Flying Beach Chairs Debut at Mahogany Beach Cruise Center in Roatan

A new elevated chair lift, which will offer an exhilarating round-trip transfer between the new Mahogany Bay Cruise Center in Roatan and beautiful Mahogany Beach, will debut in conjunction with the cruise facility’s grand opening next month.

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

Guests board the new beach chair lift 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 myriad watersports opportunities. There are also eight exclusive cabanas for rent offering private beach access.

Modeled after a traditional ski lift and incorporating the latest technological advancements, the new “Magical Flying Beach Chair” takes cruise ship guests on an exciting, fun-filled six-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 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 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 Dopplemayer, a world leader in ropeway engineering.

The chair lift is an exciting feature of the expansive Mahogany Bay project, which includes two cruise ship piers and can accommodate up to 8,000 passengers daily. The facility, encompassing 20 acres of waterfront property, 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 with the ability to accommodate taxis, rental cars and tour buses, along with a wide range of shore excursion opportunities, are also available. The Mahogany Bay Cruise Center is a joint project of Carnival Corporation and Roatan businessman Jerry Hynds. For more information on the new Mahogany Bay Cruise Center, visit mahoganybaycc.com.