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Coco cay is incredible!


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We have been trying to get to Coco cay since before this miserable pandemic and we are finally here on Oasis. This could not be better and cooler. I watched, we watched a million videos of this island and none of really prepared us for how freaking awesome it truly it. Kids are having a blast and there is no better value on vacations at all. We will be back here on Oasis or anthem and probably both. This splash away bay is just amazing. The dump buckets are just so much fun. This vacation was worth every penny even with a 7 month old which can be a bit challenging at times. 9 year old is having the time of his life. Just loving this! Loving this!

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Couldn't agree more and I have no kids. The beauty of it for me is that it can appeal to so many people in so many different ways.

Kids, no kids, young, old, beach lover or not, pool lover or not, snorkeler or not, loud music lover or not, food over-indulger or not, water park enthusiast or not, spend money on a cabana or spend nothing extra... you get the idea.

We went on a B2B 3 and 4-nighter last month and the double Cococay stop was one of the reasons. It wasn't the only reason but we may do the exact same thing in October.

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57 minutes ago, Pooch said:

I’m glad our next visit to Coco Cay occurs at the beginning of the cruise.  In March it was our last day & frankly I was too vacationed out to really explore & enjoy.  On our May Harmony cruise, it’s day 2👍👍

That's funny. It was day 2 for us on Harmony 5/29. While looking at future cruises we saw some Harmony itineraries where it was day 7 and thought that was less than optimal. Part of our reasoning was how much we eat on Cococay. I weigh about 10 lbs less on day 2 than day 7, lol. Then again, on the B2B we were there on days 2 and 6 and I don't remember having any issues on the 2nd stop.

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14 minutes ago, teddy said:

We did this in November 2021 and enjoyed the two days there so much that we booked another 3N/4N with CocoCay stops for next February. 

I thought I was being creative when I suggested the idea to my wife... and then learned lots of people do it, especially locals who can drive to the port like us.

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13 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

I thought I was being creative when I suggested the idea to my wife... and then learned lots of people do it, especially locals who can drive to the port like us.

I originally sold it to my wife by saying flights Maine were a big part of the cost of cruising, and since we were already on the ship, we should stay onboard and make it a full week.

To be honest, we previously did one of the cruises on Adventure from Nassau that had two stops there, and I think CocoCay's funnel cake is the reason she agreed to the b2b so readily. 😄

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13 minutes ago, teddy said:

I originally sold it to my wife by saying flights Maine were a big part of the cost of cruising, and since we were already on the ship, we should stay onboard and make it a full week.

To be honest, we previously did one of the cruises on Adventure from Nassau that had two stops there, and I think CocoCay's funnel cake is the reason she agreed to the b2b so readily. 😄

Factoring in the flight cost is very logical... but I agree the funnel cake should be a bigger factor. 😋

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3 hours ago, RCIfan1912 said:

We have been trying to get to Coco cay since before this miserable pandemic and we are finally here on Oasis. This could not be better and cooler. I watched, we watched a million videos of this island and none of really prepared us for how freaking awesome it truly it. Kids are having a blast and there is no better value on vacations at all. We will be back here on Oasis or anthem and probably both. This splash away bay is just amazing. The dump buckets are just so much fun. This vacation was worth every penny even with a 7 month old which can be a bit challenging at times. 9 year old is having the time of his life. Just loving this! Loving this!

Couldn't agree more!  Was by far our favorite spot, everyone loved it.  Hoping there will be some itineraries with 2 Perfect Day stops (or maybe an overnight, even if access to the island closes at a certain point?) in the future, would book it in a second.  Would love to do a day in the park and a day at the Beach Club or just getting a beach bed.  Could market it as a "Thrill and Chill at Coco Cay" trip!

