Coco Cay - Perfect Day -- South Beach Bungalow or Beach Bed

[SherriZ366]

Looking at shore excursions for Coco Cay - Perfect Day for our May 20, 2019 cruise on Mariner of the Seas.  I have some questions on South Beach Bungalows and Beach Beds.  I'm trying to decide which one to rent :

• Do both the Bungalows and Beach Beds have attendants?  The Cruise Planner Information only shows attendants for the Beach Beds.
• How frequent are the private Cocolimos?  
• Is South Beach quiet?
• How close is the bar?
• Is there a special lunch or is the lunch close by?
• Do the Beach Beds also have loungers??  

Any other information would be welcome.  Thanks 

Edited February 1, 2019 by SherriZ366

[SherriZ366]

Sailed on Mariner on May 20 -- booked a beach bed on South Beach.  No one in my group wanted to go to the beach but I totally enjoyed it.  Just vegged in the shade.  Booked Beach Bed 1 as it was close to the bar and the bathrooms.  The lunch was tasty -- wanted lunch around 1 and chose 12:30 to 1 PM -- got lunch around 1 PM.  The tram service was great and the 10 minute ride was interesting as I could see all the amenities and get a glimpse of what is coming.  

 

I don't see Coco Cay Beach Beds for our 9-1-2019 cruise but will keep checking.  I got my beach bed during a sale (think they knocked off about $20).  Some Beach Beds weren't taken.  

 

This was during the first leg of our MA B2B and MA was the only ship.  For the second cruise (5-24-2019), we shared the island with Navigator.  

 

[Artemis908]

14 hours ago, SherriZ366 said:

Sailed on Mariner on May 20 -- booked a beach bed on South Beach.  No one in my group wanted to go to the beach but I totally enjoyed it.  Just vegged in the shade.  Booked Beach Bed 1 as it was close to the bar and the bathrooms.  The lunch was tasty -- wanted lunch around 1 and chose 12:30 to 1 PM -- got lunch around 1 PM.  The tram service was great and the 10 minute ride was interesting as I could see all the amenities and get a glimpse of what is coming.  

 

I don't see Coco Cay Beach Beds for our 9-1-2019 cruise but will keep checking.  I got my beach bed during a sale (think they knocked off about $20).  Some Beach Beds weren't taken.  

 

This was during the first leg of our MA B2B and MA was the only ship.  For the second cruise (5-24-2019), we shared the island with Navigator.  

 

We are traveling in October and I don't see beds or bungalows either available for booking. From the map it didn't look like there were any bars nearby, so you're saying there is a bar in South Beach?

[SherriZ366]

8 hours ago, Artemis908 said:

We are traveling in October and I don't see beds or bungalows either available for booking. From the map it didn't look like there were any bars nearby, so you're saying there is a bar in South Beach?

I didn't see the South Beach Bungalows or Beach Beds on the Cruise Planner for our 9-1-2019 Harmony cruise either and Chill Island and Oasis Lagoon Cabanas are no longer available on line.  They are asking people to book onboard.  Here is a phone number for help with Cruise Planner -- 1-800-398-9819 

South Beach had a bar between the Bungalows and Beach Beds.  My Beach Bed was #1 and was next to the bar.  Folks we met in the Diamond Lounge rented the Bungalow that  was closest to the bar.  

When we got onto the Mariner, Shore Excursions was open and I picked my Beach Bed.  I was only the second person to do so.  

 

There is some construction going on at South Beach for the Over-water Cabanas but it was nowhere near the Beach Beds and Bungalows and I never heard it. 

 

There were also lots of chairs for people who just wanted to go to South Beach without paying for a Bed or Bungalow.  They didn't get lunch brought to them.  

[TITISSA]

I booked a Beach Bed and was very happy. We had number 7, which was the last one. Very private and surrounded by nature. The bar was close by. They brought our lunch at the time we had asked for. It's basically a king size bed with a roof and curtains on the side "very Gatsby". No one in front of you, just the beach. Wear water shoes. The bottom is kind of slimy.  

[TITISSA]

One good thing about CocoCay is that there are a lot of beach umbrellas everywhere. If you don't want to book a bungalow you'll find shade for sure and  free of charge.

