A Glorious Life on the Enchantment of the Seas - Pictorial Review (2/10/17)

SHEILA G'S GLAMOROUS LIFE LATIN CRUISE - FEBRUARY 10-13, 2017 - PREVIEW

Good evening Royal Caribbean community, it is the Flying Cruiser of NJ and I am back with yet another "Fabulous" cruise review. Way back in February of this year, I sailed the Enchantment of the Seas on a 3-day charter, officially called the "Sheila G's Glorious Life Cruise" and a full month later, I have finally gotten around to doing a review of this unique cruise experience.

If you don't know my reviews, I will first come with a little bit of background to familiarize you. I am a frequent cruiser, mid 30s, from the Philadelphia suburbs, single and thus can take a long weekend whenever I want to go on vacation somewhere. I have sailed Royal Caribbean a few times over the years, and this was my overall third time on RCCL. I had last sailed the Empress last summer out of Miami and had a good time. I do most of my cruising with Carnival, but have branched out to other lines in recent years, including RCCL, Norwegian and Princess. Each line has its good and bad aspects but pretty much any cruise is a good one and better than a day at work back on land. I cruised with my friend "M" on this voyage, who has gone on a few cruises with me now, and seems to like it more and more each time he does it. Yes, I have created another cruise addict, LOL.

Anyway, why did we choose this cruise? A few reasons. We love to get away from the cold winters up north a couple times a season if possible, and a Bahamas cruise in February is a great way to do that. Also, M was checking out travel deals one day in late January and came across a ridiculously excellent special travel club rate from a travel agency that we have both used a few times for cruises and land vacation accommodations and told me that pretty much, this deal was too good to pass up. I won't get specific but depending on type of cabin, it was basically free not including taxes and auto tips. These are harder to come by these days, so you have to snap them up when you see them. Anyway, we reserved a balcony near the midship atrium on Deck 7 right then and were glad we did, as from what we understand, these special cabin deals were all purchased and sold out like the next day. Everyone loves a good deal. It is fairly easy for both of us to work our schedules around to get whatever time off we need from our work, so that was not a concern for either one of us in planning this trip.

So, with that out of the way, I mention this was a unique experience because it was a charter cruise, called the Glamorous Life Latin Cruise, organized by the artist Sheila G. I will admit I had never heard of her before, but the musical acts she had booked for this cruise were very eclectic and of good quality. Something for every musical taste I think. I would say that a lot of the people onboard this ship did not book it for the music I am guessing, as a lot of them said they got deals similar to the one we got and went for the value factor but most everyone had a positive view of the cruise theme. It was hard not to though, Sheila G brought a positive outlook to the cruise and it was an overall enjoyable experience. It being a charter however and thus, many of the usual cruise activities did not occur on this sailing in lieu of musical acts for the most part. I will get all into that in detail later on in the review.

Now, since this cruise happened over a month ago, I may have forgotten a thing or two about some of the stuff we did but will do my best to give you a good idea of what happened on this vacation. Since this was only a 4-day event, the review hopefully won't take that long but since I get very long winded and include lots of pictures to go along with my stories and observations, some of my reviews are known to take a while to complete. I will try to get through this one quickly though. I figure, why do a review if you aren't going to make it the best it can be? Anyway, with this blizzard here this week, it is best to think of warm climates and Caribbean sun and fun, right?

With that little preview out of the way, I will begin with the actual review in the next post. I will do this one day at a time, whenever I get the time to sit down and put everything together to post, hope you enjoy. I also like to turn these reviews into viewer participation threads as well, so comments and questions are always welcome and I will respond to everyone's contributions. Have fun, all aboard and enjoy the journey!

DAY 1: TRAVEL AND EMBARKATION DAY

It is obvious that due to the thousand mile distance between Miami and New Jersey, getting to the cruise ship requires either a day-long drive or a two-hour flight. Obviously I will elect to take the two-hour flight (although my family used to drive to Florida for Orlando vacations when I was little, lol - interesting memories) and that does require some planning. It is probably never a good idea to fly in day-of for a cruise, but in certain circumstances, it is doable as long as you have backup plans if your primary option doesn't go according to plan. Due to the numerous flight options between the mid-Atlantic and south Florida, there are plenty of ways to get to the cruise port the morning of embarkation as long as you leave early enough. I will say that there were some tense moments in the day or two before the trip, because it did snow some that week and many flights were cancelled, and we were not sure if we were going to be able to get out on Friday or not but it turns out we were able to. A hotel in Miami or Fort Lauderdale would have cost more than the cruise itself if we had taken the fly out the night before option so we took our chances.

