If you’re visiting Carnival’s Celebration Key on an upcoming cruise, you’re likely looking forward to the beach or the massive pools.
The Pearl Cove Beach Club is an adults-only luxury retreat located on Celebration Key.
But what if you want to have something a little more exclusive? In that case, Carnival has you covered with the Pearl Cove Beach Club. A secluded part of Celebration Key, this fee-paid area can be thought of as an adults-only enclave that most people won’t ever see.
Those that do pay to visit, however, will find a place that’s a step above what’s available elsewhere around the Key.
We recently visited Pearl Cove Beach Club to give you an idea of what to expect and if it’s worth the price of admission. Here’s what to know.
What Exactly Is Pearl Cove Beach Club?
The area is separate from the rest of the island, with a restaurant, infinity pool, and private beach.
Let’s begin with what exactly the Pearl Cove Beach Club is. This area is sectioned off from the rest of the destination. Once inside the entrance, you are in a place that has a different style and atmosphere than the rest of Celebration Key.
The beach club area is adults-only, but the difference isn’t only that there are no kids around. Instead, the area has a focus more on luxury. That includes everything from the loungers you sit on to the on-site restaurant.
Enter Pearl Cove and you’ll find a large seating area adjacent to an open-air restaurant. Facilities are nearby and everything is done in a modern “beachy” tone. Pink is the accent color of choice here and you’ll see it everywhere from the towels to the umbrellas.
Past the initial seating area, you’ll find the heated infinity pool with swim-up bar. This is the most popular place in the beach club, with lots of people positioned at the edge of the pool, drink in hand, taking in the view of the ships in port.
Beyond the pool is tons of seating for Pearl Cove’s private beach. You’ll find tons of padded loungers with their own umbrellas. Then, there’s the relatively quiet beach (especially when compared to the rest of Celebration Key) and the crystal clear water.
Where the Club Is Located
The beach club is located in a tucked-away corner of Celebration Key, to your left as you enter.
The beach club sits at the far western corner of Celebration Key. That’s to the left as you approach the island from the ship.
It sits alongside the Calypso Lagoon area. There is a tram stop that will let you out right in front of the entrance if you don’t want to walk. It’s a quick 3-5 minute walk from the entrance to Celebration Key or about 10-15 minutes from the ship.
How Much Is Admission?
Admission prices start at $80 and go up from there, depending on if you want to have food and drink included. Or you can just buy those a la carte.
As mentioned, Pearl Cove has a fee to enter. In fact, there are three different fee levels, depending on the type of day you want:
Admission Only: $79.99 pp
This includes only entrance into the Pearl Cove Beach Club. You get to enjoy the grounds and all amenities, but drinks and food cost extra.
Admission + Open Bar: $139.99 pp
Includes admission to the beach club, but also includes up to 10 drinks per person during your stay (Drinks include rum punch, domestic beer, house wines, all house cocktails, frozen strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas.)
Admission + Open Bar + Food: $179.99 pp
Includes admission, 10 drinks, and a “premium lunch” included with your day. Lunch options include higher-end fare like steak, wagyu burgers, lobster tail, octopus, grilled shrimp and more.
What’s Included With Your Stay
Pearl Cove features an open-air restaurant and facilities as you enter. There’s tons of seating both near and away from the beach.
What’s included when you visit will depend on the level of admission that you purchase. However, everyone gets access to the facilities with any admission that you buy. Here’s what’s included:
Beach
Pearl Cove has its own private beach, just down from the rest of Celebration Key. There’s technically nothing stopping someone from walking down from the open beach to this beach, but people keep their distance. As a result, it’s much quieter with fewer people.
Heated Pool
The most popular spot in the entire place is without a doubt the infinity pool. It’s heated, with a great view of the ships docked at the pier. There’s also a swim-up bar, so you don’t even need to get out of the pool to have a drink.
Lounger/Umbrellas
Included with your stay is the use of a lounger and umbrellas. There are spots to sit near the pool or by the beach. It’s first-come, first-served so just find a spot you like and enjoy.
Drinks*
If you decide to pay for the open bar, then up to 10 drinks are included with your stay. According to Carnival, the drinks include rum punch, domestic beer, house wines, all house cocktails, frozen strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas. There is a bar in the open-air restaurant, the swim-up bar at the pool, and a standalone bar near the entrance. In addition, there is waitstaff that walks the area so you don’t even need to get up if you don’t want to.
