Questions about Coco Cay

[jazzmom0710]

I have only sailed Royal Carribean once in 8 cruises, but am looking forward to a short Bahama cruise with friends this August. I have a few questions and I know the people on this site know their stuff, so here goes!

 

I hear the weather and winds keep ships from tendering in to Coco Cay quite a bit. We are going to book in August and I was wondering if that time of year is any better that Spring, or later in hurricane season. Wasn't sure if it was just a hit or miss thing or if the time of year had anything to do with the wave and wind problem on the private island.

 

Secondly, if we do make it there....I know we want to snorkel and that the snorkeling is OK but not great. Does RCCL provide snorkeling equipment on the island or is this one of the extra charge things (I'm assuming this is the case)? I also read that they require you to wear a vest??? Is that so?

 

OK and lastly, without looking through a thousand other threads about the private island, can someone give me a quick rundown on all the available options on Coco Cay? I know the obvious things like beach, chairs, snorkeling, hammocks, etc. but want to know the details in activities, food and what equipment is available at no extra charge (umbrellas, floats, etc)

 

Thanks so much in advance. I have always gotten the best advice on this site!!! :)

 

Connie

[cb at sea]

You can rent snorkle gear--I think they require vests on snorkle excursions, but I don't know about on your own.

Things at no charge: Chairs, hammocks, shade trees, BBQ lunch, tea, lemonade (just like the ship).

Floats are a couple of bucks--no need to rent in advance, they have tons of them on the islands.

They have waverunners, banana boats, parasailing, etc... avail. for rent.

I'm sure Coco Cay is about the same as any cruiselines private beach.

[crusinmama06]

We've gone to CoCo Cay twice and both times were in September...prime hurricane season. But we made it there.

 

On the flip side, we've missed doing the Disney Private Island in Feb and the NCL private island in June.

 

So it's all hit/miss.

[GoforaCruise]

I was on the Majesty that went to Nassau, CoCo Cay, and KeyWest.

We saved all beach activities for CoCo Cay day. We had an absolutely wonderful time, and hated to leave. Pretty much a lazy day on the beach. The BBQ was wonderful. There was hamburgers, hot dogs, Ribs, chicken, salad bar, desserts, and many side items. It was an absolutely enjoyable lunch.

 

There are all kinds of water toys to rent (wave runners, parasail, etc). But one thing we loved is the huge inflatable Water Slide. Now they say you should buy a ticket to go on it, but the guy there just let us ride, again, and again. I only bought 1 ticket between 5 of us and we all went down it multiple times. My son must have went down that thing a dozen times. We didn't find out about this Water Slide till after 1:30 pm, and we supposed to leave at 4:00 from there. Very fun.

 

There is a volleyball tournament there, basketball court there, shopping, and some walking trails too. But most people just had a wonderful lazy time on the beach.

[SnorkelChick]

Just did Coco Cay this past Sunday. Snorkeling vests are required even if you're snorkeling on your own. They are $6. Not sure how much rental for other snorkeling equipment is since we brought our own. Older son and husband went on the waverunner 1 hour tour which was $180 range for 2. There was kayaking, not sure how much that cost. There are bars/grills and drink stands selling beer/pop. Also had several shops selling souvenirs. It was a very relaxing, fun day.

[friedshrimp]

How does snorkling work if you wear glasses? DW is nearly blind without them and to use a normal snorkling mask without her glasses would mean she would swim away with just about anyone! :eek: Do they have full face masks that would allow inclusion of glasses or masks that act like glasses or is she SOL? :confused:

[jtwisconsin]

How does snorkling work if you wear glasses? DW is nearly blind without them and to use a normal snorkling mask without her glasses would mean she would swim away with just about anyone! :eek: Do they have full face masks that would allow inclusion of glasses or masks that act like glasses or is she SOL? :confused:

 

 

I have prescription snorkel mask which is the best option. It was around $75.00 and well worth it. I think we purchased it online at snorkelcity.com.

[jtwisconsin]

Does RCCL provide snorkeling equipment on the island or is this one of the extra charge things (I'm assuming this is the case)? I also read that they require you to wear a vest??? Is that so?

 

 

Lots of available snorkel equipment to rent. I brought my own mask and snorkel, so I just rented fins and the vest.

 

And yes, you MUST wear a vest. We watched a few people try to sneak out without one and they were made to return to shore each time by the lifeguards.