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3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

;loud music lover or not,

Here's to hoping people will leave their speakers home or on the ship.  My last 2 visits to CocoCay people felt the need to blast their speaker.  It takes away from the relaxation at  the beach.  The last time the person turned on their speaker, it was connected to a source, and  they all left their seating and left the music blasting.  After an hour I stood up and turned off the speaker. 
  I am greatful that I did not have 2 competing speakers with different music.  Changing seats when the beach is crowded is not an option. 
Staff did not care when I asked if they could address it they said no. 
Soon enough the beach will be like public beaches on Long Island.  Competing loud music.  Geez, I'm getting old! LOL

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56 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

Here's to hoping people will leave their speakers home or on the ship.  My last 2 visits to CocoCay people felt the need to blast their speaker.  It takes away from the relaxation at  the beach.  The last time the person turned on their speaker, it was connected to a source, and  they all left their seating and left the music blasting.  After an hour I stood up and turned off the speaker. 
  I am greatful that I did not have 2 competing speakers with different music.  Changing seats when the beach is crowded is not an option. 
Staff did not care when I asked if they could address it they said no. 
Soon enough the beach will be like public beaches on Long Island.  Competing loud music.  Geez, I'm getting old! LOL

Don't even know what to say. Some people are just that self-centered. So sorry you had to deal with that... twice no less!

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3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Factoring in the flight cost is very logical... but I agree the funnel cake should be a bigger factor. 😋

See and I missed all the best food I think.  We walked to the left, parked our butts at the first likely looking loungers & were opposite a pretty tame buffet area (although the steak sandwiches were darn good).  Pretty sure there was better or at least more choices if I had the energy to look around.

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10 minutes ago, Pooch said:

See and I missed all the best food I think.  We walked to the left, parked our butts at the first likely looking loungers & were opposite a pretty tame buffet area (although the steak sandwiches were darn good).  Pretty sure there was better or at least more choices if I had the energy to look around.

I grew up outside Philly, so no comment on the "steak sandwiches", lol, but glad you enjoyed them. I've never actually tried one to be fair.

I don't get to eat Mexican much at home as my wife is picky so any all you can eat taco set up tastes good to me. Freshly making the tortillas is a nice touch though.

That said, what you missed were the "snack shacks." One is between the pool and Chill Island. There are also snack shacks in the water park and on South Beach.

They're really just small counter service places but they have great fried chicken sandwiches, mozzarella sticks, and the aforementioned funnel cakes.

I like the chicken sandwiches how they come but one hack is to get a plain one and put the mozz sticks and marinara on top for a chicken parm sandwich.

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Now what I wrote earlier was before we even got to that huge, HUGE wading pool! That just topped everything off. I mean holy cow incredible. And HUGE! The Oasis lagoon was awesome too. Definitely coming back here more than a few times. Just so impressed and loved everything about this Island. 

We want to come back in like January or February. It was a little too hot for my wife. She burns very, very beyond easily and bad. We sunscreened up and she is still burnt up a crisp. Sunscreen twice. 

Oh by the way we were the only ship there today so that was a bonus. 

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8 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Agreed! I hate CocoCay on the last day of a cruise!

I actually was torn between dec harmony  and symphony and while I wanted to go on symphony more, I didn’t like the itinerary order of cococay on the last day vs a sea day.  So now I get Nassau day 2 (we won’t even get off the boat and can sleep in) and the coco cay day 3 followed by a sea day!  Jane

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56 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

Now what I wrote earlier was before we even got to that huge, HUGE wading pool! That just topped everything off. I mean holy cow incredible. And HUGE! The Oasis lagoon was awesome too. Definitely coming back here more than a few times. Just so impressed and loved everything about this Island. 

We want to come back in like January or February. It was a little too hot for my wife. She burns very, very beyond easily and bad. We sunscreened up and she is still burnt up a crisp. Sunscreen twice. 

Oh by the way we were the only ship there today so that was a bonus. 

