Chill Island vs. South Beach

[Tree_skier]

I have only been to Cococay one time and that was the week before they opened the new PDCC concept. We have Cococay coming up on one of our future cruises and was looking at the Cabana options.  Are there any differences between the South Beach cabanas and the Chill Island ones.  Is one area quieter? Or closer to services like the bar and food venues. What, if any, are pros and cons of one vs the other?

 

Also, as a secondary question.  Since there are only two of us, I saw the beach beds were available at both locations at substantially reduced prices.  I'm not afraid to spend the money for the Cabana if it is a much better experience.  I just don't want to waste money ($750 at the moment) for no value.  What do you get with a Cabana that you don't with beach bed.

[AlohaLivin]

We have used the beach beds at chill island and found the beach to be fairly quiet at our locations (although we were in the first bed near the coast edge, others are far closer to the food area).  But Chill Island  overall isn’t a loud place in our experience.

 

As to the cabana versus beach bed, we never spend the money on a Cabana, to us it seems like a tremendous waste of money. I don’t mind spending money, but 600 + for 5 hours doesn’t make sense to us.  We did love the bungalows, but those don’t exist on Cococay now 😔 The difference in the beach bed and the cabana is with the latter you’re getting a wooden platform for your two lounge chairs; the bed gives you a much larger lounging area and also the two floats, the two lounge chairs and the cooler you get with a cabana, but no platform. I do not know if they are still offering any kind of lunch delivery to cabanas, they did do this pre-Covid. But the walk to the lunch area from the beds is a short one and a nice one 😊

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[Jerseygirl1416]

15 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I have only been to Cococay one time and that was the week before they opened the new PDCC concept. We have Cococay coming up on one of our future cruises and was looking at the Cabana options.  Are there any differences between the South Beach cabanas and the Chill Island ones.  Is one area quieter? Or closer to services like the bar and food venues. What, if any, are pros and cons of one vs the other?

 

Also, as a secondary question.  Since there are only two of us, I saw the beach beds were available at both locations at substantially reduced prices.  I'm not afraid to spend the money for the Cabana if it is a much better experience.  I just don't want to waste money ($750 at the moment) for no value.  What do you get with a Cabana that you don't with beach bed.

I’ve been told on here that the beach beds on South Beach are gone even though they’re still selling them on the cruise planner. Mine even says ‘4 left”😂 

 

I have had the South Beach cabana before for just my husband and myself. I love the location. There’s bathrooms, bar, snack shack right there and a quick walk to the pool. That said we didn’t really use the cabana part of the cabana rental. We never really sat inside it on the couch. We mostly used the loungers which is why I was going to rent the beach bed because it’s much less expensive and it’ll achieve what I want.

 

I’ve never been to Chill Island but I know it’s further from the pool so I’m really bummed about South Beach. I’m thinking we’re just going to go with the free loungers on South Beach. 

[Sunshine3601]

I was there for a b2b the past 2 weeks.   Yes, beach beds at South Beach are gone.   

First week we went to Oasis pool, which was packed and noisy so we moved over to south Beach.

Second week we hung out at chill beach and took our blow up noodles to the harbor in the middle and floated for quite awhile.

 

I personally would not sit long enough to pay $750 for a cabana.   

 

We like the beach club but I refuse to pay $175 pp when I used to get same thing for $50 pp pre covid.

 

Snack shack has the good chicken sandwich and funnel cake,  yummy!

 

[Tree_skier]

2 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Yes, beach beds at South Beach are gone

Was there indication that that is permanent?

[bstel]

5 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

.

Second week we hung out at chill beach and took our blow up noodles to the harbor in the middle and floated for quite awhile.

 

 

 

blow up pool noodles.  brilliant.  I actually hadn't ever thought of this or knew they existed.

Edited April 8, 2022 by bstel
typo

[AlohaLivin]

9 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Was there indication that that is permanent?

I believe that is permanent, they also removed the bungalows from that area. I may be wrong but I think they have built all cabanas there (more $ per square foot).

Edited April 8, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[bigque]

Oh ok so for my upcoming cruise in June it says Sold Out for beach beds on South Beach. I guess they haven’t been able to remove them fro the cruise planner so they just put Sold Out. 

