twangster

Continuing down the beach you'll find the floating bar. One thing I noted was an abundance of umbrellas that are now complimentary. In the past umbrellas had a $20 to $25 charge. Something I don't recall seeing at CocoCay are Beach Beds. These have been a feature at Labadee but I don't recall seeing them at CocoCay before. These are located at the end of the beach area just past the floating bar. Past this area is closed while Coco Beach Club is being built. It also marks the end of the WiFi coverage area.

Chill Island Cabanas These reman where they have been for a several years now before being called Chill Island. They have added a few more and now they approach the Shore Excursion hut where things like Jet Skis depart from.

Beach Bungalows that used to be near South Beach have been relocated to the snorkel beach area. You can see them in the distance at the end of the beach closest to the ships.

There is a back entrance to Thrill Waterpark. Where I am standing you can see the waterslide tower through the palm tree and the top of the ship to the right in the distance. Halfway from Up, Up and Away and the pier.

Chill Island For those who have been to CocoCay before Perfect Day, Chill Island will seem very familiar. To a large degree this is the roots of CocoCay that have grown into Perfect Day. The large walkway leads to a bridge that covers the gap where tender boats used to arrive from visiting ships. Looking back towards the pier. Looking towards the lagoon where tender boats used to dock. Not too far from the bridge there was a collection of beach wheelchairs for accessibility. My understanding is that these are first come, first served. Up to this point a scooter or wheelchair could have navigated the way here. The straw market is not far from where it was in the past. The dive shop remains where it was. Largely unchanged in places. Looks like they were set up for some sort of ceremony.

Up, Up and Away Waiting area for busy days. Unfortunately it was too windy today. There is a Tram Station near the entrance to Up, Up and Away. My little tour is bringing me back towards Thrill Waterpark. i didn't purchase a pass to the Thrill Waterpark this time. I have bought a pass for a future visit at the end of August so for my next few visits to CocoCay I'm sticking to areas that are complementary until I can visit Thrill Waterpark as a participant. And finally back to the Galleon and pier. Now it's time to explore the left side of Perfect Day... Chill Island.

Oasis Lagoon Cabanas Here's a quick look at some cabanas before they were occupied.

Found these complimentary lockers a short walk from Oasis Lagoon Pick a 4 digit code and lock it up.

Oasis Lagoon is pretty massive and there are lots of loungers. The umbrellas pictured are complimentary. Showers to rinse off around the pool in various places. No need to bring life jackets from the ship. Assistive lift. This end is like a beach that is walk in. Mere inches deep at first with a gentle slope towards deeper areas. The water fountains are begging to be played in and perfect for children.

Oasis Lagoon There are a couple of ways to reach Oasis Lagoon. This way having come around through Skipper's Grill or through Chill Island. It's a massive fresh water pool and it's complimentary.

Splashaway Bay located outside of Thrill Waterpark is complimentary. Located sort of between Skipper's Grill and Captain's Jack. Noted that this kid's waterpark does allow swim diapers.

When it doubt go straight... to a bar. Captain Jacks Captain Jacks overlooks part of the lagoon that used to be where tenders would dock. Skipper's Grill also shares this side of the lagoon. Say hello to my little friends... on the side of the lagoon. Zip line rides were already beginning. More on Skipper's grill when lunch is being served later.

CocoCay Finally on the new pier! There were several shuttles running back and forth offering rides to guests. Empress next to her much bigger sister. Live music welcomed us to Perfect Day. Oh boy, which way should I go? Thrill Waterpark to the right is an exclusive area for those who have purchased a waterpark pass. Chill Island to the left. The Galleon for kids is one of the first attractions that's sure to grab the attention of kids. Since the Galleon is outside of the waterpark it's complimentary.

Walking past the Shore Excursion desk I noted this sign: Since I had lots of time I chose Chops for another D+ breakfast. It was empty today so I took the opportunity to grab some pictures. Service was quick. Back to my cabin to get ready to venture out to CocoCay I noted our position and track.

