Coxen Hole or Isla Tropicale: which Roatán port is yours

Your cruise line decides your port, and you can work it out before you pack. The Carnival Corporation brands use Isla Tropicale: Carnival, Princess, Holland America, Costa and P&O. Everyone else uses Coxen Hole, also called the Port of Roatán, and that includes Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity, MSC, Disney and Virgin Voyages.

If your booking still says Mahogany Bay, that is the same terminal. Carnival rebranded it as Isla Tropicale in May 2026 and opened a pool and beach complex called Mangrove Bay at the same time. Nothing about where your ship ties up changed, only the name on the sign and on newer paperwork.

Neither terminal needs a tender. You walk off the ship, through the terminal building, and out the gate. There is no boat to queue for and no shuttle to find, which matters more than it sounds when you are counting hours.

What actually changes between the two ports is where your guide waits and how long the drive takes. It opened in 2009 as Mahogany Bay and is the larger of the two, spread over about 20 acres, with its own beach for passengers. Coxen Hole opened in 2007, sits closer to the island's main town, and has fewer facilities inside the gate. Both can hold three ships, one at the pier and two at anchor.

If you are booking a tour before you sail, tell the operator your ship name rather than your port. Ships get reassigned between terminals, and the ship name is the detail that survives a schedule change. We check the arrival board the morning of your call anyway.

Can you walk to a beach?

From Isla Tropicale, yes. The beach is inside the port complex and you reach it on foot or by the chairlift, so a passenger whose whole plan is sand does not strictly need to leave.

From Coxen Hole, no. The water in front of that terminal is a working harbour. A beach day from Coxen Hole means going out to West Bay or another beach, and that is a drive.

Either way, the reef, the wildlife parks and West Bay itself are all outside the gate.

Your line, in one page each

If you already know which ship you are on, these go straight to the detail for your line: Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and MSC.

Getting out of either terminal

For something short and specific, a pharmacy, an ATM, a supermarket or a restaurant, a taxi from the port is 10 US dollars per passenger one way from Coxen Hole and 15 from Isla Tropicale, double for the round trip, cash to the driver, booked an hour ahead.

For the reef, the animals or a full beach day, that is a tour, and our Roatán shore excursions include pickup at whichever terminal you dock at.