Great Stirrup Cay compared to CocoCay

[gam888]

We are considering a short cruise in December with Norwegian Sky or Majesty of the Sea (Royal Caribbean). Could anyone please compare their private islands, Great Stirrup Cay with Coco Cay. Which one is nice in terms of sand, calm and cleanness of water, lunch served by cruise ship on the beach, and free activities. Thank you. We are 2 adults and 3 teenagers. Have cruised on Carnival but never NCL or RCC

[Loyal2RCCL]

IMHO, there is no comparison between Great Strirrup and CocoCay. CocoCay wins hands down!

 

NCL has not developed much of their island, therefore the only place for people is on the beach where the tender lands. There are very few chairs for all the passengers and it gets very crowded. The bar and food service facility is basically one large area and again, not large enough for everyone. The lunch buffet is marginal and there are very few facilities on the island.

 

In contrast, CocoCay is wonderful. RCCL has developed the area with plenty of lounge chairs and hammocks. There are several beach areas to enjoy and it's possible to find totally secluded spots on the sand if you want to be away from the crowds. There are several food service and bar facilities as well as a water sports complex, floating iceberg/climbing wall, waterslide, volleyball area etc. There are also several hiking trails around the island etc. Because CocoCay is so well planned and spread out, you won't feel as crowded as you would at Great Stirrup.

 

If I were ever to take another NCL cruise (highly unlikely) I wouldn't even get off the ship at Great Stirrup.

[Aquahound]

I have also been to both and also agree that Coco Cay (aka Little Stirrup)is leaps and bounds better that Great Stirrup. There are more beaches on Coco and it is easy to find secluded beaches.

 

NCL only leases part of Great Stirrup. RCI leases all of Coco, with the exception of one parcel that has a house on it.

 

One good thing about Great Stirrup is the lighthouse on the other side of the island. You can't go in it, but it makes for good pictures.

[ksmaage]

While I have never been to Great Stirrup Cay I can attest that Coco is fantastic. You cant go wrong there.

 

One other thing. Since you are cruising in December you run a greater chance that the seas will be too rough to tender to either island. This happened to us on our last trip on Monarch and after reading a few threads on this site, it sounds as though its hit or miss in the winter months.

[Patrick45]

Is there storage lockers on the island for personal stuff? Really don't want to leave my stuff laying on the beach.

[cb at sea]

Don't bring too much with you---no one wants your paperback book, and your seapass is useless to anyone else---your picture is "linked" to it.

If you really need to bring your expensive camera, you can always take it back to the ship when you decide to go and do watersports. Or, just bring a cheap disposable--no one wants your pictures, either---just the camera!

We routinely leave our stuff on the beach---we're not THAT far away! You have no need of any major cash or credit card on the private beach.

[Cruising89143]

There is no comparison IMHO. I have been to GSC three times with the first time back in 1986. Very little has been done to the island to improve it. I was there again in 07 on the Dawn and it was crowded. Very crowded. Coco Cay is much better just for the space and beach areas offered.

[uksimonusa]

Have only been to Coco Cay, but as they are next door to each other, the water and sand should not vary, looking over at GSC from Coco Cay, there didn't seem to be much there

[familyof4cruising]

IMO Coco Cay is better. It is always less crowded( or feels like it).

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I much, much prefer Coco Cay to Great Stirrup Cay. The food was way better. I have a favorite place at Coco Cay I love to lounge. I couldn't find any place at GSC that I wnated to really hang out and just enjoy the day. Coco Cay seems more scenic. It seems less crowded.

 

I couldn't wait to get back to the ship from GSC, but I linger much longer at Coco Cay.

 

GSC is just OK, but Coco Cay is very special to me.

[Cancunense]

Hey...we live on one of the most beautiful beaches i have ever seen around the world..and yet, everytime I have been to cococay...my camera comes out and I am transfixed....while we have one day in 10 where its flat as a lake in Cancun on the wavy side...it is beautifully flat in cococay most of the time.

That said, we have only made it there in 1 of 3 cruises that go there because of problems to get the water shuttle there...so perhaps we missed the wavy days.

I understand that there is a dock being built there to ensure that these odds actually increase.

We sailed the Majesty once 3 x in a row and made it to Coco Cay just once !:eek:

[Aquahound]

I understand that there is a dock being built there to ensure that these odds actually increase.

 

Labadee is getting the pier, not Coco Cay.

