CocoCay vs. Labadee

[aearly]

Hey,

 

I am going on the 8/4 Eastern Caribbean sailing of the Mariner; one of our ports being CocoCay.

 

I have been to Labadee before... love it! How is CocoCay compared to Labadee? Better, worse... etc

 

Thanks!

[uksimonusa]

Hey,

 

I am going on the 8/4 Eastern Caribbean sailing of the Mariner; one of our ports being CocoCay.

 

I have been to Labadee before... love it! How is CocoCay compared to Labadee? Better, worse... etc

 

Thanks!

 

We prefer Coco Cay, great sand sun and sea. If you walk around the island, there are a lot of quiet beach areas to enjoy. They also have a massive water slide that is fun for kids and adults alike. Staff at the Straw Market are also not so pushy on Coco Cay

[Driftwoodgal]

I am not a big beach person, but I did prefer Coco Cay over Labadee. There are several coves that you could choose from and for some reason it didn't seem as crowded. The vendors at Coco Cay aren't as pushy as Labadee.

[rorito]

How does the snorkeling compare?

[GMoney]

How does the snorkeling compare?

 

Way better at CC...

[BearySweet2Cruise]

We too liked cococay better than Labadee... the water was clearer adn there was always a shady spot to be found.. the hammocks were great.

We parasailed in Labadee and kayaked in cococay.. cococay was nicer.

[cb at sea]

I love them both! I think Labadee is more scenic, but Coco Cay is great, too! I never found either to be crowded--once you get past the 1st beach area where 90% of the people stop and drop!!

[LenaDaLlama]

CocoCay is the best for privacy.....

I was trying to post a picture but I had them saved to a CD at CVS and apparently I cannot change the size of the picture to post them on here (ANOTHER lesson learned).....

 

Cococay is the best

[alexkrn46]

Have been to both twice and like each place. Labadee the tender ride is a bit shorter and the beach is very close to where the tender disembarks.

 

Cocco Cay there is more privacy, but the beaches are bit rocky and they have jelly fish.

 

You really can't go wrong with either one.

Alex

[LenaDaLlama]

all the islands have jelly fish but depending on the time of year it can be heavy or light in the critter department...it even varies from morning to afternoon....don't let that scare you away tho....it's still awesome gorgeous!!

[Bonnie Voyager]

I guess I am the exception here! I MUCH prefer Labadee! Both are nice, but Labadee is about the most stunningly beautiful spot I've ever seen. Coco Cay is very pretty where RCCL has worked her magic but the natural part of the island is rather scruffy and unattractive in my opinion. Labadee is situated in the midst of lush tropical splendour in all directions! Food and activities were the same at both stops. Snorkelling was better at Coco Cay. I would revisit Coco Cay in a heartbeat if that's where my ship is going but I specifically CHOOSE itineraries that go to Labadee!

[pinkrosesdeb]

I'm with Bonnie on this one, when you wake up and look over towards the island of Labadee it makes you catch your breath. It looks like something on a postcard. Mountains, surrounded by blue- green water. And the island layout itself is bigger than coco cay with a tram to take you from end to end with many choices of beach etc. I guess it impressed me because while we live within 4 miles of 1 of the most beautiful beaches anywhere, it is FLAT. Siesta Key Beach has incredible sand etc. but the scenery in Labadee is spectacular.

[Tys Mom]

Consider me uninformed.....

 

Are Labadee and Coco Cay both private islands owned by RCL? :confused:

[Zoey1]

Hey,

 

I am going on the 8/4 Eastern Caribbean sailing of the Mariner; one of our ports being CocoCay.

 

I have been to Labadee before... love it! How is CocoCay compared to Labadee? Better, worse... etc

 

Thanks!

 

 

I just got off the 5/28 sailing of the Mariner, you will love her. We felt Coco Cay is not nearly as pretty or as clean as Labadee however it was still a lovely day, we rented floating mats and enjoyed relaxing.

Wendy

[LenaDaLlama]

perhaps labadee is nicer i don't know....I have only been to cococay twice and only on the private side....actually was a little upset that the water activities and the big slide were moved to the quiet side of the island.... but it turned out there was still PLENTY of beach beyond that was private and gorgeous and it still amazed me that absolutely NOBODY came by all day long!! So it's apparently still a very well kept secret....

[CruiserFromPhilly]

I heard there is a bbq on the beach at Labadee.......is this courtesy of RCL or do you have to pay for the food? was wondering

[labeachcomber]

Consider me uninformed.....

 

Are Labadee and Coco Cay both private islands owned by RCL? :confused:

Coco Cay most definitely is owned by RCCL. Labadee, I believe, is actually part of Haiti, but I am guessing that this part of the island is also owned by RCCL.

 

There is a barbecue on Labadee, set up like a buffet. I don't recall paying for anything. There was a local island band that played during lunchtime.

