The chairlift offers an exhilarating round-trip transfer between Mahogany Bay Cruise Center and beautiful Mahogany Beach. Unique to the Caribbean, it is the first chairlift that transports riders from a cruise ship terminal directly to the beach.
The beach chairlift is one of the marquis features of the initial investment to this modern $62 million
Mahogany Bay Cruise Center, which welcomed its first cruise ship, Carnival Cruise Lines’ 2,124-
passenger Carnival Legend, on Friday, November 20th, 2009.
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 Corporation & plc and Roatan businessman Jerry
Hynds.
Guests board the beach chairlift system at the facility’s expansive Welcome Center and are dropped off
directly on Mahogany Beach, a 10-acre private island featuring a gorgeous 825-foot-long white-sand
beach replete with lounge chairs, floats, a beach volleyball court, and numerous watersports
opportunities. There are also eight exclusive cabanas and one grand cabana for rent offering private
beach access.
Modeled after a traditional ski lift, the chairlift takes cruise ship guests on an exciting, fun-filled nine-minute ride across nearly 1,200 feet of cables suspended 67 feet above a lush canopy of trees.
Accommodating four riders each, the galvanized steel beach lift chairs are available to cruise ship guests
for an $18 fee for adults and $11 for children’s (under 9), which includes unlimited rides throughout the day. Chairlift passes are also included in pre-sold packages on board the cruise ships calling at the port. The chairlift system has the capability of transporting up to 1,500 passengers per hour.
The chairlift was designed and installed by Rain Forest Trams, a company that owns and operates five world-class adventure parks in Central America and the Caribbean. Rain Forest Trams also operates Mystic Mountain in Jamaica, one of the Caribbean’s top attractions. The beach chair was manufactured by Salt Lake City-based Doppelmayr, a world leader in ropeway engineering.
The chairlift is an exciting feature of the expansive Mahogany Bay project, which includes two cruise
ship piers and can accommodate up to 9,000 passengers daily. The facility hosts more than 200 cruise
ship calls and more than 600,000 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 with the ability to accommodate taxis, rental cars,
and tour buses, along with a wide range of shore excursion opportunities, are also available.