Philadelphia International (PHL) is the closest option to me, so we met up early, early in the morning on Friday and got our flight to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL) before the sun even came up. And this is tough for me, as I am not a morning person but you have to do what you have to do to make it to your ship. Yeah, it was like 13 degrees that morning so getting up and leaving home that early was tough but the motivation was that I was going to be on a CRUISE in just a few hours. Heads up that early mornings are busy at PHL, so make sure you get there at least an hour before your flight as security lines can be long. Anyway, we were off the gate and in the air ahead of schedule, the flight was fairly uneventful to FLL, and we did encounter some moderate chop along the way that our captain kept apologizing for (but that I didn't think was that bad). The snacks are very good here, and the nice cushy seat, free wifi and seatback TV and extra leg room was sweet as well. Good experience.

Enroute over the ocean somewhere I think, sun just coming up.

The popcorners chips they have as an inflight snack option were really good, so good that I have gotten big bags of them at the grocery store my last few times since I have been home.

Descent to FLL, just before coming back over land. Little bumpy ride into FLL but not too bad, some storms in the area today I think they said. No ships to see at the port Everglades on approach this time however, sometimes you get to see that as the cruise port is not far from the approach to Runway 28R. Besides, we came into 10L, the opposite direction today so no low approach over the beach.

We were at our gate by 0900, and collected our gate checked bags at the carousel, and proceeded to call SAS Transportation for our ride to the port of Miami. I have used SAS many times, they cost $15 per person plus driver tip each way, and are very prompt, have good and friendly drivers and clean and comfortable vans, and reservations are easy to make on their website. I pay for my trip in cash when I arrive at my destination but I believe they offer an option to pay ahead with credit cards but not sure about that. Of course, there are plenty of options, including cabs and transportation purchased through the cruise lines, but they take longer and cost much more. I do think Uber is an option for the 45-minute or so ride down I-95 if you are into that as well. Another company I have used for this trip is Quality Limo Service - QLS and they are similar to SAS, but there are tons and tons of shuttles to choose from.

So, by 1000 we had been picked up at the shuttle pickup area in between baggage claim terminals and had made all our other pickups, and were on our way to Miami. Our driver was nice and talkative and gave us a tour of the Ft. Lauderdale - Miami corridor as he took us through the HOV lane of I95 south, reserved for vehicles with 4 or more occupants I think. Think of it as the bus/van/carpool lane. Yes, they monitor usage and big fines for those who violate the rules. He also told us that the tolls here are varied, based on traffic volume and time of day. Don't drive over the divider cones from the mainline lanes to the HOV lane, or that is a big fine as well. LOL. Traffic was not terrible, and were through the tunnel to the port by 1100 or so, if not a few minutes before. There were multiple ships in port this day, including the dreaded Norwegian Sky (won't get into it, just know that was the worst cruise I have ever had) and the Empress of the Seas along with maybe a few others.

View of our ship as we approached from the north on I95

We were actually among the first arrivals to the port building, so we had to wait outside until they opened the doors to the checkin and security hall. They opened up a little after 1100, and we did meet some interesting people while we waited in line outside, who coincidentally got the same deal we got, LOL. It was getting warm by now and we were still dressed for the cold back home, so shedding layers was the thing to do. We did finally get inside before 1130, were through security, then had to go through security again because they were waiting for "VIP" to go first (rolls eyes) but were in the checkin lane by 1130. Neither of us checked bags here as each of us just had small roller bags and backpacks we carried on due to the short duration of the cruise. We got our sign and sail cards at the checkin desk and that did not take long because we took care of most of the process ahead of time, and were in the queue to board shortly thereafter.

We were on the ship by 1200, and since we did not purchase the unlimited beverage package ahead of time (where I think you get a discount), the absolute first thing we did was go to the desk where they were doing registration for the drinking package and signed up so we could start drinking right away. The cabins would not be ready until close to 1400 (I use military time on all reviews, harder to confuse AM and PM this way) and so after getting a few drinks at the atrium bar, watching a few people do some dancing on the little dance floor they have there and joking with our people back home about what we had done so far and were planning to do for the cruise, we headed up to the Windjammer to get a buffet lunch.

