Jetsettersblog

The new Mahogany Bay Cruise Center in Roatan, Honduras, will introduce a new elevated chair lift that will offer a roundtrip transfer between the dock and Mahogany Beach.

The new cruise facility will make its grand opening next month. The Mahogany Bay Cruise Center, which encompasses 20 acres of waterfront property and includes a two-berth cruise terminal, is a joint project of Carnival Corp. & plc and Roatan businessman Jerry Hynds. Unique to the Caribbean, the “Magical Flying Beach Chair” will be the first chair lift that transports riders from a cruise ship terminal directly to the beach.

The chair lift will be one of the marquis features of the $62 million Mahogany Bay Cruise Center, which will welcome its first cruise ship, Carnival Cruise Lines’ 2,124-passenger Carnival Legend, on Nov. 20.

Guests board the chair lift at the facility’s Welcome Center and are dropped off directly on Mahogany Beach, a 10-acre private island featuring an 825-foot-long, white-sand beach with lounge chairs, floats, a beach volleyball court and myriad watersports opportunities.

There are also eight cabanas for rent offering private beach access. The chair lift will give cruisers a six-minute ride across nearly 1,200 feet of cables suspended 67 feet above a canopy of trees. Accommodating four riders each, the galvanized steel beach lift chairs are available to cruise ship guests for a $5 fee, which includes unlimited rides throughout the day.

Chair lift passes are also included in pre-sold beach activity on board the cruise ships calling at the port.

The chair-lift system has the capability of transporting up to 1,500 passengers per hour.

The “Magical Flying Beach Chair” was designed and installed by Rain Forest Trams, a company that owns and operates five adventure parks in Central America and the Caribbean.

Rain Forest Trams also operates Mystic Mountain in Jamaica.

The beach chair was manufactured by Salt Lake City-based Dopplemayer, a leader in ropeway engineering. The Mahogany Bay project can accommodate up to 8,000 passengers daily.

The facility is expected to host more than 200 cruise ship calls and more than 500,000 passengers annually.

The Mahogany Bay Cruise Center also offers a wide range of retail outlets, including two themed bars, a restaurant and several shops.

A transportation hub will accommodate taxis, rental cars and tour buses, as well as a range of shore excursion opportunities.

For more information, visit www.mahoganybaycc.com