How insane is Coco Cay with 2 ships there?

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Specifically Anthem and Liberty?

 

I'm pondering what to do for Feb Break next year and was looking seriously at Anthem's 8-night out of Cape Liberty as a) there are solo balcony cabins and b) I wouldn't have to deal with airfare.

 

I looked at cruisemapper (as was suggested in another thread about Coco Cay - the one about "having" to spend money on the water park) and Liberty and Anthem are both scheduled in. I'm not a Water Park kind of girl, but would prefer to not have things be insane in other parts of the island. Would it be crazy with both of those ships there?

 

TIA!

[taglovestocruise]

4 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Specifically Anthem and Liberty?

 

I'm pondering what to do for Feb Break next year and was looking seriously at Anthem's 8-night out of Cape Liberty as a) there are solo balcony cabins and b) I wouldn't have to deal with airfare.

 

I looked at cruisemapper (as was suggested in another thread about Coco Cay - the one about "having" to spend money on the water park) and Liberty and Anthem are both scheduled in. I'm not a Water Park kind of girl, but would prefer to not have things be insane in other parts of the island. Would it be crazy with both of those ships there?

 

TIA!

That is only 8000 guests max, Coco Cay was built to service 12000+

Edited May 9, 2023 by taglovestocruise

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 minute ago, taglovestocruise said:

That is only 8000 guests max, Coco Cay was built to accolade 12000+

Hmmm... I may rethink this. To me, that sounds like a nightmare being used to Disney's Castaway Cay where there is only EVER 1 ship at a time.

[OCSC Mike]

It's not that bad at all. I was there 3 times between July and October with Indy and Freedom there... 4000+ each, so similar to your amount. Coco Cay can easily handle it.

[bonsai3s]

Coco Cay is said to have the biggest pool in the Caribbean. It's popular and gets crowded...specially by the swim-up bar. The pool water gets a bit warm.

 

* My attempt at humor. 

[shof515]

Cooc Cay is being expanded with a beach opening later this year

[ajtaylor29]

We've been there 2 times now, both times 2 ships in port, and it was not overcrowded at all. It's such a big place with multiple beaches, pools, water park, etc. that people spread out! 

We had a great time there and look forward to another visit!

[Cruising89143]

We were there last year twice on a side by side cruise. The first was the Freedom only which had around 4300 give or take. The next week we were back on the Symphony along with the Independence OTS. The total was around 9500-10,000 with both ships. It wasn’t bad but we could definitely tell a difference from the prior week. It was doable but get off when the ship docks and find your choice of chair/umbrella. 

[ClaireA1978]

Was there last week Independence and Freedom both in, no issues at all lots os free beds, guests mingling together, plenty enough of everything to go round

[splashsmom]

We were just there recently with Wonder and Liberty.  While crowded in some areas, it was not oppressively so.  We didn't use beach loungers, but food lines seemed to be short, and even the pool looked pretty manageable, except around the swim-up bar.  Wonder arrived after Liberty; you may wish to check the timing of your ship's arrival.

[Mum2Mercury]

20 minutes ago, ClaireA1978 said:

Was there last week Independence and Freedom both in, no issues at all lots os free beds, guests mingling together, plenty enough of everything to go round

This is quite close to what I was going to say:  I was on Coco Cay with Indy and Liberty.  While the front-row chairs were full, ample seating was available at all beaches ... the pool too.  The lines at the lunch spot were short.  No lines in the bathrooms.  

 

Admittedly, these two ships aren't the largest in Royal's fleet, but neither are they the smallest.  I'd love to visit again with this number of passengers.  

[jlstwinmommy]

We were there in December on anthem with Indy there with us. Didn’t seem very crowded at all. We didn’t do the water park so can’t speak to that but everywhere else seemed to have plenty of space. 

[Kevin]

I've only been with Harmony and Mariner.  It did not feel crowded at all.  My kids did the water park and did not experience any long waits.

[smokeybandit]

Last time I was there we got there an our late due to a medivac, and even with Harmony already there, we still found 4 beach chairs together.

[def0715]

Just completed back-to-back sailings on Independence of the Seas. Both Coco Cay days Freedom of the Seas was also there with us. Didn’t seem crowded at all. Plenty of chairs everywhere I went. Delightful experience.

[twangster]

If you desire front row beach or pool loungers you'll need to be quick but if you are okay with loungers somewhere other than the front row you'll be fine.  

[mcatmcat]

if your ship arrives early you might find a great spot but on my last cruise, it was harmony and Adventure, the first time in my life that noticed way so many people on cocacay, pool, buffet , beaches, people everywhere. 

[Sunshine3601]

We were there beginning of April on Anthem and Wonder was docked with us.   No big deal.  Didn't feel crowded at all.  Plenty of great spots to hang and relax.

[BobH5849]

We've been to CoCo Cay a bunch of times. Both when we were the only ship and recently two ships.  My advice would be if you're looking to get a lounger by the pool....get there as early as you can.  Front rows not guaranteed however.  Beach chairs are fairly abundant.  Two ships a day is becoming the standard since Royal has advertised a Great Day at CoCo Cay. Seems like every cruise this summer visits the island.  It's a great time and a not to miss adventure.  Out by South Beach they have awesome chicken sandwiches, mozzarella sticks and funnel cakes.  No charge!  Have fun and created great memories.

[OCSC Mike]

21 minutes ago, BobH5849 said:

Out by South Beach they have awesome chicken sandwiches, mozzarella sticks and funnel cakes.  No charge!

 

Those items are also available at the snack shack towards chill beach and the water park snack shack. Love those three items. I alternate between that and the taco bar.

 

One common hack... ask for a plain chicken sandwich and add the mozz sticks and marinara for a chicken parm sandwich.

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Specifically Anthem and Liberty?

 

I'm pondering what to do for Feb Break next year and was looking seriously at Anthem's 8-night out of Cape Liberty as a) there are solo balcony cabins and b) I wouldn't have to deal with airfare.

 

I looked at cruisemapper (as was suggested in another thread about Coco Cay - the one about "having" to spend money on the water park) and Liberty and Anthem are both scheduled in. I'm not a Water Park kind of girl, but would prefer to not have things be insane in other parts of the island. Would it be crazy with both of those ships there?

 

TIA!

You would not notice that there are two ships there. 

[perfect match]

We were at Coco Cat two+ weeks ago on Odyssey with Harmony there as well. We started our day at South Beach which was totally packed! We walked around for quite a while before we finally managed to find two chairs. After seeing two groups nearby nearly coming to blows over the lack of available chairs we decided to move on. We headed over to Chill Island and were able to find chairs there, but only in the very back. At least it was a lot more “chill” on Chill Island, but it was still crowded. We ended up having a nice day on Coco Cay, but it would be a real stretch to call it a perfect day. 

[OCSC Mike]

3 hours ago, perfect match said:

Odyssey with Harmony

That’s an unfortunate pairing. Sorry to hear how crowded it felt. Hopefully you get to experience it with fewer people next time; I’m sure you’d have a much better experience.

[gavvy]

2 weeks ago - Indi and Wonder were in, we were on Wonder, got off the ship at 8am, walked to the cove- past south beach, probably the furthest point away from the ship, took about 10-15 min, beach was empty and remained like that till about 11am, we left at 1pm and there were still free loungers.

 

There are always loungers everywhere provided you get off the ship early-ish and are prepared to walk, most seem to go to the closest beach and then walk out from there so the back of the island takes longer to get populated.

[sjinnj]

I was a bit disappointed at how long and slow the lines were for the water park when I was there.  But, we had out itinerary changed and went to Coco Cay instead of Grand Bahama and I was happy about that.