A quick pic of the large-scale model of a sister Royal ship - the Jewel, located on the lido, right before you enter the Windjammer

More coming, hope you have enjoyed so far.....

Great start. Nice photos too!

Will be following along.

Following for sure!

Ready to sail with your words.

Great start. Nice photos too!

Will be following along.

Thanks, just getting started. Many more photos and stories to come. Thanks for reading. I should get a few more parts posted today.

Following for sure!

Thanks! Got some more coming up this afternoon. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy the review and pictures.

Ready to sail with your words.

Glad to have you along for the journey. I was going to finish the entire first day a few days ago but I wasn't able to get to it. Going to try to finish the first day's wrap up today if I can. Thanks for reading!

Sorry it took me a minute to finish up the first day's story, but I am back and will try to wrap all the exciting and busy embarkation day's activities up this afternoon. Like I said before, writing about warm Caribbean vacations is good when it is like 28 degrees out and snowing with 4 inches of hard packed ice everywhere outside, lol. So here we go.

DAY 1: EMBARKATION DAY (CONTINUED)

More about the unlimited drinking should be talked about because I know lots of people want to know all about it. Royal Caribbean has adopted a one-size-fits-all program for unlimited alcohol and all other drinks pretty much, and it runs like $55 a day plus 18 percent auto gratuity. Yeah, I liked the old system where you could get a beer/wine package, an almost all types of liquor program for a little more a day or the super premium package that included everything. They have since discontinued that and thus you have to buy the more expensive plan that you may have a hard time getting full value from if you do not drink a lot of beer/wine or cocktails. Not that either one of us had too much of a problem with that (definitely not M)....but still. It was a total of $430 for the two of us (I paid for both as M paid upfront for both our cruises, and we came out fairly even in the spending department although the beverage package still cost a bit more for each of us than the cruise and taxes/fees combined, haha. It includes unlimited alcoholic beverages up to $12 (which is most stuff on the ship) and unlimited bottled water and soft drinks/juices from the bars. You get a tumbler to use as well, as they have freestyle soda machines on this ship and you can fill your cup there by scanning the RFID chip on the bottom of the cup and thus avoiding having to go to a bar all the time. Will talk about the machines more later.

One of the sign-up desks for the program

Back on subject though, we got lunch at a not-very-crowded Windjammer buffet, located on lido, forward as we were hungry, had a few drinks already, and the cabins were not ready for us yet. I got the usual stuff, hot dogs, burgers, fries, some meats and maybe a cookie or two (and some lemonade from the drink station nearby and everything was good. There were roving bar servers also, and M got himself a Corona. We hung out at the Windjammer some and headed down to the cabin when it opened before 1400 to check out our home for the next few days. We booked a nice balcony cabin on Deck 7, midship, right near the atrium, it cost more than an inside but still less than a standard inside would be most of the time, and we got in there, dropped our stuff off and both took naps until muster time, which would be a little after 1500. I did go out on the balcony some to get a few pictures of the surrounding area and of downtown Miami before going to sleep though, which is always neat to see. The cabin had a really nice couch as well, and I slept on here for an hour or so, as I didn't want to disturb the bed just yet. It was comfortable enough for sure.

Downtown Miami from our balcony

Royal Caribbean headquarters

We both awoke to our steward (never got his name) knocking on the door to tell us it was time to go to the muster drill a little after 1500. Muster is mandatory and everything on the ship shuts down during this time anyway, so you have to go. Ours was down a few decks, outside, and you have to sign in when you get there to your correct station. They will call you out by name if you are not there and they will find you, not beginning the drill until everyone is accounted for. It was not always like this, but recently, it seems all cruise lines really have gotten serious about this and that is a good thing. Kind like the safety demo when you are flying that nobody pays attention to, it is there for your benefit so best to take it seriously.

The drill was over by 1600, and although we were released to begin partying, departure would not be until 1800 on this day. That allowed us to see the spectacular sunset over Miami as in the wintertime, the sun still does set early there. It was warm and sunny this afternoon, but not overbearing humidity-wise. We went upstairs to see the sailaway party, which had a band playing rock cover tunes on lido by the pool, and M hung out there for a while. Meanwhile, I went upstairs to make a few last phone calls and texts to home where it was a little quieter, and to take some pics of the sailaway from Miami.

