CocoCay, More, Less, or Just Right?

[Ret MP]

I'm in the Camp that doesn't care for CocoCay.  However, I'm fully aware that there are many folks that absolutely love it there and wouldn't have a problem with every East Coast and Gulf port itinerary include CocoCay in their itinerary.  I'm not advocating for anything other than having more itineraries that include the likes and dislikes of almost everyone.  Yes, I know it's impossible to please everyone. But, I know that there is a significant number of folks who have expressed their dislike of CocoCay and/or preference for other Ports of Call, on this site and others.  

 

In fact, I don't care for the Bahamas in any way, shape, or form, for many personal reasons.  But, CocoCay isn't for me because I'm not a beach, pool, or Cabana person.  

 

This is intended to be a discussion, this is a discussion site, after all.  There is no intent to be a personal attack on anyone. 

[Mum2Mercury]

I love Coco Cay, and I think I'm in the majority.  Having said that:

- I wouldn't want to see every cruise make a stop at this private island; if this happened, it'd be overcrowded.  

- I am concerned about Royal adding more and more for-cost items on Coco Cay /leaving less space for people who just want a lounger at one of the free beaches.  

- I don't like Nassau at all, but Coco Cay doesn't feel like Bahamas or any other country to me.  It just feels like a remote beach.  

- If you're not a beach or pool person, I see why you don't care for Coco Cay.  

[mark290]

I like coco cay a lot. A beach is a beach and this one is easy walking distance, has amenities or areas with just a chair, drink package and food included. A cheap, easy access beach that doesn’t cost extra is pretty cool once you’ve been to all the islands.

 

Having said that I do not like to go in the winter. The water will be cold and the air can be cold. I also won’t like it when they no longer allow the drink package. Just my opinion but that is coming.

[neverbeenhere]

I love love love ❤️ 💕 Coco cay, Almost everyone gets off our ship, so we can enjoy our personal yacht. Thanks to all. 

[Ret MP]

6 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

I love love love ❤️ 💕 Coco cay, Almost everyone gets off our ship, so we can enjoy our personal yacht. Thanks to all. 

That is definitely one of the upsides to CocoCay!   LOL

 

If I ever purchase an itinerary that includes CocoCay, again, that's my plan.  I may go ashore for a few minutes in search of that wonderful food that many talk about.  On my one successful visit (weather prevented docking on one other cruise) to the island, I was underwhelmed by the food.  

[sddsddean]

I don't think this view applies just to CocoCay. On so many ports the excursions sold are "transfer to XYZ beach" or "...3 hrs free time at beach" or similar. Surely if you want to go to a beach, it must be cheaper to just go to a hotel/resort with a beach rather than a cruise! I don't like beaches either...would much rather be wandering round a town or something, but it gets me how many people just want to go to the beach...just seems odd to me!

 

Simon

[OCSC Mike]

7 hours ago, Ret MP said:

I was underwhelmed by the food

 

And (as you already know) that's why I like CocoCay. If I didn't like the food, it might as well be Labadee to me. We'll be on Labadee in 2 weeks and may not get off the ship.

 

Food is subjective and not everyone likes the beach/pool. These are mostly just personal preference differences, IMO. Although in the case of Labadee, I'm not sure anyone has mentioned liking the food there.

Edited October 12, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, sddsddean said:

it must be cheaper to just go to a hotel/resort with a beach rather than a cruise

 

Sure, but you have to factor in all the other things that come with each. Food, entertainment, loyalty perks, activities, etc.

 

And just because I may enjoy spending most of one day at CocoCay (and not for the beach) doesn't mean I don't love being on the ship for the rest of the cruise and/or the other port stops.

Edited October 12, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[vswan]

Seems like every cruise line has a private island port stop of some type. I know they have spent money to purchase and improve these and understand that they want to get some of those funds back. These are easy stops for them to add to a cruise, fitting in as many of their ships as they can.

 

I like beach days. To me, it's an easy off and on which includes a free lounge chair, beautiful view, food, sometimes a nice walk, etc. I don't pay for any of the extras and am amazed at the prices I'm currently seeing for them - but if they can get the prices, more power to them. For me, at some of the other stops I struggle with whether I should go to the beach and miss seeing something else on the island. At a private island I can just enjoy the beach.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Been there twice dont need to go again. Yes its a nice stop off the ship but offers nothing culturally or exciting. 

