How insane is Coco Cay with 2 ships there?

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 hour ago, sjinnj said:

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.

 

Thankfully I have zero desire to do a water park. Not my idea of fun at all.

[Sigyn]

I was there recently with Harmony and Odyssey both in port at full capacity for spring break, so about 11,000 passengers total, and it was tough for people to find beach chairs on Breezy Bay, where I settled in, between about 10:30 am and 1 pm, but then it became easier in the afternoon. I arrived at 10 am and got two chairs in the shade, but they went pretty quickly after that. The line at the water park for the biggest slide took my son about an hour. The lines for food at the snack shack on chill island weren't bad, only took about five minutes. Overall, it was manageable and while I'd go again with two big ships, I'd prefer if it was two smaller ships, or one ship. 

Edited May 10, 2023 by njsmom

[moposh]

I'll be at CC in August on Vision.  Oasis will also be at CC.  It's my first time at CC.  Glad to hear it won't feel full.

[orville99]

18 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!

We were there last week on  Wonder (7,200 pax) and Liberty )4,500 pax). while the waterpark was full, and the fresh water pool was relatively crowded, you could toss a net over either the lagoon beach or the chill island beach without risking catching anyone. We didn't bother going down to the new south beach area because we had no problem finding plenty of empty beach chairs with umbrellas at the lagoon.

Edited May 10, 2023 by orville99

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Thanks all! You're helping me feel better about probably doing the Anthem in February.

[simon.hed]

I have been there several times (it is my wife's fav stop) and the swim up bar area of the pool is bananas later in the afternoon. We have somehow never been there with 2 ships, I can only imagine its moreso in that case.

 

we currently have 3 cruises booked that visit there and all 3 allegedly will have 2 ships there. The one June of next year Allure and Symphony.

[Donsyb]

We were there in November on oasis and ovation was also there. No problem getting loungers on the beach, but if you want a specific location e.g. front row or shade, get off asap to claim your spot. Didn’t have to wait for drinks or food, and also managed to get a spot at the swim up bar at south beach in the afternoon.

[The Fun Researcher]

We've been there on the Anthem with a similar other ship in port.

 

CocoCay is busy but not oppressively so.  If you look at a map, we've had the most luck getting loungers in between the Chill Island and Breezy Bay areas.  

 

I wouldn't let it make or break your decision to do the cruise or not.

[PhillyFan33579]

I have been to Coco Cay numerous times with two ships there and with at least one ship being an Oasis class ship. With the exception of the swim up bar area in the Oasis pool, which is always crowded, I have never felt like the island was crowded. 

[robmtx]

If your ship is first to arrive, and you get off early and go find your spot for the day, it's doubtful you'd notice that two ships are there.

If your ship is SECOND to arrive, you're already far down on the list to get your preferred spot...especially if that first ship is Oasis when school's out, pumping about 6,200 pax!

 

Now, even if you're the second ship to arrive, there are still plenty of spots available but like many have alluded, things like the front row on the beach may be occupied. 

 

We started considering the scheduled arrival times. If we're going to be second ship in, we'll rent a beach bed or something. 

 

Go...Enjoy! It's fine.

[luckyinpa]

one time we arrived 2 hours after vision but there was an issue and no one could leave the ships. so we got to leave about same time as them and still got acceptable seats but we arent at the waters edge type of people anyway.  prefer the pool to beach

[taglovestocruise]

On 5/10/2023 at 7:55 AM, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Thanks all! You're helping me feel better about probably doing the Anthem in February.

It will be expanded by the time you cruise.

 

“In addition to our incredible new vessels, we plan to launch Hideaway Beach in the fourth quarter of 2023, an adult-only neighborhood, making Perfect Day at CocoCay more perfect and increasing capacity in the island to 13,000 visitors daily,” Liberty said during the Q4 earnings call.

[notscb]

On 5/9/2023 at 5:21 PM, BobH5849 said:

Two ships a day is becoming the standard

Period. 

Their private island brings in more revenue for them, it’s not even an advertising thing, it’s purely a good business decision for them to have as many ships stop there as possible. 

[twangster]

RCCL Earnings Call , May 4, 2023

 

Q and A

 

Michael Bayley -- President and Chief Executive Officer, Royal Caribbean International

 

Hi, Benjamin. Yeah, I mean I think we're truly delighted with Perfect Day, and I think the comments earlier, we spoke about the volume that we're attracting to Perfect Day. This year, we'll take around 2.5 million of our guests to Perfect Day. And the pricing premiums continue to be really robust, and the spend on the island continues to be really robust as well.

 

So, we've seen -- as we've increased the volume, we've seen no decline in the power of the pricing. And in fact, it continues to accelerate. With Hideaway Beach, that will accommodate approximately 2,500 more guests. So, today, we're -- I think in March, we had close to 250,000 guests in Perfect Day.

