Cococay/Castaway Cay

[Mozart527]

Background here:

1 RCCL cruise on Monarch that didn't go to Cococay. 3 Disney cruises that have been to Castaway Cay 5 times.

 

We love Disney, but in order to save over $1,000 on a 7 night cruise for two people, we're considering switching to RCCL for a cruise next year. The decision: 7 Night Eastern Carib to St. Maarten and St. Thomas cruising out of Port Canaveral. Disney Magic or Freedom of the Seas. Magic goes to Castaway, Freedom goes to Cococay.

 

I feel like I know enough about the ships to be able to tell the difference, but we absolutely love Castaway. Can anyone who has been to both private islands give their description of the differences between the two? I understand that you have to tender in to Cococay, but other than that don't really know anything about it.

 

Just for the record, we're two adults in our late 30's travelling alone, no kids.

 

Thanks.

[Pumbaamd]

We think you should give Coco Cay a shot. You've been to Castaway many times. Never to Coco.

We went to Castaway many years ago on Magic. We had a really great time. We've been to Coco twice and have had an equally good time. The only major difference is the tendering, and that is not a problem. The three very large tenders are stationed on Coco Cay and run continiously back and forth. It's at most an 8-10 minute ride and part of the fun.

And to cruise on Freedom, that's something special.

Rick and Deirdra

[amybeth4]

I would worry more (and by "worry" I mean "concern yourself with," not "WORRY") about the ship and itinerary than the private island.

 

To me, ANY day that's at a private island is a fabulous day. Coco Cay is really lovely. It's just a GREAT beach day with beautiful sand and water...and alcohol. At like 10am. :)

[BTSEN5]

We went on our first cruise on the Disney Magic in 2006. In 2008, we were on the EAstern Freedom which stopped at CocoCay, so I have been to both. I have to say that there is something "magical" about Castaway Cay. This is mainly due to the fact that this was our first cruise, we were on cloud 9 because years ago we would never have imagined being able to do that, and my kids were just ecstatic throughout it all.

 

I did like Cococay though. It is a beautiful island with many beach areas. It was set up very nicely. The BBQ was fantastic, and there were plenty of beach chairs etc. I loved it.

 

In one sense, the whole Disney experience can't be beat, but Cococay is by all means a comparable island experience.

 

As far as the ship, Freedom beats Disney hands down. We find that there is so much to do and the opportunity later at night is much more appealing to us. The Freedom is a wonderful ship, and even my kids like their clubs better that what is on Disney. You will be happy regardless, I believe.

[tekmnky]

Background here:

1 RCCL cruise on Monarch that didn't go to Cococay. 3 Disney cruises that have been to Castaway Cay 5 times.

 

We love Disney, but in order to save over $1,000 on a 7 night cruise for two people, we're considering switching to RCCL for a cruise next year. The decision: 7 Night Eastern Carib to St. Maarten and St. Thomas cruising out of Port Canaveral. Disney Magic or Freedom of the Seas. Magic goes to Castaway, Freedom goes to Cococay.

 

I feel like I know enough about the ships to be able to tell the difference, but we absolutely love Castaway. Can anyone who has been to both private islands give their description of the differences between the two? I understand that you have to tender in to Cococay, but other than that don't really know anything about it.

 

Just for the record, we're two adults in our late 30's travelling alone, no kids.

 

Thanks.

 

Mozart527, just some personal observations:

1. On Coco Cay you won't find the defined seperation of areas for teens, families and adults like you have at Castaway Cay. Coco Cay has nothing that compares to Castaway's Serenity Bay.

2. On Coco Cay you won't find the paved walkways or trams that were available on Castaway Cay. There is one stretch of blacktop on Coco Cay that runs along the beach-side of the island, but all the other walking areas are sand, loose or hard-packed, depending on the area. The upside is that you don't have as far to travel to get to the beach area on Coco Cay once you're off the tender.