Granted i do like a relaxing day, but a cruise with lots of sea days and then coco cay is just not that exciting for us. 

[irishgal432]

Without Nassau and CocoCay royal would not have many options to offer cruisers.  I am not a fanof Nassau but love Coco Cay.  I am not a beach person, but enjoy the shady spots, food and music near the bar.

[pstone1]

When Coco Cay was beautiful and undeveloped, we loved walking the Nature Trail and going to Wacky Seagull Juniors.  Royal has turned that beautiful paradise into a crowded, commercial area, so now we stay on the ship and enjoy a nice quiet day.

[Ret MP]

40 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

And (as you already know) that's why I like CocoCay. If I didn't like the food, it might as well be Labadee to me. We'll be on Labadee in 2 weeks and may not get off the ship.

 

Food is subjective and not everyone likes the beach/pool. These are mostly just personal preference differences, IMO. Although in the case of Labadee, I'm not sure anyone has mentioned liking the food there.

I've been to Labadee a few times and I don't remember the food being either great or bad, just okay.  But, port days isn't a search for the perfect dish for us, that's not saying that it is for you or others.  I don't trust, for the most part, 3rd world food anyway.  Yes, I know that CocoCay and Labadee have food taken from the ship and mostly prepared and served by the ship's crew.  So, when we do get off of the ship in places other than CocoCay or Labadee, we shy away from the local cuisine, especially the little shacks, trailers, less-than-permanent-looking venues, or venues that don't have refrigeration but just ice coolers.   We have no idea what their food safety, preparation, storage, and service standards are.

 

Yes, I was thinking of you and a few others when I said that there are those who love CocoCay.  That's your choice and I respect that.  

[OCSC Mike]

36 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I've been to Labadee a few times and I don't remember the food being either great or bad, just okay.

Labadee = burgers, hot dogs, chicken, salad.

 

Cococay = A lot more (plus the above).

 

Not convincing you of anything, you know I mention personal preference all the time. There’s no right or wrong here.

 

You don’t care as much about food, neither of us just want to bake on a beach for 5 hours, others do, etc.

 

I will always maintain that one of the best parts of cruising is that it can be enjoyed in an almost infinite number of ways.

[OCSC Mike]

42 minutes ago, pstone1 said:

we loved walking the Nature Trail

It’s still there, btw, just very short. My wife & I took a walk to check last year & found a very angry rooster, lol. It’s not worth seeing tbh but we wanted to take a morning walk.

[Ret MP]

47 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Sure, but you have to factor in all the other things that come with each. Food, entertainment, loyalty perks, activities, etc.

Yes ^^^^, I would like to think that I/we have done our due diligence in cost comparison, apples to apples/oranges to oranges.  We have found that even with the cost of a Star Class cruise, the cost/fare is equal to or very close to the same amenities at a 5-star hotel in a resort area. With some big downsides, at the resort hotels, no Ports of Call, cost of meals, cost of entertainment, and a whole host of other things.  Also, have to factor in the cost of getting to the hotel/venue, airfare, if flying, or gas and hotels, if driving to the venue, and all expenses associated with travel.  That's not to say that the same isn't true to get to the cruise port.  

 

When we cruise Star Class, we pay the fare, taxes, port fees, and whatever else (Gratuities, Internet for all in the suite, specialty restaurants, all drinks (up to a certain ceiling for each drink), bridge tour, a Genie which is our own amenities and cruise planner, and a few other things that I can't think of right now, are included in the fare).  We always get at least $750.00, minimum, and as much as $1,800,00 in OBCs and RCCL pitches in a little OBCs as well.  So, when we debark the ship, we just walk off and we leave with no other expenses on our C.C. account.  In fact, we usually have a little more cash than we started out with.  We try to book our Star Class cruises at least a year in advance to lock in the lower prices and have more suite choice availability.  Oh, the tip we leave for the cabin steward comes from the OBCs that we cashed in.  We actually dig into our pockets to tip the Genie cash, usually a very good tip if service and attitude is very good. We also tip any service providers (wait staff and bartenders/servers) cash above and beyond the 18% they automatically get (Yes, in $2.00 bill(s) if I can get them).

