Coco Cay Questions

Can clamshells be rented right off the beach? Besides the cabana's, I haven't seen anything about clamshell rentals offered under cruise excursions through the cruise line.

I don't know if you can rent it right from the island. They only have around an estimate of a dozen clamshells, plus around 5 tiki umbrella shaded areas in the Barefoot beach designated area.

We booked ours through the Carnival cruise line, under excursions.

I suggest check with your cruise line (if you are with RCI) or call Carnival excursions.

To the OP (Dorothy) just an FYI, the water slide, etc... is not something you even see when you get off the tender and head towards the closest beach area. I never laid eyes on it. So if you think it's something your kids would want to do because they see it, they probably won't unless you go walking around to another beach area.

Thanks. This is good to know! :)

I don't know if you can rent it right from the island. They only have around an estimate of a dozen clamshells, plus around 5 tiki umbrella shaded areas in the Barefoot beach designated area.

 

Hello!

After seeing options for both the clamshells and the tiki umbrellas (which Carnival calls Thatched umbrellas) I am trying to decide which to choose. Can you tell me if both are in the same Barefoot Beach area? From what I can see, the tiki umbrellas are closer to the water than the clam shells... But both are on Barefoot Beach. Can you give me any more information to help me decide? Thank you!

Is the first beach you come to from the tender the family beach? Are the different beaches designated for families, couples, etc or not?

Also, do they still serve "coco locos"? I was there many years ago and they did.

I don't know if you can rent it right from the island. They only have around an estimate of a dozen clamshells, plus around 5 tiki umbrella shaded areas in the Barefoot beach designated area.

 

Hello!

After seeing options for both the clamshells and the tiki umbrellas (which Carnival calls Thatched umbrellas) I am trying to decide which to choose. Can you tell me if both are in the same Barefoot Beach area? From what I can see, the tiki umbrellas are closer to the water than the clam shells... But both are on Barefoot Beach. Can you give me any more information to help me decide? Thank you!

 

I don't recall noticing any clamshells in the Barefoot Beach area when we were there in August with Royal Caribbean (in fact I do not remember seeing any clamshells on any of the other beach areas in CocoCay). Perhaps this is something Carnival offers as Royal Caribbean did not have rentals of either the clamshells or the tiki huts as a shore excursion option.

 

This is what Barefoot Beach looked like the day we were there. Unless there is something further down the beach, there are no clamshells to be seen. However at the far end you can see a couple thatched umbrella's--perhaps those are the ones Carnival rents out?

Is the first beach you come to from the tender the family beach? Are the different beaches designated for families, couples, etc or not?

 

Also, do they still serve "coco locos"? I was there many years ago and they did.

All the beaches on CocoCay are opened to everyone and had a mixture of age groups. The beaches were not specifically designated for families or couples.

The closest beach to the tender is Snorkel Beach and that is where the majority of people will go too. This beach is also the closest to where lunch is served.

Watersports Beach is where the wave runners, jet skies and parasailing are located, so again families and couples who want to partake in any of these water activities would be here.

The Adventure Ocean inflatable water toys, the giant inflatable waterslide as well as the hammocks are located at the end of Coconut Willies Beach, so because of this, it is likely you would see more families here (this is also the area my family hung out in)--but then again families could be seen at the other beaches as well.

The quietest/least crowded beach was Barefoot Beach. This beach is the furthest away from the tender and although not designated as such, it appeared to attract more couples (see the photo in post #30).

Hello all. I will be visiting Coco Cay next August on RCI. I am looking for a certain rum that is sold only in the Bahamas. Is anyone aware if package liquors are sold on the island?

 

I don't recall noticing any clamshells in the Barefoot Beach area when we were there in August with Royal Caribbean (in fact I do not remember seeing any clamshells on any of the other beach areas in CocoCay). Perhaps this is something Carnival offers as Royal Caribbean did not have rentals of either the clamshells or the tiki huts as a shore excursion option.

 

This is what Barefoot Beach looked like the day we were there. Unless there is something further down the beach, there are no clamshells to be seen. However at the far end you can see a couple thatched umbrella's--perhaps those are the ones Carnival rents out?

 

The clam shells are past Barefoot Beach and past the tikis. Personally, I wouldn't want to rent one because they are so far away from everything. But I've heard there is a shuttle (golf cart) that drives people back and forth.

Hello all. I will be visiting Coco Cay next August on RCI. I am looking for a certain rum that is sold only in the Bahamas. Is anyone aware if package liquors are sold on the island?

No, they don't have anything like that. They have bars that will sell the same drinks you can get on the ship.

 

The clam shells are past Barefoot Beach and past the tikis. Personally, I wouldn't want to rent one because they are so far away from everything. But I've heard there is a shuttle (golf cart) that drives people back and forth.

 

Here we go, I knew I had a picture somewhere. Look past the lounge chairs and you can see the clam shell area. It's all the way down at the very end of the beaches.

 

 

This was taken on our Enchantment of Seas cruise last fall.

Thanks!

So does RCI rent umbrellas as well? I will have a one year old that would probably need some shade throughout the day and would be willing to pay for one.

I went to Cococay and I would say NO, do not pre book. The day I went the weather was cloudy and for a few moments rain. The sun came out 2 hours before the ship set sail but meanwhile because of the clouds many people di dnot bother getting off the ship. Also my ship had an unusually large amount of seniors who needed wheelchairs and cains who also did not get off the ship.

PLUS on the day I went to Cococay my ship was the only one there. AND it just so turns out that my ship was only 60% full.

So all these things combined, not full ship, lots of people with mobility issues and not great weather, made the island essentially empty. When I was there there was no reason to pre-book anything.

What I recommend is two things. First check the weather about 5 days before. If it's all sun and calm OK, but if it's not going to be great then most people will stay on the ship. Second is see how many ships will be there. This might be a bit more tricky but you could even call RCl and ask!

You will not need to rent a private umbrella unless you are one of those people who has ginger skin and gets burnt quick. if you get to the island early there is TONS of shaded areas to lounge about, tons of trees and tons of hammocks in the shade. I would say no. I was at Cococay last week.

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION...

Yes you can rent a beach umbrella from the island for the day, but I would say it's not necessary.

I went to Cococay and I would say NO, do not pre book. The day I went the weather was cloudy and for a few moments rain. The sun came out 2 hours before the ship set sail but meanwhile because of the clouds many people di dnot bother getting off the ship. Also my ship had an unusually large amount of seniors who needed wheelchairs and cains who also did not get off the ship.

 

PLUS on the day I went to Cococay my ship was the only one there. AND it just so turns out that my ship was only 60% full.

 

So all these things combined, not full ship, lots of people with mobility issues and not great weather, made the island essentially empty. When I was there there was no reason to pre-book anything.

 

What I recommend is two things. First check the weather about 5 days before. If it's all sun and calm OK, but if it's not going to be great then most people will stay on the ship. Second is see how many ships will be there. This might be a bit more tricky but you could even call RCl and ask!

It looks like the weather conditions can really make a difference.

I pre-booked the inflatable water toys for my DS's and I was glad I did!

The weather was hot and sunny the day we arrived in CocoCay which made it a perfect beach day. Even though our ship was the only ship in that day, it was filled to capacity. When I went to check in my boys at the Aqua Park hut, there were others who were trying to book the inflatable water toys but were being turned away because all the time slots were filled!