3. As you mentioned, Coco Cay is tendered and that makes it a little more of an issue for getting back and forth to the ship. The tender lines can get pretty long on Coco Cay at the end of the day, but they normally have two or more tenders running. Just something to bear in mind when planning your return to the ship.

 

Go ahead and enjoy the Freedom cruise! You may find, as I did, that you get spoiled by all the onboard activities/venues that RCI's Freedom-class (and Voyager-class) ships offer. The price difference alone is a great motivator and you'll love the ship. I'm a balcony snob and have found that for the price difference between the two cruise lines I can jump up to a Junior Suite on RCI and still normally pay less per cruise than a Cat 5 balcony on Disney.

 

I love Disney, but I've got to say that I've gotten spoiled by the Royal Caribbean Freedom and Voyager-class ships. I can't wait for the new DCL ships to hit the water.

[tchrmom]

We too, were devoted Disney cruisers..........but, like you, we needed to save money, since our kids got older and we could no longer afford to cruise during their "value seasons". While we have not done Coco Cay...........we did do their private beach in Labadee. Labadee is NO Castaway Cay............but the concept is almost identical. The bar-b-que.....while nice, was NOT as good as Cookies' Bar-b-que. I was not crazy about the day on this beach..........but it didn't make me NOT cruise RCCL again. I would like to try Coco Cay, but our Freedom cruise goes to Labadee again. You have to remember that Disney CREATED their island. They knew what guest wanted, and designed it from there. Enjoy your RCCL cruise.......Let us know what Coco Cay is like!

[hotrod1954]

Background here:

1 RCCL cruise on Monarch that didn't go to Cococay. 3 Disney cruises that have been to Castaway Cay 5 times.

 

We love Disney, but in order to save over $1,000 on a 7 night cruise for two people, we're considering switching to RCCL for a cruise next year. The decision: 7 Night Eastern Carib to St. Maarten and St. Thomas cruising out of Port Canaveral. Disney Magic or Freedom of the Seas. Magic goes to Castaway, Freedom goes to Cococay.

 

I feel like I know enough about the ships to be able to tell the difference, but we absolutely love Castaway. Can anyone who has been to both private islands give their description of the differences between the two? I understand that you have to tender in to Cococay, but other than that don't really know anything about it.

 

Just for the record, we're two adults in our late 30's travelling alone, no kids.

 

Thanks.

Here is a link to My pictures of Coco Cay enjoy

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/572767159LyYONj

[hotrod1954]

Mozart527, just some personal observations:

1. On Coco Cay you won't find the defined seperation of areas for teens, families and adults like you have at Castaway Cay. Coco Cay has nothing that compares to Castaway's Serenity Bay.

2. On Coco Cay you won't find the paved walkways or trams that were available on Castaway Cay. There is one stretch of blacktop on Coco Cay that runs along the beach-side of the island, but all the other walking areas are sand, loose or hard-packed, depending on the area. The upside is that you don't have as far to travel to get to the beach area on Coco Cay once you're off the tender.

3. As you mentioned, Coco Cay is tendered and that makes it a little more of an issue for getting back and forth to the ship. The tender lines can get pretty long on Coco Cay at the end of the day, but they normally have two or more tenders running. Just something to bear in mind when planning your return to the ship.

 

Go ahead and enjoy the Freedom cruise! You may find, as I did, that you get spoiled by all the onboard activities/venues that RCI's Freedom-class (and Voyager-class) ships offer. The price difference alone is a great motivator and you'll love the ship. I'm a balcony snob and have found that for the price difference between the two cruise lines I can jump up to a Junior Suite on RCI and still normally pay less per cruise than a Cat 5 balcony on Disney.

 

I love Disney, but I've got to say that I've gotten spoiled by the Royal Caribbean Freedom and Voyager-class ships. I can't wait for the new DCL ships to hit the water.

we were just there and they had 4 tenders running the only issue about Coco Cay is the rough seas mostly in the winter time is when we missed going because of the seas