mom2mybugs Posted November 21, 2022 Report Share Posted November 21, 2022 Ok...I know super subjective question, but what are people's opinions on the Coco cay beach club? I just booked it for $103/per person. We've never been to Coco cay and we are the only ship in that day (Harmony, January 2). However, I have heard the lunches are amazing and the infinity pool looks beautiful. Any trouble getting chairs (by the pool or beach) at the club? And is it easy to get a table at lunch? Also, is it still fun if the weather is cloudy/rainy? Are there covered tables to eat at and wait out weather? I'd really hate to spend $200 and then wish we'd stayed on the boat due to bad weather. If we don't do that, we plan to go to the main pool and then hit a beach. Any trouble getting chairs on the beach after 11 or 12? And which beach do you all like? Thanks for any input! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelp1446 Posted November 21, 2022 Report Share Posted November 21, 2022 Occupancy for the Beach club is limited so no issue getting Very comfortable beach chairs.. Infinity pool is fantastic. Last few times there we had to make a reservation time for lunch at check in. Area for lunch is covered..IMHO the food has been great every time. The vibe is total relaxation...Keep checking price 103pp is the most I would pay for the experience. we have seen it as low as 79.00 (those days may be long gone unless the interns are working) .. We will be there again 2 weeks after you..Hope you have a great cruise! mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted November 21, 2022 Report Share Posted November 21, 2022 We just lucked out and were able to book it at $79 pp for our February 4 sailing on Anthem. After our first visit, we decided that $100 pp would be our cutoff, but I suspect we would have booked at $103. We’re pretty frugal, and the Beach Club is quite a spurge for us. We don’t do specialty dining or stay in suites, so we find the lunch and atmosphere to be amazing. My wife likes to get there early to grab one of the beds at the infinity pool, however I’ve never seen any problems in finding chairs/loungers. We’re early risers so it’s not a big deal for us to get off the ship when the gangway opens. If you get there later in the morning, the beds may all be occupied, but there will be plenty of alternatives. When we’ve been there in the past, we were asked to make a reservation for our lunch as we entered. Since we haven’t been there post Covid protocols, I’m not sure if this is still a thing. There is a covered area to eat in. As far as being there if the weather is poor, I’d say it’s like being at any beach when the conditions aren’t perfect, but there are areas to get under cover. We spent our first couple visits to CocoCay exploring and doing the beach thing in the complementary areas. We had a great time, and if we couldn’t book the Beach Club at our preferred price, we would have no qualms enjoying the complementary areas again. The whole island is great. mom2mybugs, KristiZ, michaelp1446 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted November 21, 2022 Report Share Posted November 21, 2022 Obviously "worth it" is subjective but really what you get at the beach club is just upgraded beach furniture and a nicer lunch. mom2mybugs and teddy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brdjnr Posted November 21, 2022 Report Share Posted November 21, 2022 The surf/turf for lunch is absurd. Gigantic lobster cooked perfectly and the filet was the best I had on the trip. Had that exact meal been served to me at night in a nice restaurant with a white table cloth I would be talking about it as one of the better meals Id had in ages. It was that good. Service was great as well. Beach is great, chairs are great, we were the only ship that day (Harmony) so there was no issue getting chairs etc. It was our 5th (I think) trip to cococay so we wanted to try something different. My wife LOVED it and would gladly go back. I am not sure we will do it this time, I am 'experimenting' with not adding extras to our August cruise to see how it goes. Baked Alaska, michaelp1446 and mom2mybugs 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted November 21, 2022 Report Share Posted November 21, 2022 An alternative is to do the free stuff at Chill Island beach or the pools and then buy a nice specialty dinner or lunch. If you just book a single meal or two in cruise planner (not a dining package), you can select your reservation times pre-cruise. You are limited to the days and times they serve, but we've had good lunches and dinners using this a la carte approach in the past. I am not a fan of the idea of a restricted area or "club" at Coco Cay, but I know there are others who like the atmosphere of a "special place". Whatever you choose, have a great cruise. mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted November 22, 2022 Report Share Posted November 22, 2022 There are plenty of chairs and umbrellas on the beach. The chairs by the pool are a little more of a hot ticket item. You should be first off the ship for the best choice of those. The water itself is pretty shallow when the tide is out and if you want to swim out to the sandbar it's a pretty easy swim. There are sting rays and sharks that hang out by the over the water cabanas, so it's fun to see those if you venture into the water. The only cover is really where the restaurant is and if it rains everyone runs to congregate in that area until it subsides. The restrooms are nice and air conditioned. The food is definitely a step up, but I also enjoy the Snack Shacks on the island and the main buffet area is pretty decent as well. The Beach Club is definitely more quiet than the other beaches. mom2mybugs, Baked Alaska, asquared17 and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotPayinExtra Posted November 22, 2022 Report Share Posted November 22, 2022 11 hours ago, AshleyDillo said: There are plenty of chairs and umbrellas on the beach. The chairs by the pool are a little more of a hot ticket item. You should be first off the ship for the best choice of those. The water itself is pretty shallow when the tide is out and if you want to swim out to the sandbar it's a pretty easy swim. There are sting rays and sharks that hang out by the over the water cabanas, so it's fun to see those if you venture into the water. The only cover is really where the restaurant is and if it rains everyone runs to congregate in that area until it subsides. The restrooms are nice and air conditioned. The food is definitely a step up, but I also enjoy the Snack Shacks on the island and the main buffet area is pretty decent as