[leeanninfla]

Having actually been to both, i will take GSC hands down. A great lagoon to just sit on my float and drink my pina colada all day. I don't need the inflatable slides and iceburgs that I have to pay more for to have a good time.

I was at GSC just 3 weeks ago, and they are actually working on a new area of the island, adding more beach area, more on island activities and fun. I live here in Ft Lauderdale and can go to the beach whenever I want, but GSC is the beach I prefer to be at.

[Cancunense]

Labadee is getting the pier, not Coco Cay.

Three separate times on three separate cruises we were informed by staff that CocoCay was getting a dock so that the odds would increase.

Ladadee is one port I dont mind missing whatsover.

[cantwait2cruize]

NCL should be embarrassed of their private island:eek:

[seasearider]

Coco Cay hands down, but the cabins on the Sky are significantly bigger.

[CPT Trips]

Having been to both, I enjoyed both. I would not use a comparison to determine which cruise line to use. NCL's island is slightly less developed, but there were plenty of chairs/hammocks etc. On the plus side, NCL's landing craft are a heck of a lot more fun tendering that the ship's lifeboats.

 

Since they are about a mile apart (OK, just a guess) and you can easily see the ship from the other line when both are in use, there is no difference at all as far as your odds of not being able to tender.

[hotrod1954]

We were at CoCOcay last nov. the Monarch and the NCL ship both left because the waves were to rough. 10 ft seas we were told. The tender boat looked like a bober on a fishing pole. Both ships pulled up anchors at the same time.

[TPKeller]

You can't tell much from the Google imagery, but you can at least get a feel for where they are and their proximity to one another from my Cruise Map of CocoCay and Great Stirrup Cay.

 

Hopefully one day Google will see fit to update their data and we can get a better look from the sky.

 

Theron

[Kwynot]

Having never been on RCL (until 2010) I can only give my experience of GSC. The reports on the NCL CC links were not too promising, but all in all we had a wonderful day - and we were there in December. I didn't find the beach to be so horribly crowded, in fact we could have had our pick of chairs. The lounges were scoffed up first, but the sand chairs were plentiful.

 

I understand GSC needs to be "updated" and possibly more beach area added (as some are indicating in this thread) but the tenders there are apparently from Norway, and very efficient shuttles that can hold a lot of people.

 

Supposedly the week before we went on our cruise the weather was not that great in the Bahamas. We heard NCL actually moved anchor over by RCL to assist getting the passengers back onto the Monarch because the waves were so bad. Then NCL went back to get their own passengers.

 

JMO

[Tom426]

We were just at GSC and had a great time! We were on the first tender and grabbed two hammocks and a picnic table when we hit the beach. The weather was great and we had an amazing time snorkeling! I thought the food was good and the volleyball game was alot of fun for my son. Had plenty of options for drinks during the day and can't wait to visit again!

 

You can see CC and the RCCL ship when they are visiting. It is very close but I couldn't really see what type of facilities are available there.

[CarpeCerevisi]

Having been to both, I enjoyed both. I would not use a comparison to determine which cruise line to use. NCL's island is slightly less developed, but there were plenty of chairs/hammocks etc. On the plus side, NCL's landing craft are a heck of a lot more fun tendering that the ship's lifeboats.

 

Since they are about a mile apart (OK, just a guess) and you can easily see the ship from the other line when both are in use, there is no difference at all as far as your odds of not being able to tender.

 

Royal Caribbean also uses large dedicated tenders for Coco Cay. I would estimate that they hold around 350 people and are a lot more comfortable than the life boat tenders.

 

So far, I've been lucky getting to Coco Cay. In six trips I've only missed it once and four of those six were in December while the other two were in March. The one miss was during New Year's.

 

I can't comment on Great Stirrup Cay as I've never been there, however, I love Coco Cay, especially as a break from a New York winter.

[hotrod1954]

If Its windy at Coco cay it is to windy a GSC. NCl and RCL both leave when it is to windy. The incident you describe the wind came up suddenly and they helped each other out

[Cruising89143]

Three separate times on three separate cruises we were informed by staff that CocoCay was getting a dock so that the odds would increase.

Ladadee is one port I dont mind missing whatsover.

 

You were given incorrect information. Coco Cay is not getting a pier.

[Aquahound]

You were given incorrect information. Coco Cay is not getting a pier.

 

Cancunense made that post over a year ago. This is an old thread. Hopefully, they now believe it was Labadee getting the dock, not Coco Cay. ;)