This is the famous causeway that runs right alongside the cruise port, rush hour traffic and all on this Friday afternoon. Taken right before sailaway.

Sunset behind downtown, just as we were getting on our way

Looking forward from the highest deck, out towards the Atlantic Ocean. Fun times await out there. Most of the other ships had left already.

More to come....

DAY 1: EMBARKATION DAY CONTINUED:

We still had not left port yet before 1800, so it was still hang out and talk to people back home before getting out to sea and we would lose cell phone service. Miami is just an awesome scenic backdrop for cruising and there is really nothing like it anywhere else. Seattle is pretty nice and I am sure New York is pretty spectacular (may be going on a cruise out of there for the first time believe or it not later this year) but maybe it is because Miami was my first cruise experience, but something special about sailing from here and it never gets old.

Anyway, we were soon on our way around 1800 and as always, people all crowd around the lido and sun deck railings to watch us sail away and get that perfect picture. I mean, yes we did have a balcony but there is something you miss hanging out there by yourself for a cruise departure that is not the same as spending time with your fellow passengers upstairs to watch us embark on yet another journey way out there, away from everything. The sun was setting right behind the skyscrapers of Miami downtown as we sailed out and we also passed Fisher Island and South Beach and the ridiculously expensive real estate in these areas.

Our SAS driver told us that many of those boats and yachts we passed by are owned by extremely rich Europeans and you need in the 8 or 9 figure range of wealth to even think of owning some of the stuff there. I always think that it is great when the weather is nice to own property there but when there are hurricanes, that is just not a great place to be. I guess that is a trade off. Also, I had learned on a cruise excursion from last fall that the port of Miami is built on fill, was first used as a military and early air service area and then became a very busy cargo and cruise ship port. I forget how many cruise ships they say go through Miami a year but it is a lot, probably in the thousands. Anyway....

Some of those crazy expensive condos and apartments and yachts and boats just sitting out there to be used whenever. I note that there was a rescue in Port Canaveral of some kids who were jetskiing out near the ocean and ended up almost under the Carnival Magic last week and always note the great work that the harbor pilots and local police departments do in keeping people away from these ships as they pass by. It should be common sense but I have on numerous occasions seen private boats get too close to cruise ships as they head out from ports like this and are quickly escorted away by the local police boats. Everything is really close together in this area but it is always fun to see the locals wave and cheer from the beach as you pass them on your way out to a great cruise.

The band I talked about was playing music for sail away and I didn't spend too much time here but there was a crowd to see it and the huge bar setup they have poolside helped this party out, lol. Many more fun times at that particular bar that I will talk about later on. M is in there somewhere, haha. Always making new friends over a mojito or a Corona.

Almost out to sea....

Just out past the shore, great sunset and you only really get to see these on sailaway in the winter because the sun sets too late in the summer and you are already way out to sea by sunset time then. I do like my sunsets. Note the guy with the really professional camera taking pics right alongside me. Puts my camera phone to shame, lol. Hard to find a space in areas like this at these times because everyone else wants to do the same thing you are doing.

More to come....

While M drank and listened to music, I went to the inside pool area on the lido deck aft and laid out in a beach lounger with a view out the huge windows as we sailed out, away from everything. I spent a while texting back and forth with a good friend of mine from back home and also with the group we had both been talking to about our experiences so far as we still got cell service until close to 2000. I did nurse a beer during this time and would be back later on many times to go into that pool and hot tub setup, but not tonight. I was fine just sitting next to the pool. M later said he went to an early dinner in the main dining room, called My Fair Lady, and since this was a short cruise neither of us cared about set dining times, you could go whenever you wanted right up until close to 2200. I actually chose the Windjammer buffet on this evening as I couldn't find M anywhere and didn't feel like going to the MDR anyway (rare for me, MDR is one of my favorite aspects of any cruise)

DAY 1: EMBARKATION DAY CONTINUED:

So, around 1900 I was hungry, we were too far away from land to see much of anything anymore, I wanted another drink and we went through the stretch of water a few miles off the coast that always seems to be crazy rough, if only for just a couple hours. I went to the Windjammer and got some dinner and I think, a Bahama Mama or something similar. It was strong by the way. I sent a few last texts out and as soon as my 4G signal dropped off, put the phone into cruise ship mode (airplane mode) and kept it there for the rest of the cruise. BTW, I forget what M said he got in the MDR but he said it was decent - if I remember right it was some sort of beef tenderloin. They also have a Chops steakhouse onboard here, for a fee of usually something like $35 a person but neither of us wanted to try that on this ship. We did go to the one on the Empress last summer and it was just OK.