CocoCay Approach Today we share CocoCay with Navigator. She was in position as we approached. Navigator guests weren't disembarking yet as our Captain slowly and gently brought us to the pier. The old tender lagoon has been repurposed. Thrill Waterpark is pretty hard to miss. Still well before our scheduled arrival so I went in to have some breakfast.

Empress and Majesty both don't have a Diamond Lounge and I doubt they'll add one or a nightly unlimited happy hour event. Each ship offers 3 diamond happy hour drinks loaded on the SeaPass card. I don't think they need to add unlimited happy hour drinks to sell the ship. Her new itineraries do that very well. On any given cruise typically 1/3 are return cruisers. Of those a small percentage are diamond or higher. There are exceptions of course, transatlantics, longer itineraries, etc tend to be more top elite heavy. For the last 14 nights I "survived" without unlimited drinks. The other top elite I would run into time and again weren't complaining either. If anything I think it's more likely that unlimited drinks in the Diamond Lounge on other ships may go away at some point. With growing numbers of top elite it doesn't scale to continue offering unlimited drinks. Consider ~70,000 guests on Royal Ships every night. If an average of 8% are happy hour eligible, that's 5,600 people every single day drinking happy hour drinks. Some don't drink, some drink well more than 3 drinks. Within two years there will be >80,000 guests and maybe by that time 10% will be happy hour eligible so that's 8,000 people every single day of the year. Fast forward 5 years. As they add more ships there will be 100,000 guests on Royal ships every night. Let's say by that time 15% are happy hour eligible. Now there are 15,000 people every single day of the year potentially drinking happy hour drinks. While I don't know the exact forecast for the coming years, at some point in the future it won't be viable to offer unlimited happy hour drinks. Years ago they offered free wine in the MDR at dinner. Ships held a few hundred and there were two or three ships. Just like complimentary dinner wine had to go away, so will unlimited happy hour drinks. Neither scale to more and more ships and more top elite numbers unless other changes.

Does anyone? In jest of course, have lived in Tar Heel country...

"Car hire" is not a North American term. My interpretation of a car hire is a rental car - you take possession of vehicle on a short term contract and someone in your party drives it. Is that what you have in mind? If so you will likely need a "mini van" car rental to accommodate six plus luggage. Florida is somewhat the car rental destination of America. So many options. Like asking "I need a hotel, where should I stay"? So many options.

I just left CocoCay a few hours ago. I did note that the Splashaway Bay area noted that swim diapers are allowed. I'm assuming that Bahamas health code allows it, so Royal follows the country of destination at CocoCay.

Day 14, Cruise 2 Day 8 - CocoCay & Perfect Day Early to rise, I spotted our destination in the distance. Strong winds on our approach, I'm glad there is a pier waiting for us. This is where I am going to hit the pause button. I'm writing this from my balcony after we left CocoCay and I haven't started packing yet. Tomorrow is Miami and that dreaded debark day. More. To. Come. Stay tuned but give me a day ot two because I have a lot of pictures to go through. Back soon.

Windjammer for dinner. Tonight's theme: French. I ran into the Hotel Director Julie in the WJ again. If the senior officers are eating in the WJ, I must be on to something. Tonight's Headliner: Kenny James. High energy and a lot of fun. Kenny says he will be on numerous Royal ships over the coming months.

I know, I know. I promised no more sunset pictures. I lied. What a way to end a wonderful day at sea.

Voom check in on a sea day close to Florida:

When I speak of a small ship that doesn't feel small on the inside it's in no small part (pun intended) to spaces like this. The forward elevator lobby and Centrum.

Schooner Bar One some ships the Promenade is the heart of the ship. Here on Empress the Centrum and Schooner Bar assume that role. With views of the sea what's not to like. It also plays host to pub type music, piano music and various game shows and trivia type events. What type of bees produce milk instead of honey? Lessons learned while enjoying a drink at the Schooner Bar.