[Tree_skier]

1 hour ago, bigque said:

Oh ok so for my upcoming cruise in June it says Sold Out for beach beds on South Beach. I guess they haven’t been able to remove them fro the cruise planner so they just put Sold Out. 

Mine says 5 available.  

[Tall-Cruiser]

41 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Mine says 5 available.  

When is your Cruise? Ours is in August and it also says Sold out but, the fact is they are not really available as they were removed. Perhaps they could bring them back at a future date. However on my last cruise in March someone from ShorEx mentioned that, that area that had the Day Beds was going to be for more crew area. True or not I don’t know.

The photos attached are from our March cruise. It’s at SouthBeach showing the SouthBeach Cabanas and as mentioned by others you can see there are NO Day Beds in the distance. For our August cruise we reserved a Day Bed at Chill Island to be on the safe side knowing they exist.

Good luck.
 

 

[brillohead]

Honestly, I don't see the point in beach beds or cabanas now that they have sooooo many loungers and umbrellas available.  Unless you really need constant dedicated bar service, but you can get that at a lounger if you tip cash with your first order.  

South Beach is more "primitive" and only has a Snack Shack, not a buffet.  
Chill Island Beach has the large buffet nearby.  It's actually three beaches with rocks between, plus Breezy Bay Beach on the "corner" of the island.  There's a Snack Shack at Breezy Bay, too. 

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, bstel said:

blow up pool noodles.  brilliant.  I actually hadn't ever thought of this or knew they existed.

I have seen others use so I had to try and loved them.    I bought the 6 pack online.   I, also, bought a portable air blower from amazon and blew up the noodles in the cabin before heading to the beach.   It worked wonders instead of blowing up yourself and passing out!    Also, worked decent to deflate them once we were back onboard.   We used them in Nassau too!     

 

I would definitely get this one as it is stronger than the flextail and others available on amazon site.    It comes with a black travel pouch too.   We will definitely use this again and again for the noodles, etc. 

 

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

Honestly, I don't see the point in beach beds or cabanas now that they have sooooo many loungers and umbrellas available. 

I'm happy that [other] people are subsidizing our free loungers.  🙂

 

[AlohaLivin]

59 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I have seen others use so I had to try and loved them.    I bought the 6 pack online.   I, also, bought a portable air blower from amazon and blew up the noodles in the cabin before heading to the beach.   It worked wonders instead of blowing up yourself and passing out!    Also, worked decent to deflate them once we were back onboard.   We used them in Nassau too!     

 

 

I would definitely get this one as it is stronger than the flextail and others available on amazon site.    It comes with a black travel pouch too.   We will definitely use this again and again for the noodles, etc. 

 

Those look great, particularly for a family. We have bought something similar for St. Thomas and other Caribbean beaches where we would not have a float. I like these because you can sit on them almost like a chair! Great pump, I have never seen that one.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0952TP8BH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0952TP8BH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[Sunny AZ Girl]

3 hours ago, brillohead said:

Honestly, I don't see the point in beach beds or cabanas now that they have sooooo many loungers and umbrellas available.  Unless you really need constant dedicated bar service, but you can get that at a lounger if you tip cash with your first order.  

South Beach is more "primitive" and only has a Snack Shack, not a buffet.  
Chill Island Beach has the large buffet nearby.  It's actually three beaches with rocks between, plus Breezy Bay Beach on the "corner" of the island.  There's a Snack Shack at Breezy Bay, too. 

Thank you.  We have never been to Coco Cay, but we are now booked to visit in January.  We think that we would prefer Chill Island as long as snacks and drinks are available nearby.  Also, the free loungers sound good to me! 

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I have seen others use so I had to try and loved them.    I bought the 6 pack online.   I, also, bought a portable air blower from amazon and blew up the noodles in the cabin before heading to the beach.   It worked wonders instead of blowing up yourself and passing out!    Also, worked decent to deflate them once we were back onboard.   We used them in Nassau too!     

 

I would definitely get this one as it is stronger than the flextail and others available on amazon site.    It comes with a black travel pouch too.   We will definitely use this again and again for the noodles, etc. 