A couple different kinds of chicken, a fish cake, some curry meat, rice, etc. It was OK. Dinner was served until 2100 in the Windjammer and until 2130 in the MDR, and it was fairly crowded in the Windjammer with other people who couldn't be bothered to go to the main dining room on the first night. It was really rocking now, but only for a few hours. I don't know what it is about that stretch of ocean but it is always like that, no matter the weather or sea conditions elsewhere and it only lasts for a few hours. No problems with rough seas the rest of the time.

I didn't get any pictures of the daily Cruise Compass but I still have them and if anyone wants to see them, I will include pics of them later on in the review, just let me know. As I mentioned before, it was a charter so not much to do other than music and events with Sheila and friends, but open times for bars, food, pools, excursion and spa information, etc was still in there. I had said it was Sheila G's cruise in my first post and I must correct myself, it was instead Sheila E's Glamorous Life Latin Cruise. My apologies. She really did put together a good entertainment menu for this cruise.

The shows for this day included performances by Pete and Juan Escovedo, Judith Hill, Debi Nova and the Tony Succar Salsa Band. They played in various venues, including the atrium, very late into the evening, and on places such as the Lido deck as well. I will get into the noise factor in the cabin later on but be aware that our location could hear music from the atrium at all hours of the day. There was a divider wall between our room and the atrium but it did not do much to drown out the music. We had no problem with this as I am not too sensitive to sound while trying to rest but if you are, avoid midship cabins near the atrium on pretty much any deck.

I stopped by the cabin around 2130, saw M there for a minute, when he told me about the dinner in the MDR and I headed back out to go to the aft lido hot tub. I wasn't going to but M was tired from drinking all day and the early travel out of PHL in the morning, so he actually headed to sleep around 2200 or so I think. I never got a pic of our towel animal or the next day's Cruise Compass because I believe the steward left them on his bed and he destroyed the towel animal and threw the newsletter somewhere on the floor where I had to look for it later to recover it, lol.

I got another drink (Strongbow cider - Royal used to have Angry Orchard, what happened?) on my way to the pool and know that you have to sign towels out at the towel desk next to the main pool on lido. You also have to get your card scanned to sign them out and turn them back in but the hot tubs are open late, they said as long as people are in them they stay open which is cool. I did meet some people who again got the same deal as we did in the pool, from way out there in Utah and Atlanta and we talked some shop and exchanged stories of neat stuff we see daily. Neat to be in a group of folks like that. Just know you have to get drinks poured into plastic cups if you are going to go to a pool as glass is a no-no in any pool area. BTW, M got his money's worth and I probably had close to 10 beers/ciders/sodas/cocktails so I did break even as well.

I talked to these people in the hot tub for at least an hour and headed up to get some late night snacks at the Windjammer around midnight as they served until 0100. Not much to choose from but it was something to do. I stopped by the casino but it was quiet and even the bar there was closed early, so I headed back to the cabin and was in bed by about 1 AM. The next day would feature a visit to Coco Cay, Royal's private island in the Bahamas and we were to arrive there early in the morning, so it was a good idea to get some sleep in anticipation of another busy day.

I decided to include a few pics of the Cruise Compass from Day 1 after all, here they are. Gives you an idea of ship activities. I have to look up who the captain and cruise director were, will get that to you later on the review as well.

That is it for busy day 1, hope you enjoyed. Day 2 will be upcoming whenever I get the chance to post it. Thanks for reading and happy cruising.

Leave on enchantment on Monday on first ever cruise! Loving this review!

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Thanks for the review.

DAY 1: EMBARKATION DAY CONTINUED:

The band I talked about was playing music for sail away and I didn't spend too much time here but there was a crowd to see it and the huge bar setup they have poolside helped this party out, lol. Many more fun times at that particular bar that I will talk about later on. M is in there somewhere, haha. Always making new friends over a mojito or a Corona.

