Anyone just back from CoCoCay?

[maria1122]

Can someone just back from cococay tell me if they put in cement walkways.  

I use a mobility scooter and cannot use it on sand.  I’m not talking about the

dock, the areas to get to the beaches.

 

[spadercruise]

I was at Coco Cay in August 2019. I was on my mobility scooter. You can access Harbor Beach because there are pavers. You will have to leave your scooter on sidewalk and transfer to the sand to reach actual beach. I left my scooter within eyesight. No problems, park as close to wall of beach so as not to block sidewalk. Enjoy!! My only gripe was I couldn’t find a way to enter Oasis Lagoon pool with scooter.

[jakeil7]

14 hours ago, maria1122 said:

Can someone just back from cococay tell me if they put in cement walkways.  

I use a mobility scooter and cannot use it on sand.  I’m not talking about the

dock, the areas to get to the beaches.

 

Just got back. There are enough to get you to the music pavilion and the food places, but that is it. 

[GEORGIEGIRL]

We just got back from "CoCo Cay" on Monday. As stated before they have long walkways of pavers that you should have no problem travelling over. Not sure how confined you are to your scooter, but if you are able to be transferred over to another 

wheelchair, they have wheelchairs with HUGE rubber tires that could get you to the sand as well.

 

Either way, you'll have a great time.

[CruiseMomTX]

We were in CoCoCay in May and I don't remember either.  We will be back in Oct with my parents and have a wheelchair for my dad. I'm wondering will we be better off using the regular wheelchair to push him to the pool with a swim up bar or will the wheelchairs with giant sand wheels come all the way to the ship to get him there and back?  

[brillohead]

I just got back on Friday from two visits to Coco Cay (B2B on Mariner).  

You CANNOT access the pool without going across sandy areas, and there is no way to get to the beach without going across sand (you can get up to the beach on pavers, but not onto the beach area).  

[CruiseMomTX]

18 hours ago, brillohead said:

I just got back on Friday from two visits to Coco Cay (B2B on Mariner).  

You CANNOT access the pool without going across sandy areas, and there is no way to get to the beach without going across sand (you can get up to the beach on pavers, but not onto the beach area).  

Thank you.  If you have the wifi plan does it work on Coco Cay?  If we get off will we be able to text my parents if they stay on the ship?

[AshleyDillo]

1 minute ago, CruiseMomTX said:

Thank you.  If you have the wifi plan does it work on Coco Cay?  If we get off will we be able to text my parents if they stay on the ship?

 

VOOM does work on CocoCay.

[brillohead]

A friend messaged me that they were able to reach the pool area via paver-walk.  I used the entrance near the towel shack to enter and then the next one over to exit, and both of those were sink-into-the-sand type walkways.  

I'm hopeful that they plan to eventually put brick pavers in those path areas, as it will cut down drastically on the sand in the pool, plus allow you to rinse off your feet and walk sand-free back to the ship.  

[brillohead]

8 hours ago, CruiseMomTX said:

Thank you.  If you have the wifi plan does it work on Coco Cay?  If we get off will we be able to text my parents if they stay on the ship?

Yes, it does work on the island.  My roommate used it on Chill Island and in the big pool, too.  

[pthjudy]

On 9/29/2019 at 9:23 AM, GEORGIEGIRL said:

We just got back from "CoCo Cay" on Monday. As stated before they have long walkways of pavers that you should have no problem travelling over. Not sure how confined you are to your scooter, but if you are able to be transferred over to another 

wheelchair, they have wheelchairs with HUGE rubber tires that could get you to the sand as well.

 

Either way, you'll have a great time.

Do you still need to tender at Coco Cay? I read they were enlarging the pier to accommodate larger ships. 

[Biker19]

Just now, pthjudy said:

Do you still need to tender at Coco Cay?

No more tenders.

[jakeil7]

45 minutes ago, pthjudy said:

Do you still need to tender at Coco Cay? I read they were enlarging the pier to accommodate larger ships. 

The Symphony was docked there last week. 

[sellwingri]

On 9/28/2019 at 5:36 PM, maria1122 said:

Can someone just back from cococay tell me if they put in cement walkways.  

I use a mobility scooter and cannot use it on sand.  I’m not talking about the

dock, the areas to get to the beaches.

 

Are you able to walk short distances?  We were there last week on Harmony.  They have a tram from the ship to the island tram that takes you around the site.

[MaskedTurtle]

Are there any official areas to leave regular wheelchairs after transferring to the sand wheelchairs yet?  I was planning on bringing a bike lock and chaining my mom's chair somewhere.  Would that be ok/allowed?

[karena1]

On 9/28/2019 at 6:36 PM, maria1122 said:

Can someone just back from cococay tell me if they put in cement walkways.  

I use a mobility scooter and cannot use it on sand.  I’m not talking about the

dock, the areas to get to the beaches.

