest of your day around the "Ultimate Santorini Day" timing so you do not double-book limited cable car or tender windows.