 

Looks more like a concert atmosphere with the band, rather than a sailaway party! Having fun!

Leave on enchantment on Monday on first ever cruise! Loving this review!

 

 

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Awesome, have a great time. The Enchantment is a good first ship to sail on. Not too much to do, but not boring either. Find what you like to do and do it. Plenty to see and do, just make sure you have a good and memorable time. I know you will. I will at least get to the second part today, will try to wrap it up before you leave tomorrow but not totally sure that I will be able to. Thanks for reading along and glad you enjoyed. Hope this review has helped you out in getting ready to sail.

Thanks for the review.

Not a problem at all, thanks for reading along!

Looks more like a concert atmosphere with the band, rather than a sailaway party! Having fun!

That pretty much is it. The whole theme of the cruise seemed to be centered around music. Culture and celebrating life and family/friends but music was everywhere, at almost all hours of the day and night. It was an interesting time for sure. Hope you enjoy the day 2 part of the review that I am about to get to as well.

SHEILA E'S GLORIOUS LIFE CRUISE DAY 2: COCOCAY:

First off, thank you for reading along and hope you are enjoying my adventures. A few of you have said you are getting ready to sail this ship and hopefully this gives you a little idea of what your cruise will have in store for you. I will now be getting to the second day of our short 3-day charter cruise, which featured a stop at Cococay, Royal's private island paradise in the Bahamas. The first day is always chaotic and I didn't get a lot of chances to write too much about the ship itself, but I will get into that more as we get through the review and I will surely include pics of popular stuff on the ship.

So, we left off with me hitting the bed after midnight as we had a long first day and I was surely tired. Although I am not necessarily a morning person, I deal with it these days as best I can and thus do usually have to be up at a decent time each morning. M is not particularly a morning person either but for some reason, he wanted to get up early on this day because I guess he wanted more beach and drinking time today or something. LOL. I woke up around 0900 and we headed upstairs to the Windjammer to get some breakfast shortly thereafter.

The breakfast had the normal stuff, eggs, ham, omelets, cereal, fruit, potatoes, bread, waffles, pancakes, etc. They offered options of plain, or some sort of thing such as bananas cooked into them. They have syrup packets here as well, no pitchers of syrup near the pancake and waffles. Interesting. That was OK. I will say the sausage gravy and biscuits just didn't hit the spot with me. The gravy was bland and the biscuits were too hard and tasteless. Avoid. The sausage, bacon, potatoes and ham were good. Plenty of fruit to choose from as I said before. They also have chicken sausage and maybe turkey sausage if you so want that. M got an omelet from the omelet line and the wait wasn't terribly long - he said it was OK. Breakfast doesn't seem to be a strong point for any cruise line but it was about on par with other lines on this day and the next day as well.

Breakfast

Good views of the ocean from the balcony and the tender we would be riding back and forth from the ship

After heading back to the cabin to get a shower and ready for Cococay, I actually packed some stuff that we may have needed on the island in my backpack and we headed to the tender boat on deck 1 I think. It was warm but not terribly humid again today, partly cloudy. Perfect Caribbean day. After all, it was cold at home you know.

Cococay from the ship

Nice calm, blue seas

After this, we got a few drinks and headed off the ship. The tenders were not particularly crowded at this time of day, around 1100 as the early exit people were already at the island and the late people were not yet making their way there. More on our island visit shortly....

DAY 2 - COCOCAY CONTINUED:

The only thing we forgot to take with us was towels, lol. It turns out you are supposed to get them before you get off the boat, to the tender and return them when you re-board. They do not have them on the island. Oh well, so there wouldn't be a ton of swimming done today then. We got to Cococay a little after 1100 and exited the tender, which had eventually filled up with people after waiting to do so for a little while. Neat approach, looks like they can fit a few ships worth of people here on any given day. We were the only ship here on this day. This was my third time here, second in just the last year. It was much nicer this time than when we were here in July of last year. The construction was done and the beaches and island itself looked really good. I also heard that they were going to modify the island some more so it can fit the mega ships in the future, anyone know more about that?