[alphakitty]

Here's a link to all the shore excursions and prices for Coco Cay. This is one of my favorite places in the world! Great beach day. There is so much to do, or nothing. Snorkeling was great when I was there....we saw an eagle ray, barracuda, and lots and lots of fish. There is a sunken airplane that really harbors a lot of fish. Snorkeling off to the left around the rocks is really great. BBQ lunch was really good too. If you are looking for some quiet time, venture off to the right of the main beach (facing it) and you will find Wanderer's Beach. It's very quiet and peaceful out there....hammocks and chairs are still to be found. There's also a hiking trail around the island that is great. I've made it 2 for 2 to Coco Cay, hope you have a great day! :)

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/destinations/shoreExcursions/subGateWayByPort/search.do;jsessionid=0000GYLgYqJJ4IclcE7HS_bhduH:10ktmer4a?LocationCode=CCA

[shipshape sam]

Bummer about the vests.

 

We were on Freedom in November and at Labadee were not required to have vests. We just took our mask and snorkel.

 

I do think that Coco Cay is a little more rough water out by the ship wreck

[ashleycrew]

How much do they charge to rent fins and a vest. I am going for the 3 nighter and bringing fins is not worth the extra suitcase and to me $29 to rent everything is not worth it. But I would go snorkling if I could just rent the fins and vest and it was resonably priced.

[shipshape sam]

I agree with you on the fins! The mask is the most important of the three and I kinda like to know who else has been putting the snorkel in their mouth. The fins provided are pretty good for the couple of hours you use them.

 

If I recall, the cost to rent the vest is $6. Not sure you can just rent fins.

 

Just bring your mask/snorkel!:)

[jazzmom0710]

Thanks everyone who responded! I am such a cruise junkie that I think I get almost excitement in planning the trip as the cruise itself. Thanks Kitty for the great link. I feeling really ready to go somewhere after the lousy weather we've had recently in the Midwest (Ohio). To top it all off, I have two friends whose families have just returned from a cruise while we have been shivering... (To think that I took both of them on their first cruise...well kind of!) Sigh...only 7 more weeks of teaching and maybe I can enjoy the summer and look forward to a wonderful trip. Thanks again to everyone here! :)

[lakemom]

hear is a lunch tip...... go to where they are cooking the burgers and get it fresh off the grill:D ask and ye shall recieve

[alphakitty]

That's a good tip Lakemom.

 

Here's a tip....when arriving at the island most people go straight to the main beach and stay there. If you want a less crowded beach, head off to the right of the main beach (facing the water) and keep walking. Not far down, there is another beach, past the big slide that is much quieter, called Wanderer's Beach. That's it in my avitar...it's just beautiful. There are plenty of chairs and hammocks over on that side as well.

[forpaws]

Floats are not a couple of dollars to rent :rolleyes: , they were $10 per day when we were there last August. Didn't want anyone to be misled.

 

Renting the full snorkel eqpt was $18 per day plus $6 for the required vest...don't know if they'll let you just rent fins, however.

 

And as stated, the vest is not optional. This appears to be one RCI rule that is consistently enforced.

[forpaws]

That's a good tip Lakemom.

 

Here's a tip....when arriving at the island most people go straight to the main beach and stay there. If you want a less crowded beach, head off to the right of the main beach (facing the water) and keep walking. Not far down, there is another beach, past the big slide that is much quieter, called Wanderer's Beach. That's it in my avitar...it's just beautiful. There are plenty of chairs and hammocks over on that side as well.

 

This is the beach we went to when we were there, but if you have kids that will be doing a lot of the activity stuff and who will need to be checked on often, I recommend not going that far down because the distance is a killer when you have to hike back and forth to retrieve water shoes and 50 thousand other items that each kid was unable to remember. Plus the time factor - I wasted a lot of my relaxation time with my back and forth trips, and it wasn't possible to quickly check on my niece and nephew either. :rolleyes: ;)

 

The upside is that the area is much less crowded if you don't have kids, nicely shaded, comfortable hammocks, and the beach area has a great deal of shallow water which allows smaller kids to safely enjoy the beach. The shallow area goes quite a ways out. It was in this area that we saw the small shark swimming around.

 

I was exhausted by the time we returned to the ship just from my 10 hikes in the hot sun. :rolleyes: ;)