well. The Beach Club is definitely more quiet than the other beaches. Is the water there a lot more shallow then say Chill Island? Or is it the same difference? Just wondering how far out you have to go to get waist deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPPJJ-GCVAB Posted November 22, 2022 Report Share Posted November 22, 2022 In my humble, subjective opinion…no price is worth it. I prefer having the freedom of leisurely walking around checking out the different areas which…when I did purchase the Beach Club pass I did not do because I felt since I paid for it I had to stay there. Sure the lunch is nice but that is really what you are paying for because any other beach area or the main pool is just as relaxing or exciting. I didn’t even get to check out the snack shack foods when I paid for the beach club! I felt stuck there because I paid to be there…and again that is only my opinion. So you get lobster and steak…you can get that on the ship for less $$. I like South Beach which is right next to the Beach club. The Oasis Lagoon pool is fun and loud and also free. All the other beaches are free. I paid $75 for that experience which I thought was a good price before I actually got there. I wouldn’t pay even that price again. I know there are many on this board that love the beach club and that is great for them. To each his own absolutely! You might want to try it once to get your own opinion. Keep checking to get a lower price though…if you can. And no matter what…ENJOY!!! mom2mybugs and SuzanneM 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted November 22, 2022 Report Share Posted November 22, 2022 4 hours ago, NotPayinExtra said: Is the water there a lot more shallow then say Chill Island? Or is it the same difference? Just wondering how far out you have to go to get waist deep. The Beach Club area depth varies. You don't have to go too far to be waist deep but you go a little further where you can't touch bottom as you swim between the sets of OTW cabanas and then swim out a bit more and all of a sudden you're on a sandbar where you're only knee deep again. South Beach area is similar. I haven't been in the water at Chill Island, so I can't really compare it to that. NotPayinExtra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinRon2 Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 Just a quick comment here on CocoCay in general and the free beaches [we've never paid for anything there like cocoa beach club etc]. We usually go to chill beach and have a good time. We like to snorkel and though not ultra clear water and no reefs [but a few wall structures where fish congregate], it does offer some interesting snorkeling. They station life guards on platforms there now. We tried South Beach a few trips ago, and we didn't like it as much. The sand is sort of mucky there in the water, and after a channel close to shore, there is a very shallow sandbar that goes out quite a ways [again, sort of mucky] and too shallow for swimming. One thing we are impressed with about CocoCayis that it never seems too crowded on the island, even though we've been there with up to 9000 passengers [Mariner and Symphony docked one time]. We can always find a 'free' lounge on the free beaches. Sometimes there's lines to get food though. But RCL has designed the island well IOO [relating to crowdedness]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted November 26, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2022 On 11/21/2022 at 2:18 PM, ChessE4 said: An alternative is to do the free stuff at Chill Island beach or the pools and then buy a nice specialty dinner or lunch. If you just book a single meal or two in cruise planner (not a dining package), you can select your reservation times pre-cruise. You are limited to the days and times they serve, but we've had good lunches and dinners using this a la carte approach in the past. I am not a fan of the idea of a restricted area or "club" at Coco Cay, but I know there are others who like the atmosphere of a "special place". Whatever you choose, have a great cruise. We have 3 dinners and a lunch pre-booked We don't usually do a lunch, but are going to try Jamie's on one of the sea days for lunch. We are skipping chops this time, though, so thinking about a good steak ! Jane PPPJJ-GCVAB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted November 26, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2022 On 11/22/2022 at 8:53 AM, PPPJJ-GCVAB said: In my humble, subjective opinion…no price is worth it. I prefer having the freedom of leisurely walking around checking out the different areas which…when I did purchase the Beach Club pass I did not do because I felt since I paid for it I had to stay there. Sure the lunch is nice but that is really what you are paying for because any other beach area or the main pool is just as relaxing or exciting. I didn’t even get to check out the snack shack foods when I paid for the beach club! I felt stuck there because I paid to be there…and again that is only my opinion. So you get lobster and steak…you can get that on the ship for less $$. I like South Beach which is right next to the Beach club. The Oasis Lagoon pool is fun and loud and also free. All the other beaches are free. I paid $75 for that experience which I thought was a good price before I actually got there. I wouldn’t pay even that price again. I know there are many on this board that love the beach club and that is great for them. To each his own absolutely! You might want to try it once to get your own opinion. Keep checking to get a lower price though…if you can. And no matter what…ENJOY!!! Thanks! I'm thinking as I read more and more, that I really should scope the island and do that first, and save beach club for a return trip. That way I know if I enjoy the free without the extra cost. Thanks for your opinion on South beach. Jane CruiseGus, PPPJJ-GCVAB, BrianB and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseGus Posted November 29, 2022 Report Share Posted November 29, 2022 On 11/26/2022 at 12:37 AM, mom2mybugs said: Thanks! I'm thinking as I read more and more, that I really should scope the island and do that first, and save beach club for a return trip. That way I know if I enjoy the free without the extra cost. Thanks for your opinion on South beach. Jane Definitely, if it is your First time at Coco Cay, you should scope out and explore the island. Maybe even try a couple of beaches, spend a few hours each at a couple different ones to see which you like best. teddy, mom2mybugs and PPPJJ-GCVAB 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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