Arriving at Cococay

Of course the first thing M wants to do anywhere it is available, is get a drink. Yes, drinks are covered by the liquor and beverage package on this island, as it is owned by Royal Caribbean. I got a Jack and Coke and he got a Corona, which he quickly finished. The Coronas don't seem to be as big in the cans on the island as with the bottles on the ship. This first drink bar was located just past the entrance to the island if you are wondering. Hard to miss, haha. We walked along a little bit, and explored to see what was new here since our last visit. We stopped at another bar along the way (lol) and I got an aluminum can of Coors Light (yeah, yeah) and M got another Corona. The beaches were crowded and the buffet had not yet opened up, so we made our way down the beach a ways and found Coconut Willie's bar, a place we had hit on the last trip here and is a nice beach-side hangout.

The buffet area, before it opened. It opens at 1200 I believe

Cococay main "road"

I think there is a nature trail here, walkable and also apparently there is a tram. I did not see this tram so I can't say much about it. But I have heard the nature trail is pretty nice.

We seated ourselves at Coconut Willie's. Nice volleyball court and hammocks here to lay on. We both agreed the hammocks were not a good idea because if you lay there, you might fall asleep and miss the ship later on, lol. Nobody was playing ball here this time but they had a game going here the last time we visited. The bar is not that big and selection is rather limited but it is fun and it has a nice view. The bartender, a Jamaican dude, was very friendly and took good care of us and others who came up to get drinks during our time there. Many Coors, a few Coronas here. Spent probably an hour or so before we went to lunch. We made sure to not miss lunch this time as we missed the maybe 2-hour serving window last time and headed over there about 1300. Before lunch, we did take turns walking into the water for a little while for dips. It wasn't particularly warm though and the tide was in for now, which would change later.

Lunchtime fun coming up shortly.....

DAY 2 - COCOCAY CONTINUED:

The lunch buffet was getting crowded but we were able to find a table and we got some food and drinks. I got some ribs (you can add your own sauce) and chicken/hot dogs with rice and corn on the cob. Barbeque setup, pretty good if you ask me. Buffet lines set up for easy access. We hung out with lunch for a while and headed on our way before 1400. I believe the island visit hours were 0800-1630 on this day, so we still had time before we had to get back on the tender.

Bit of an island directory, located near the buffet area if you ever need to find your way somewhere there

We walked back along the beach (you turn right when entering the island to find all this stuff we did today by the way) and towards the famous floating bar that they have setup here. Good fun there the last time we visited. Beach chairs lined up all along the way here, but not many people on them today.

There is a water slide here, but you have to have a wristband to ride it and there are lifeguards here. I have heard stingrays tend to make appearance in the water near here as well but have never seen it myself. You can see the tide beginning to go out......

Along the way, I got talking about some important stuff back home and almost tripped over this thing, I believe it is an iguana? LOL. I heard people talking about it and saw them standing near it but was oblivious to it being there and I almost tripped over the thing, haha. Interesting stuff you see on these islands.

Now, I talked about the floating bar. I also mentioned the tide was beginning to go out. Way out. The last time we were here, there was about a hundred yards or so of water to wade through to get to this bar. Not this time. It was almost not even a floating bar here. Oh well. It was nearly 1500 by now anyway and they were beginning to get ready to close but M still got a few beers and I got one before they shut it down. It has a capacity of like maybe 20-30 people and it is an interesting concept. Again, limited menu here and no electronic sale terminals so if you have the drink package, they just check your card to verify and you get your drinks. It is neat to watch them get stuff to and from the bar though, a little paddleboat that goes back and forth I think. Some folks decided to go for a ride in it before they started using it to lug supplies back to the beach and got stuck on a sandbar. Needed a "rescue." LOL. Serves them right. BTW, M had told me that due to the late assignments of our cabins by the travel agency and RCCL due to the nature of our bookings, he had talked to a few people who had complained that they were not able to get the discount for the pre-purchase of the alcohol package that you can do when you check in online early. Yes, that is true and it did cost us more and probably more than it should have for the package, but the cruise itself was almost free. You can't have everything. They said they were going to fight it later and try to get some money back. Just know that if you book the cruise through a travel agency at a discounted rate for a sailing like this, you might run into that problem also.

After they closed the bar, there was still plenty of excitement in that area, will get to that shortly.....