[SherriZ366]

12 hours ago, TITISSA said:

I booked a Beach Bed and was very happy. We had number 7, which was the last one. Very private and surrounded by nature. The bar was close by. They brought our lunch at the time we had asked for. It's basically a king size bed with a roof and curtains on the side "very Gatsby". No one in front of you, just the beach. Wear water shoes. The bottom is kind of slimy.  

Great that you had just as good of an experience as I did.  

Edited June 8, 2019 by SherriZ366

[Justicedog]

I am so confused about the options.  I had planned on getting a beach bungalow for the 8/2019 cruise as it was cheaper and would hold my family of 4. I tried to book it online but it was charging me per person rather than per bungalow. I was going to call. Then didn’t get around to it and then the option went away and it seemed like Maybe that part wasn’t going to be finished until 11/2019.   

 

I need shade and was concerned about making sure I had shade as when we were at Labadee it wasn’t easy to find. 

 

As the bungalow and beach bed bed were no longer options, my husband booked a chill beach cabana. (You don’t pick all your guests when buying it online like I had been trying.).  Now, we aren’t really Cabana people, it seems a bit extravagant. 🙂. It holds double the people we have in our group, so maybe we should plan on making some friends. 

 

How are the cabanas on chill beach?   It seems we would order food when we get there?  What is the menu like?  It is complimentary right?   

 

Do you get to pick the specific cabana?  If so, when and how?

 

Are we going to turn into cabana people?  🙂🙂 

 

Janelle 

[TITISSA]

 On Chill Beach, the Cabanas are located next to the Beach Beds. They have a roof and walls and a "L" shape sofa. It looked pretty much the same as the Beach Beds but more expensive. They both had a cooler with water and water mats. We had 2 floats. I don't know how many floats for the Cabana. The night before you are asked to fill up your choices for lunch and what time you want to eat. Truthfully, I don't know what the perks are for the Cabana. I think in the Cabana you can seat several people and in the Beach Bed, 2 people can lie down on the queen size bed, and 2 people on the 2 lounge chaises. So basically 4 people. There is also a small table. I'm pretty sure the price is per cabana not per person.  

[smrtypnts]

How do you book a cabana or beach bed?  I have looked all over RCCL and at all the excursions and can't find it anywhere

[TITISSA]

16 hours ago, smrtypnts said:

How do you book a cabana or beach bed?  I have looked all over RCCL and at all the excursions and can't find it anywhere

I booked it on line. Give them a call...

[cgags47]

On 6/9/2019 at 4:35 PM, smrtypnts said:

How do you book a cabana or beach bed?  I have looked all over RCCL and at all the excursions and can't find it anywhere

Go through your Cruise Planner, it's under Shore Excursions.  Pick the day you are at Coco Cay, and they should be there, unless they are all sold out.

[luvnjonson]

We just returned from our cruise and so many of the questions here are questions I had as well prior to cruising.  I left honest comments to Royal Caribbean on better educating cruisers on the options and benefits of these areas as it's all hard to understand.  

We booked a beach bungalow several months before our cruise (when booking, only select one guest name or it selects it for each of you to have a separate bungalow LOL).  It was suited for 6 people.  It had an L shaped sofa, 2 lounge chairs and had 2 floating beach mats.  Our family of 4 was traveling with my in laws, so space wise it was perfect.   We had an envelope in our state room upon arrival, regarding our rental that had me to go the excursion desk to finalize our selection of location.  We chose #35 because it was close to restrooms, the bar and the water.   At that time, they also gave me a sheet of the menu options for us and time slots that we could have the food delivered.  It is a gorgeous spot!!! South Beach is very quiet and is secluded.  One of the crew members there on Cocoa Cay told us it's best suited for older people and people just looking to relax. There was no Wifi in the bungalow area.  We didn't realize this until after we arrived.   Hubby was still trying to work on this vacay and my teen and 22 year old weren't so happy with that, besides the fact that I had paid for internet for 4 devices and that was a day of wasted money.  We did take the trams (the ladies at the check in and towel shack will call for the tram if need be) to explore and found the buffet (it is on the opposite end near Chill Island) much better than the lunches that we had so we ate a snack there while exploring.   The last we saw, those cabanas at Chill Island were around $700 and our bungalow was a little over $300 so that is quite the difference.    Moving forward, I would suggest evaluating your group needs before booking either one.  They both have their advantages and disadvantages.  

Edited June 16, 2019 by luvnjonson