I am tempted to do the water slide pass to get that pool, but I think we will settle for oasis lagoon.  Air fare in December is gonna kill us!   But I did check and harmony will be the only ship there my day as well.  Yeah!   Jane

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Last time I was at PDCC I had cute baby chicks pecking at my toes as I read a book on my kindle. For a solo traveler that was everything I wanted and more from PDCC......well and a funnel cake with ice cream. My Nov Odyssey cruise hits up PDCC, the fifth time this year, and Labadee. You would think you would get tired of it but each time you do something different, eat something amazing and see something crazy. 

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8 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Last time I was at PDCC I had cute baby chicks pecking at my toes as I read a book on my kindle. For a solo traveler that was everything I wanted and more from PDCC......well and a funnel cake with ice cream. My Nov Odyssey cruise hits up PDCC, the fifth time this year, and Labadee. You would think you would get tired of it but each time you do something different, eat something amazing and see something crazy. 

Our animal encounter last trip was when we were sitting in the Oasis pool on the underwater benches by the trees (love the combo of shade and the pool when it's so hot out)... a large iguana decided to wander out from the trees/bushes and hang out by the edge of the pool for hours, lol.

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We had an unplanned stop at Coco Cay while on Explorer at the end of June.  We were supposed to be in Aruba/Curacao, but TS Bonnie forced a change.  Because we weren't planning on being there, we weren't too prepared for it.  We decided that we would carry over our credits for cancelled excursion and do the Beach Club.  We were blown away by it.  The facility was top notch, the beach was the best of all our stops and the pool was perfect.  Throw in the incredible service and the gourmet restaurant and it ended up being our best stop of the week.  The stop ended up being on our last day, so that wasn't ideal, but that was more our scheduling preference than anything to do with the facility.

Our next sail won't be for more than a year from now, but we found an itinerary that will take us to Coco Cay on day 1 and then to Aruba/Curacao to make up for our missed days there.  Not sure if we'll do the Beach Club again or explore the area and save some cash.

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On 8/17/2022 at 4:48 PM, OCSC Mike said:

I grew up outside Philly, so no comment on the "steak sandwiches", lol, but glad you enjoyed them. I've never actually tried one to be fair.

I don't get to eat Mexican much at home as my wife is picky so any all you can eat taco set up tastes good to me. Freshly making the tortillas is a nice touch though.

That said, what you missed were the "snack shacks." One is between the pool and Chill Island. There are also snack shacks in the water park and on South Beach.

They're really just small counter service places but they have great fried chicken sandwiches, mozzarella sticks, and the aforementioned funnel cakes.

I like the chicken sandwiches how they come but one hack is to get a plain one and put the mozz sticks and marinara on top for a chicken parm sandwich.

Where about?  I grew up in the city, lived in Lansdale and Newark, DE (and worked in Langhorne and Newtown). 
 

Those chicken sandwiches are good with a little mayo. I’ll have to try the mozzarella and sauce now 🤤

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On 8/17/2022 at 4:48 PM, OCSC Mike said:

I grew up outside Philly, so no comment on the "steak sandwiches", lol, but glad you enjoyed them. I've never actually tried one to be fair.

I don't get to eat Mexican much at home as my wife is picky so any all you can eat taco set up tastes good to me. Freshly making the tortillas is a nice touch though.

That said, what you missed were the "snack shacks." One is between the pool and Chill Island. There are also snack shacks in the water park and on South Beach.

They're really just small counter service places but they have great fried chicken sandwiches, mozzarella sticks, and the aforementioned funnel cakes.

I like the chicken sandwiches how they come but one hack is to get a plain one and put the mozz sticks and marinara on top for a chicken parm sandwich.

I'm also from Philly (live across the street from the two famous cheesesteak spots, and run multiple cheesesteak facebook groups, lol) So I'm really looking forward to trying the cheesesteaks on the ship and on CoCo cay...as Research, of course!  