DAY 2 - COCOCAY CONTINUED:

It was the funniest thing ever. Since the tide was way out, sandbars were exposed pretty far out. So, a stream of people just walked out like hundreds of feet into the ocean. It was funny like I said. No rhyme or reason why, just decided to do it. Saw some small sea creatures on the mud, nice view of the beach from way out here. Had to take my flip flops off though, so I didn't get stuck in the mud and fall over.

I had to mention that while I waited for M in the floating bar, I laid down in one of these little covered beach chairs. Very comfortable. I did not know that you had to pay for them though, lol and a staff member chased me away shortly thereafter. They were not crowded but they are nice so I guess they figure they can make some money off them.

View from the floating bar

The walk to nowhere

There are some cabanas located on a more private and secluded part of the beach, further down from the floating bar and I believe these also have to be reserved and cost a bunch of money. I don't see the value in them but some people do. I think you get served food and drinks and stuff like that here as well.

By now, our time on Cococay was nearing an end, as it was pushing 1600 by this time and the last tender would be at 1630. More shortly.....

DAY 2 - COCOCAY CONTINUED:

We made our way back towards the "town center" and got a few drinks along the way, of course. But the bars were beginning to close as they wanted to funnel people back towards the tenders if they could I guess. We passed a snorkeling beach, where I went one time and it is a fairly rocky beach but you do get good views of schools of fish and stuff like that there.

We passed the straw market, which I have been told is actually locally operated. Not sure but I have never been in there or bought anything there. That is right near where you get back onto the tenders. If you are interested, there are bathrooms or banos all over the place on the island so you do not have to go far to get to one. M hung out at the same bar we went to when we first arrived at the island and got a few more drinks before they closed, and I got one and went for one last sightseeing voyage on the other side of the island.

They have beaches and I think, a place where you can rent floating mats to go out into the water but if they did, I didn't see them this time. That side of the island is not as exciting as the other if you ask me. But the views of your cruise ship from there are really cool. There were still some people out sunbathing on the beach here, but most people were back onboard or on their way there by now.

Our ship

Beach

We, along with a bunch more people, got final drinks at the bar before he told us he had to close and M headed back to the ship. I walked around a little more and then made my way back as well. There were quite a few people who were headed back with me as well. I mean, this isn't like a normal port where you really can get left behind if you are not back at a set time, where exactly are you going to go where they can't find you on here? Lol. They do security screening before you head out to the dock to get on the tender, and yes, you are able to bring drinks back with you to the tender. I had switched to Budweiser (not my drink of choice most of the time but why not?) by now, and made my way on the tender a little after 1600.

We boarded the tender and made our way back to the ship. I believe a few more tenders left after ours, but I headed back to the cabin after we got back on board so I didn't pay close attention. It was nap time after all.

Our voyage back to the ship

Just a little more in a second....

DAY 2 - COCOCAY CONTINUED:

Just a little closer to the ship we get...then we arrive, dock, and debark the boat, back to our home for the weekend. I do think there is a sign before you leave the island that says I wish I could stay here forever or something similar. Too bad we had to head back to our ship, lol.

I had probably had like close to 10 drinks (rarely drink like that at home but it is included here, right?) and M had way more so it was time to take a nap for a while when I got back to the cabin. The evening would be exciting and had to be rested up for that. So, I took a long nap from 1700-2000 or so, and M got up earlier and headed to dinner while I was still asleep (despite him trying to get me to wake up a few times). He later said it was OK at dinner, nothing spectacular but food is food. I would hit the MDR later on, after waking up and getting a shower and all that. I will pick up the story from there again, later tonight or sometime tomorrow as I don't have the time to do so now. But there was plenty to do that evening for sure. Before I leave for now though, some random pics of a few things around the ship.

Ship directory, in public areas around the ship, good reference so you go the right way to get to your cabin or to a public venue on the ship, etc.

The atrium. Neat for sure, and I will show you a few more pics of the atrium and surrounding area later on in the review.

That is about it for now, but I will get to the evening activities sometime later on, hopefully sooner than later. I hope you are enjoying, and have a good day.

Is the Straw Market anywhere near as bad as the vendors area at Labadee?

I'm enjoying reading your review. I also call south Jersey home. We just booked this cruise for the end of August, so looking forward to it. Thanks for your review!