 

Those look great! Thank you for sharing. 

[Tree_skier]

Thanks for the help... So my options are Beach Beds only at Chill Island or Cabana's at either.  How far a walk is it from Chill Island to food and beverage options.

[AlohaLivin]

29 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Thanks for the help... So my options are Beach Beds only at Chill Island or Cabana's at either.  How far a walk is it from Chill Island to food and beverage options.

It depends on where you are on a Chill Island - some are relatively near the docking area, others are very near the dining area. But none are a long walk from dining. I should note that our beach bed on chill island in Nov. was in a different place than it seems to indicate on many of the maps! See the attached image.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[brillohead]

23 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Thanks for the help... So my options are Beach Beds only at Chill Island or Cabana's at either.  How far a walk is it from Chill Island to food and beverage options.

Depends which part of the beach you're on.  Chill Island / Breezy Bay consists of a huge chunk of the island.  

I just scribbled up this from a Google Maps satellite pic.  Hope it helps:

[brillohead]

7 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

It depends on where you are on a Chill Island - some are relatively near the docking area, others are very near the dining area. But none are a long walk from dining. I should note that our beach bed on chill island in Nov. was in a different place than it seems to indicate on many of the maps! See the attached image.

LOL, great minds think alike!  I was off looking up the Google Maps and when I posted, your relatively identical post showed up, too!  

[ValerieJo]

2 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

Those look great, particularly for a family. We have bought something similar for St. Thomas and other Caribbean beaches where we would not have a float. I like these because you can sit on them almost like a chair! Great pump, I have never seen that one.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0952TP8BH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0952TP8BH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

We have these.  Used them a couple weeks ago in Labadee.  We'll take them again next month to Coco Cay. We've also used them at Eagle Beach in Aruba.  They fold up very small and are easy to pack.  They are easy enough to blow up that we don't use a pump at all.

[AlohaLivin]

28 minutes ago, brillohead said:

LOL, great minds think alike!  I was off looking up the Google Maps and when I posted, your relatively identical post showed up, too!  

Haha… yes, nothing speaks like pictures! That google earth one is kind of cool though  👍🏼

Edited April 8, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

If you're going for the Chill Island day beds, they are on the far "southwest" (if the map they give you actually followed the compass) tip of the island. On the plus side, it's a calm and quiet area. But at the same time, it is a bit more of a walk to food and such.

 

Here is a picture of the beds taken from our balcony on the ship to give you an idea.

 

Edited April 9, 2022 by la_croisiere_s'amuse

[Pomc99]

When I was there in Nov (back again next month), I found the island had so much to do and see and experience, I couldn’t imagine spending that money for one place to sit all day.

I was the first off the boat and explored and walked all the pathways and pools. Then probably spent an hour at each spot on the island. 
 

I preferred chill island because the water was calmer than south beach and I like the deck bar anchored out in the water. 
 

At that time, most cabanas were empty, so it would’ve be weird being the only occupants in that area too. 

[CruiserNic]

Someone in a Royal Caribbean Cruises group on that social network that I don't think we can name, posted a video on April 6th from their South Beach Daybed.  For what it's worth, I have a South Beach Daybed reserved for November and they are still for sell on the cruise planner.  I also have Beach Club booked because I'm not sure which one I want for sure yet.  You could definitely see the over the water cabanas to the left so I was pretty sure they were actually at South Beach (although, I have never actually been to Cococay myself.)

[Jerseygirl1416]

57 minutes ago, CruiserNic said:

Someone in a Royal Caribbean Cruises group on that social network that I don't think we can name, posted a video on April 6th from their South Beach Daybed.  For what it's worth, I have a South Beach Daybed reserved for November and they are still for sell on the cruise planner.  I also have Beach Club booked because I'm not sure which one I want for sure yet.  You could definitely see the over the water cabanas to the left so I was pretty sure they were actually at South Beach (although, I have never actually been to Cococay myself.)

Are you sure they said day bed and not the South Beach cabana? There have been serval reports on here that the SB day beds are gone. One poster said they had rented one and once on board they told them they were moved to Chill Island.