 

And on average now, we're having around 11,000 guests a day in CocoCay. With Hideaway, we can add another 2,500, 3,000 guests. And that's really for design to be open in time for Icon of the Seas. And, of course, Icon we'll visit at the end of January, and Icon will be going to Perfect Day every single week.

 

We've also got Utopia coming online in June. We haven't announced the deployment, but Utopia will also be going to Perfect Day. And the demand is just very strong. I mean we've seen -- there's a lot of demand for that particular product in any of our ships that have Perfect Day on their itinerary demanded, and there's strong pricing premium that we see there.

 

Jason Liberty -- Chief Executive Officer

 

Just one point on Hideaway for modeling purposes, just keep in mind that it's coming online at the very end of this year. But its ramp-up of operations and so forth, as Michael said, is kind of in line when Icon comes online, which will be toward the end of January. So, just as you're thinking about yielding costs, just keep that in mind.

 

 

[LisaLisa87]

On 5/9/2023 at 4:09 PM, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

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.

 

I haven't been to Coco Cay yet, but I've been to Castaway Cay a handful of times. From what I've been able to gather, Coco Cay has much more developed space than Castaway. As you know, Castaway has the two family beaches plus Serenity Bay. When the larger Disney ships are in port, the family beaches are packed. Coco Cay has several additional family areas and, as others have said, will have a new adults only area late this year. I'll be visiting Coco Cay with my family in September and I can't wait to check it out!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

24 minutes ago, LisaLisa87 said:

 

I haven't been to Coco Cay yet, but I've been to Castaway Cay a handful of times. From what I've been able to gather, Coco Cay has much more developed space than Castaway. As you know, Castaway has the two family beaches plus Serenity Bay. When the larger Disney ships are in port, the family beaches are packed. Coco Cay has several additional family areas and, as others have said, will have a new adults only area late this year. I'll be visiting Coco Cay with my family in September and I can't wait to check it out!

 

Advantage of being solo adult - I don't have to go near the family beaches.

 

At any rate, I have the Anthem cruise on hold with deposit to be paid Monday. 🙂

[moposh]

I'll be sailing Vision in August.  We arrive at CC at 7:00 a.m.  Oasis is due to arrive at 9:00 a.m.  I just don't know that I'll be able to get off before Oasis arrives as it's early.  

 

Where is the best spot to snorkel?  

[OCSC Mike]

9 minutes ago, moposh said:

I'll be sailing Vision in August.  We arrive at CC at 7:00 a.m.  Oasis is due to arrive at 9:00 a.m.  I just don't know that I'll be able to get off before Oasis arrives as it's early.  

 

Where is the best spot to snorkel?  

 

You will be able to get off the ship before Oasis passengers do.

 

Chill Island. Just ask one of the many crew members you will see as you're walking towards Cococay and they can direct you. You can also find it on a map, of course. it's to the left as you enter.

[moposh]

10 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

You will be able to get off the ship before Oasis passengers do.

I understand that.  I just don't know if I want to get up that early and if I do, if I can get my daughter out the door.  😁

[JOVERNITE]

We'll be on the Wonder and Odyssey will be at Coco too. 10,539 pax. I'm very fair so I definitely need shade.  Considering a day bed option.  My husband is interested in Thrill but I'm fine relaxing & enjoying the water.  Any thoughts on which beach to select: Chill Island, Breezy Bay or South Beach? Distance to Thrill isn't an issue. Quiet isn't an issue either. We have grandchildren! 

[sabrefan15]

On 5/9/2023 at 4:04 PM, 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!

Was just there in April on Oasis, Enchantment was also there and didn't seem overcrowded. 

[Tree_skier]

On 5/9/2023 at 1:04 PM, 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!

I was there in March on a full Oasis with a full freedom on the same day.  It was just fine.  We had a really great time.

[roseoftx]

We go next June on the Adventure and have the Icon on the same day.  All of the day beds and some of the cabanas are sold out already.  Over a year in advance.

 

We are doing a b2b and the previous week we are there with the Grandeur and very little has booked yet.   

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

5 minutes ago, roseoftx said:

We go next June on the Adventure and have the Icon on the same day.  All of the day beds and some of the cabanas are sold out already.  Over a year in advance.

 

We are doing a b2b and the previous week we are there with the Grandeur and very little has booked yet.   

 

Yeah...the beach beds so far for ours are like 1 available in one place and 3 in another. And apparently the Beach Club is sold out other than the cabanas that are more than I make in a month because there are no day passes available.

 

I'm hoping that once they know the new adult area is good to go they will open things up there.

 

I'm used to Disney where regarding excursions you KNOW what is sold out because it says it - it doesn't just disappear so you just don't know if something hasn't been loaded.

[OCSC Mike]

22 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

And apparently the Beach Club is sold out other than the cabanas that are more than I make in a month because there are no day passes available.

 

If they were sold out you would see the option with the "sold out" icon. They are not available for my March cruise yet and I'm guessing that's the case for your February cruise as well.

Edited May 15, 2023 by OCSC Mike