 

We have been there numerous times since the revamp and yes, lots of cement walkways. Also a tram to take you around the island.  You cannot go all the way down to the beach with a scooter, but you can get to the buffets, bars and the pool

[karena1]

On 10/1/2019 at 7:15 AM, pthjudy said:

Do you still need to tender at Coco Cay? I read they were enlarging the pier to accommodate larger ships. 

beautiful pier, love that we don't have to tender any more.

[2cruisers in Georgia]

Is there easy access to the beach if you don't rent a cabana or buy one of the excursion packages?

Going in one month with a large group and everyone is wondering if we need to pay for everything we do there.

I researched on the website but all I'm seeing are the excursions and nothing about what's free.  Thanks.

 

[itsmeagain]

20 minutes ago, 2cruisers in Georgia said:

Is there easy access to the beach if you don't rent a cabana or buy one of the excursion packages?

Going in one month with a large group and everyone is wondering if we need to pay for everything we do there.

I researched on the website but all I'm seeing are the excursions and nothing about what's free.  Thanks.

 

All kinds of beach access and chairs that you do not need to pay for.  All over the island.

[2cruisers in Georgia]

Thank you for that information itsmeagain.  I've been there many time but haven't been since it became a "Perfect Day".

 

[brillohead]

Since the "Perfect Day" revamping, the number of loungers has doubled if not tripled, and there are free umbrellas for at least half the loungers.  

Plenty of space on all the different beach areas, and plenty of shade -- just take your pick.

You don't have to pay a dime for anything on Coco Cay if you don't want to... plenty of food available (larger selection than before) including handwashing stations and soft serve ice cream.  

The waterpark/slides/zipline cost extra, and the balloon ride, and booze, and chicken wings -- if you can live without those things, you can have a relaxing beach/pool day for free!

[Grandma Petania]

7 hours ago, MaskedTurtle said:

Are there any official areas to leave regular wheelchairs after transferring to the sand wheelchairs yet?  I was planning on bringing a bike lock and chaining my mom's chair somewhere.  Would that be ok/allowed?

My daughter and I were there in November 2019.  She was able to push me in my wheelchair along some walkways.  I believe they were bricks or paving stones part way.  I was able (with My cane and her help) to walk a distance to the beach.  In the meantime she used a bike lock to secure my chair near the eating place (which we skipped).  We didn’t see any of the beach wheelchairs, so I can’t attest to how good they are.  
 

One caution:  I had draped my cover-up over my folding wheelchair, and came back to find it covered in seagull droppings.  The beach going down to the water was a little more sloped than I liked, and the sand under the water shifted a lot, and I found it hard to keep my balance.  We decided that on our next cruise, we will try the fresh water pool.    So far, I much prefer the gentle more quiet beaches at Labadee.

[mariefisher]

I would think you would have no problem leaving a wheelchair and transferring to a beach wheel chair. If someone took it where could they go with it? They would have to take it back on the ship and there are cameras everywhere. You could walk around the island, have a great lunch and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Some of the beaches are really sloped and I could see that could be a problem. But they do have lounge chairs that go all the way up to where the brick  walkways are.  Even if you just spent a little time on the island with her I think she would love it! Have a great beach day! 

Edited January 4, 2020 by mariefisher

[MaskedTurtle]

34 minutes ago, Grandma Petania said:

My daughter and I were there in November 2019.  She was able to push me in my wheelchair along some walkways.  I believe they were bricks or paving stones part way.  I was able (with My cane and her help) to walk a distance to the beach.  In the meantime she used a bike lock to secure my chair near the eating place (which we skipped).  We didn’t see any of the beach wheelchairs, so I can’t attest to how good they are.  
 

One caution:  I had draped my cover-up over my folding wheelchair, and came back to find it covered in seagull droppings.  The beach going down to the water was a little more sloped than I liked, and the sand under the water shifted a lot, and I found it hard to keep my balance.  We decided that on our next cruise, we will try the fresh water pool.    So far, I much prefer the gentle more quiet beaches at Labadee.

Thanks for the recent intel.  Which beach area did you stay at/in/on?  How far was it from where you settled to the walkways?  My mom can only walk very short distances before getting winded and wobbly, so I'm trying to figure out how she'd do if walking is necessary, especially if there is more loose sand than packed sand.  I assume nobody said anything about locking the wheelchair somewhere.  I am concerned that you said you didn't see any beach wheelchairs.  I read somewhere that there are 2 or 3 locations that they are usually placed, and sometimes they do go quick, so perhaps you didn't get to any in time.  I'm hoping that's it.  I'm gonna try to get off early enough to grab one.

 

I think I'll bring some sort of cover or disposable plastic (maybe a cheap shower curtain) to cover the wheelchair if we leave it.  My mom doesn't go in the water anymore, but I do, and I appreciate the caution about the sand.  I sometimes lose my balance in the water.  We are going to try to stick with Chill Island since it seems to meet our needs and interests.  We've never been to Cococay, but we have been to Labadee, which we love but Mom was much more mobile last time we went.  We're hoping for the best this trip.