On 8/17/2022 at 8:58 PM, RCIfan1912 said:

Now what I wrote earlier was before we even got to that huge, HUGE wading pool! That just topped everything off. I mean holy cow incredible. And HUGE! The Oasis lagoon was awesome too. Definitely coming back here more than a few times. Just so impressed and loved everything about this Island. 

We want to come back in like January or February. It was a little too hot for my wife. She burns very, very beyond easily and bad. We sunscreened up and she is still burnt up a crisp. Sunscreen twice. 

Oh by the way we were the only ship there today so that was a bonus. 

We are going to Coco cay for the first time this January, the very end of January. I know I'll enjoy it, as I'm not a huge fan of super hot beach days. But I worry that my wife and kid may find the water a bit too cool to enjoy. But we will see, either way- better than Philly in January! 

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I lived in MontCo, Abington/Jenkintown area. Wife grew up in Bucks, Richboro area, not far from Newtown. Went to Sesame Place in Langhorne as a kid of course. All our parents grew up in the Northeast.

The bar for cheesesteaks here is understandably low, lol, but not Cococay low. Can find passable ones but nothing any of us would consider "good." I've found places that actually import Amoroso rolls... then their meat is awful. Found a deli owned by a family from Pittsburgh whose kids when to PSU, great meats... roll was as soft as a hot dog bun though. 🙄

I get hoagies from Wawa. When Wawa first came to FL, we went to one grand opening and it was wall to wall Eagles/Sixers/Phillies shirts/jerseys, lol. Orlando is full of transplants of course.

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On 8/17/2022 at 8:58 PM, RCIfan1912 said:

We want to come back in like January or February. It was a little too hot for my wife. She burns very, very beyond easily and bad. We sunscreened up and she is still burnt up a crisp. Sunscreen twice.

I don't tan, I burn. Can't stand being super hot either. UPF protective rash guard, lots of sunscreen, always under an umbrella... and the underwater pool benches that are in the shade b/c of the trees in the middle island make it very enjoyable for me as someone who avoids the sun.

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1 hour ago, Stevie said:

I agree. I wish I could just fly there and stay there for a week. Or at least go on a cruise that stays there for a couple of days 

Yes! YES to this! I wish we had 2 days at Coco cay and lop off Nassau. We didn't even get off the ship there. No excursions appealed to us and they were quite expensive and we heard it's really crappy walking around the port. Trifecta of no thanks. 

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2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

The bar for cheesesteaks here is understandably low, lol, but not Cococay low. Can find passable ones but nothing any of us would consider "good." I've found places that actually import Amoroso rolls... then their meat is awful. Found a deli owned by a family from Pittsburgh whose kids when to PSU, great meats... roll was as soft as a hot dog bun though. 🙄

 

Have you tried Daniel's on E Plant St in Winter Garden?  Best I've found around here...  Joe's Pizza in Ocoee is the best pizza I found.

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On 8/18/2022 at 10:14 AM, PatsFanBrian said:

We had an unplanned stop at Coco Cay while on Explorer at the end of June.  We were supposed to be in Aruba/Curacao, but TS Bonnie forced a change.  Because we weren't planning on being there, we weren't too prepared for it.  We decided that we would carry over our credits for cancelled excursion and do the Beach Club.  We were blown away by it.  The facility was top notch, the beach was the best of all our stops and the pool was perfect.  Throw in the incredible service and the gourmet restaurant and it ended up being our best stop of the week.  The stop ended up being on our last day, so that wasn't ideal, but that was more our scheduling preference than anything to do with the facility.

Our next sail won't be for more than a year from now, but we found an itinerary that will take us to Coco Cay on day 1 and then to Aruba/Curacao to make up for our missed days there.  Not sure if we'll do the Beach Club again or explore the area and save some cash.

thank you for sharing this!! we are looking forward to going to the beach club and have heard wonderful things about the food, etc. you have sold us!