The food offerings are higher end, including steak, lobster, and shrimp. Prices run between $20-$40 a plate.
Food*
You get a meal included with your stay at Celebration Key, but the food in Pearl Cove Beach Club is a charge unless you get the all-inclusive admission with drinks and food.
Facilities
Of course, there are restrooms with changing stalls for you to use. There are also towels that you can use on site, but be sure to drop them off before you leave.
What Our Day Was Like at Pearl Cove
The beach is picture perfect, though be careful of some small rocks in the sand.
We paid the $79.99 for admission to Pearl Cove on a recent trip to Celebration Key. So what was our day like?
First, we walked to the entrance and then had an attendant scan our room keycard to verify that we had bought admission. We were then given a wristband to show that we were guests of the area and not just wandered in. In fact, there are three different color wristbands to help tell different levels of admission apart from one another.
From there, an attendant handed us our towel and offered to show us to a lounger. Instead, we wanted to just explore the area. Since it was still early when we arrived (around 9 a.m.), the place was relatively empty, though a few people had already shown up.
After seeing the area, we opted for a lounger on the beach. There were a number of palm trees planted and with the umbrella, we felt there was a good amount of shade. Of course, the views of the white sand, blue water and the ships in the distance are very nice.
Waiters came by occasionally to see if we needed anything — though not often enough to be annoying, thankfully.
We spent most of our time on the beach and in the water. The shore here is mostly sandy, but there are a few smaller rocks that you should watch out for. The water — like the rest of Celebration Key — can be a bit cloudy close to the shore but quickly clears up. We were able to clearly see our feed even in chest-deep water.
A few things we appreciated make a big difference in your day. For one, the atmosphere and ambience is much calmer than what you find in the nearby Calypso Lagoon. There’s music, but it’s not loud (or with lots of bass!) like you find in other parts of Celebration Key.
Another big plus is the heated pool. We took a dip (it’s the most popular area to be) and were pleasantly surprised. The other pools around Celebration Key are not heated and can actually be chilly.
You are free to come and go as you please, so re-entry is not an issue. In fact, we actually left to go get our included lunch in another part of Celebration Key since we didn’t want to pay for the pricey lunch at Pearl Cove. With lunch done, we came back and enjoyed hanging out for another hour or two afterward.
One thing to know is that when you leave, you’ll be asked if you’re done for the day. If so, the staff will cut off your bracelet.
Is It Worth It?
The infinity pool is the most popular area, with many people just enjoying it while having a drink.
We paid $80 for admission to Pearl Cove. So is it worth it?
We will be the first to say that we loved our day there. Let’s be clear. There are no big attractions or must-see experiences. And frankly, just about everything you get here you can find around the rest of Celebration Key, whether you want to hang out on a lounger, swim in a pool, or hit the beach.
The difference, of course, is the atmosphere. There are fewer people around. During our day with two medium ships in port, we’d guess that it was less than half full at its busiest. It’s just also much more calm than the rest of the destination. There’s no loud, obnoxious music and even the colors are more subdued than what you see elsewhere.
To us, the $80 admission was a little high, but not outrageous. We think an admission of $50-$60 would be ideal.
Now, as mentioned we got the lowest-priced admission. To us, paying $60 extra for drinks isn’t a terrible deal as it comes out to $6 per drink if you have all ten. But we aren’t big drinkers and if you don’t drink all ten, then the price per drink is much higher.
With the all-inclusive price — $100 more than the base admission fee — you get a meal included. Even though it is higher-end items like lobster or steak, there’s already a meal included with your day elsewhere on the island. We couldn’t justify paying even more money when there’s already food that we were entitled to.
Now the value will be different for other people, especially if you want to enjoy a lot of drinks with your day. To us, it was worth it — even if a little pricey — for the admission-only access.
Including the drink package and food offers for the day just didn’t make much sense.
More on Celebration Key:
- The First-Timer’s Guide to Celebration Key (What’s Included, What to Do, & More)
- Carnival’s Celebration Key Price List (Cabanas, Daybeds, and More)
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