[BecciBoo]

We've loved CoCo Cay for 20 years both when it was just a castaway island and now that it is a full fledged resort island.  We loved the natural feel of it back in the day and sorta miss that, but we love the new resort feel too...though don't appreciate the cost of some things.  But there are still spots to feel isolated and wild on the south side and places to be in the grove, so we don't rule out that itinerary at all.  Happy to be there and now anticipating the new Hideaway Beach area (before it too is priced out of our budget) we will be doing on our ICON cruise.  We are water babies,  we snorkel, dive and swim and just love beaches in general.  And sometimes stay onboard to take advantage of no cruisers at the pool decks.  Takes all kinds and different strokes for different folks. Thankfully, there are all kinds of different itins to please all kinds of people.

[smokeybandit]

Coco Cay is wonderful. Stuff for everyone to do. And by everyone, I mean that to include those who also enjoy hanging out onboard an empty ship, too.

 

[steveru621]

I do like COCO Cay but it really is overdone on cruise itineraries.

[moposh]

I've been to Coco Cay once and I really enjoyed it.  My daughter and I spent all day in the ocean.  I had heard that the food was really good, but I wasn't totally impressed.  The hype did not live up to the food, but I didn't go hungry.  I don't know that every east coast itinerary should go there.  I could definitely skip Nassau for more time in Bermuda, but I did enjoy Coco Cay.  🏖️

[deliver42]

The food hype is for the Snack Shacks, not the buffets.

[soremekun]

I love what Royal Caribbean has done to the island.  I hope they continue to develop it further and bring more attractions that appeal to their customers.  I hope additional attractions and developed areas mean more to do and less density.

@Ret MP , is there anything you would like to see on the island that may change your mind?

[Mikew0805]

I love it there. I have been to Coco Cay 35 times since the restart and 6 times before. I LOVE Coco Cay for different reasons based on my mood. We have done the water park 3 times, with the 4th coming up in November on OY. I only do this when I am feeling energized and did not stay up all night the night before in the casino. UGH!  I have done Coco Beach club once, and it was worth it for the $150 that was paid, but I would not spend more than that. Another reason I love it is when I choose to stay on the ship, there are not many onboard and I can do whatever I want in peace & quiet. The rest of the time is usually split 50/50 between the pool where it is lively, and a quiet place on the beach in a shaded lounger.

 

Even with two Oasis class ships, I have never had a problem finding a quiet place to hang out. Finally, the food is good, far better than Labadee and the old Coco Cay before it became PDCC.  

 

I am now looking forward to another option with Hideaway beach.

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Mikew0805

[Ocean Boy]

21 hours ago, Ret MP said:

I've been to Labadee a few times and I don't remember the food being either great or bad, just okay.  But, port days isn't a search for the perfect dish for us, that's not saying that it is for you or others.  I don't trust, for the most part, 3rd world food anyway.  Yes, I know that CocoCay and Labadee have food taken from the ship and mostly prepared and served by the ship's crew.  So, when we do get off of the ship in places other than CocoCay or Labadee, we shy away from the local cuisine, especially the little shacks, trailers, less-than-permanent-looking venues, or venues that don't have refrigeration but just ice coolers.   We have no idea what their food safety, preparation, storage, and service standards are.

 

Yes, I was thinking of you and a few others when I said that there are those who love CocoCay.  That's your choice and I respect that.  

I have the same concerns about eating the local foods as you. I mostly eat on the ship.

 

I also prefer itineraries that don't include any private stops. I'd much rather explore an island or even just walk around town.

[sjb317]

 I love a good beach, we live on a beach in Florida so I am down on the beach almost everyday.  Not a fan of Labadee but I always loved Coco Cay before it was redone and was prepared to hate it the first time we stopped after the renovations.  Much to my surprise, I still love it, maybe even more so.  We spend our time either at one of the free beaches or Oasis Lagoon.   My husband sits under an umbrella with a book and I go for walks.  Snorkeling is fun, too.
 

The food is much better than Labadee, good but not sure I would describe it as wonderful.  I like the taco bar and the sandwiches at the buffet.  The chicken sandwich is pretty good at the Snack Shak  but the funnel cake was very greasy with little flavor, hard to believe people rave about it. 😂 

 

I received a survey yesterday asking about Coco Cay, questions like what improvements would I like to see added and what kind of foods I like to have.  Very interesting.

 

Sherri🙂