 

now here's hoping that the beach club pass is not in the triple digits for us,,, haha

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1 hour ago, alibobali said:

thank you for sharing this!! we are looking forward to going to the beach club and have heard wonderful things about the food, etc. you have sold us!

 

now here's hoping that the beach club pass is not in the triple digits for us,,, haha

With demand what it is, expect the Beach club to stay above $150. Pay what you will be comfortable with, Beach club is not a drink or dining package. There are limit spots with full ships. You can't use last year's prices as a bar, since ships were sailing at reduced capacity. 

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11 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

With demand what it is, expect the Beach club to stay above $150. Pay what you will be comfortable with, Beach club is not a drink or dining package. There are limit spots with full ships. You can't use last year's prices as a bar, since ships were sailing at reduced capacity. 

that's true and completely fair --  and i appreciate your candor here.

 

coco cay looks beautiful; we will not be disappointed if we need to reframe our goals to include a complimentary beach experience 😊 and save the beach club passes for another sailing. we had initially planned a trip Nov 2020 on allure and the passes were much cheaper then -- definitely not expecting that to the case this time around but was hoping for a little more of a discount.

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Came back from an Oasis OTS cruise with CocoCay included in it. I got a cabana in Chill Island, which I believe was 110% worth it. I specifically liked that we got our own cabana attendant (don't forget to tip them, they deserve it!), which we ordered snacks and drinks from. The Chill Island free seating was crowded, and barely had any seats left. The private lagoon (pretty sure is private but not 100% sure) for us cabana guests was also amazing, as it was quiet and barely had anyone there. Kids loved Thrill Waterpark, and specifically loved the slides with the trap door. I'm very happy to also have the chance to come back next year as well.

Future Cruises

Harmony OTS August 12 - 19 2023 7 Day Western Caribbean and Perfect Day Cruise (Miami, CocoCay, Cozumel, Puerto Costa Maya, Roatan)

Past Cruises

Oasis OTS August 14 - 21 2022 7 Day Bahamas and Perfect Day Cruise (Cape Liberty, Port Canaveral, CocoCay, Nassau)

Disney Fantasy April 21 - 28 2018 7 Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise (Port Canaveral, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Castaway Cay)

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/22/2022 at 11:08 PM, Michael A. Jr. said:

Came back from an Oasis OTS cruise with CocoCay included in it. I got a cabana in Chill Island, which I believe was 110% worth it. I specifically liked that we got our own cabana attendant (don't forget to tip them, they deserve it!), which we ordered snacks and drinks from. The Chill Island free seating was crowded, and barely had any seats left. The private lagoon (pretty sure is private but not 100% sure) for us cabana guests was also amazing, as it was quiet and barely had anyone there. Kids loved Thrill Waterpark, and specifically loved the slides with the trap door. I'm very happy to also have the chance to come back next year as well.

Future Cruises

Harmony OTS August 12 - 19 2023 7 Day Western Caribbean and Perfect Day Cruise (Miami, CocoCay, Cozumel, Puerto Costa Maya, Roatan)

Past Cruises

Oasis OTS August 14 - 21 2022 7 Day Bahamas and Perfect Day Cruise (Cape Liberty, Port Canaveral, CocoCay, Nassau)

Disney Fantasy April 21 - 28 2018 7 Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise (Port Canaveral, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Castaway Cay)

I will be sailing June 2023 on Harmony of the seas. I am considering getting a Chill Island cabana. How much was the cabana during your cruise?

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Be aware that cabana prices vary wildly depending on season, how many ships are on Cococay that day, etc. Here's an extreme example...

I just booked an Indy cruise for October during which we'll be the only ship on Cococay that day (very excited about this, even though we had no problem being there on Indy along with Freedom twice last month). An over the water Beach Club cabana is $1499, and the beach version is $999. These are actually very low prices for Beach Club cabanas given that they come with lobster, filet mignon, etc. On a family cruise booked for June 2023, those cabanas are currently $3799 and $2499 respectively.

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