[zackiedawg]

BBQ is free - and is staffed by the ship staff. There are two food areas at Labadee...one main one, and one for drinks and snacks.

 

Add me to the list who prefers Labadee - Maybe I'm a bit spoiled living in South Florida where flat land, white sand beaches, and warm tropical water is abundant - but all of the Bahamian islands, though very nice, don't really offer anything drastically different from what I get at home.

 

Labadee, with the soaring thousand-foot mountains cutting off the peninsula from mainland, white sand beaches separated by rocky outcroppings and cliffs, trails wandering through forests allowing you to climb rocks littered with ruins of old structures, hermit crabs and iguanas crunching through the brush, dragon's breath hissing and breathing in the waves, and a chance to see a friendly little Haitian fishing village right next door from the decks of the ship as they go about their daily routines - just provides so much more interest and flavor for me than another pretty little Bahamian island.

 

Maybe if I didn't live in Florida, right across from the Bahamas, I might find Coco Cay to be more fascinating - so I'll admit my view is somewhat skewed!

[zuscruiserz]

Zackiedawg - what an awesome verbal picture, can't wait to see it in person next August!!!

[LenaDaLlama]

I think I figured out the picture thing...

 

CocoCay April 2006

[Slam308]

I've been on 6 cruises going to Labadee...because of Labadee. Our last cruise we went to Cococay.

Labadee IS more picturesque. The surrounding mountains are gorgeous. The area has a beautiful little hill you can climb up (there are steps) to get a great shot of the ship. Cococay is basically flat.

But, the beach area of Cococay is so much better! Picture those Corona commercials...nothing around... Take a walk past all the bars and service areas, this is what you get! Soft sand, lots of hammocks, great snorkling. Again, go past all of that and you have about 1/2 mile to a mile of nothing but beach. No one else around. There are 2-3 lounge chairs every so often.

I would pick Cococay again in a second!

[Morgsmom]

We had to cancel our Labadee call two years ago because of the unrest in Port au Prince, but made it there on a Western Mariner itinerary last August... it was breathtaking... Yes, there are jelly fish and several kids had large welts after being bitten so it is something to keep in mind (but, as previous poster said, there are plenty of squirmy things under any Caribbean water). We swam right next to the HUNKY Cap'n of the Mariner and his lovely wife (visiting from Norway) and enjoyed fabulous BBQ lunch. The marketplace is VERY aggressive and I frequently told vendors in the meanest mamma cat voice that I could muster that they could talk to me and offer me "bargains" but leave the girl (my 9 y.o. DD) ALONE. Period. They got it after I shot them the "you can try to mess with me, but if you lay one hand on my kid we've got a problem" look. Otherwise (the aggressive vendors where you don't even have to go) it is a perfect day in paradise.:o

[PhinsAndGills]

There is a Beach BBQ on BOTH Islands (At least there was when I was there). Both were neat, clean, and well stocked. No complaints with either.

 

The shopping on Labadee provides more choices and more unique stuff (Check out my thread about Haitian steel art). However, the local market at Labadee IS very pushy. Shopping at CocoCay provides all the typical Caribbean-tourist souvineers, but is basically hassle-free. CocoCay is the only place I've had my hair braided. I had NO problems (other than the sunburn on my scalp, ouch.)

 

Snorkeling, in my opinion, is WORLDS better on CocoCay. CocoCay is the only place I've seen a pufferfish and eagle rays. The marine life is SO COOL. There's not much coral, but LOTS of fish. The day we were at Labadee, the water was SO ROUGH it was hard to snorkel. There were little to no fish but a whole lot of small conch shells. I'd like to go back when the water is smoother.

 

When you're talking landscape, Labadee is the winner for me. The mountains are just awesome and you can get some VERY cool pictures of your ship from the beach. I liked the way Slam described CocoCay - it IS basically a Corona ad. The picture we used on my wedding invitations was taken on CocoCay.

 

Hope this helps, enjoy wherever you sail.

 

I found some old threads that you might enjoy:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=357881

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=357718

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=337852

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=262963

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=335437

[nfused2cruze]

I agree with Labadee.

Although it's been a few years ago it was just like a postcard. Sitting on the beach with the ship in sight was great.

 

CocoCay had pine trees and pine needles on the beach! Could not walk barefoot, ugh! It was like seaside in New Jersey (which ain't bad mind you) but for an island experience, it wasn't right. :D

[atlcple2]

I myself wasn't all that impressed with Coco Cay. First of all, you must have cash with you on the island. If you did not pre-purchase tickets for the slide and other water sports, you can still do them on the island, you just have to pay cash for it....that includes drinks on the island. Your sea pass card is of no use to you there. The food was okay...nothing really to brag about and lots of flies all over the place. We had to walk around and around to find chairs to lay in and personally, it just wasn't worth waiting over an hour standing in line to get on a tender back to the ship. We went in February and the water was so cold, it took my breath when I stepped in it!