Today it is normal to see one, two or even three giant ships in front of Roatan, and the island has become one of the most visited cruise destinations of the Western Caribbean. But it was not always like this: the story of Roatan and the cruise ships is quite recent, and it started small.
1989: the first ship
On September 5, 1989, the Ocean Spirit, a 500-foot ship with about 360 passengers, anchored off Coxen Hole. It was not a typical cruise ship: it belonged to Ocean Quest International, a diving company that organized week-long dive cruises from Florida and had chosen the Bay Islands for their spectacular reef walls. Passengers came ashore in small boats, and for the island it was the beginning of something completely new.
The 1990s: the first dock
During the 1990s, Honduras’ national port company (Empresa Nacional Portuaria) built the first cruise dock in Coxen Hole. More cruise lines started to include Roatan in their Western Caribbean routes, together with Belize and Cozumel, and tourism began to change the life of the island: new jobs, new businesses, tour operators, drivers and guides.
2008 and 2009: two modern ports
The real leap came at the end of the 2000s, with two modern cruise centers just a few miles apart on the south coast:
- Port of Roatan (Town Center), in Coxen Hole: since 2008 managed by Royal Caribbean, it welcomes ships of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian, MSC and other lines. In 2020 it added a second berth.
- Mahogany Bay, in Dixon Cove: opened by Carnival in 2009 with an investment of about 62 million dollars. The first ships to dock were the Carnival Legend and the Carnival Valor. After a big expansion, in 2026 it took the new name of Isla Tropicale.
We will tell you more about each port in two dedicated articles.
From a few hundred to more than a million and a half
From those 360 divers of 1989, the numbers grew year after year. Today some of the largest ships in the world, like the Wonder of the Seas, arrive in Roatan, and in 2024 the island welcomed around 1.7 million cruise passengers. On busy days several ships are in port at the same time and thousands of visitors spread around the island: West Bay, the dolphins, the zip lines, the botanical gardens, the reef.
For Roatan, cruises are today one of the main sources of income and work, from taxi drivers to boat captains, from guides to craft sellers. And for many visitors that first day on the island is only a preview: a lot of them come back later to stay longer.
Coming on a cruise? Make the most of your day
A day in port goes by fast, so it is worth planning it well. Our tours are designed for cruise passengers too: flexible schedules, times calculated to bring you back to the ship on time and activities that show you the best of the island in a few hours, from the Dolphin Encounter to the 4 Stops Boat Tour. Write to us with the name of your ship and the date, and we will help you organize your day in Roatan.
