What beach would you pick for 15, 17 & 23 yr old?

[poobears]

We are going to be in Coz from 8-5. One DD wants a nice beach, the other doesn't want just a beach she wants to do something, the 23 yr old doesn't care either way so I need a beach with some kind of activities. I'm thinking of Mr Sanchos and doing the AI side with water toy wrist bands since we are scheduled to be in port all day now.

 

I know there are other resorts, are any of them better geared towards their age group? Not worried about myself I am willing to go where ever they'd be happiest. As long as I have a beach and a chair I'm happy. I would prefer an AI so I didn't have to worry about food or drinks all day.

 

Also they can swim some but are not strong swimmers, how deep is the water where the water toys are set up at Mr. Sanchos? Do they need life jackets? Are they provided or will we need to bring our own?

[crewsweeper]

Mr. Sanchos or Paradise Beach are the two I would recommend. I wouldn't recommend the A.I. portion of Mr Sanchos, with that large of group, as it tends to cater to adults. But the PAYGO side has all the stuff, except the swim up bar and pool.

 

However, for an entrance fee ($20-$25 pp?) Chankanaab park has mor ethna just a beach to do, so it might be a good choice as well.

 

All 3 of these have websites you can google and then let the gang see what's available and which place they want to go to.

[JohninDC]

Sanchos is a good choice if you want AI; Paradise Beach would be my choice for a non-AI beach club. Both offer water toys for an extra fee. PB is larger, offers a HUGE pool, and IMHO has better facilities.

 

Water near the toys is deep enough that you will not hit the bottom when jumping/diving off - 6+ feet. I believe both places offer life vests if they want them.

 

Sanchos offers some options - pedicure by fish, etc. - that you may not find at other beach clubs. I've seen it - but never tried it. :confused:

 

Taxi to either will be about the same. Have a great cruise! :)

[poobears]

I'm just wondering how expensive the food and drinks will be if we don't go AI. I don't want to have to keep track of what everyone is ordering all day long. Looks like it would easily cost $75 or more for everyone to have lunch at Paradise beach (burgers, fries and drink or whatever) and that wouldn't include any snacks or drinks the rest of the day. That could add up fast. Of course you are looking at $210 for Mr. Sanchos for their AI ($55 each) so it would probably come out about the same at the end of the day. If the beach and water toys are better there then we'll look into that one.

 

Does PB have a limit to how many they allow in so it doesn't get too crowded?

Edited September 8, 2016 by poobears

[poobears]

I can't get the Chankanaab website to pull up no matter how I try to get to it, just get an internal server error so I will try to check it out later. That may be an option. They love aquariums, zoos, animal shows etc so a park that combines beaches and animal shows would be good. Looks like it's only a short taxi ride from the beach too.

[JohninDC]

PB does not have a limit, but the place is HUGE and we've never had an issue finding chairs, etc.

 

Chank is a good option (besides the animals it has a nice beach, small pool, and separate snorkel area), but is also non-AI so you'll have the same "bar-bill" concern you have with any non-AI beach club.

[ACNCON]

We were just at Mr. Sanchos last week with a group of teens (14-16 year olds).

 

It was $17 for 4 people to taxi to Mr. Sanchos. We walked right in and headed to the Pay-go section. We are not drinkers so figured the AI side was not worth it. We luckily found a group of loungers together at the back under the trees (no charge). The teens got their passes for the water toys ($15 each).

 

There was quite a wind that day so waves were big. Some of the water toys (Iceberg) were not in the water which I assume was due to the waves. Lots of options for the kids to play on although our group all said that several of the toys were difficult to get up on to. The water levels range from toy to toy but most were in deep water.

 

There were lifesjackets available - not sure if there was a cost involved - and there is a lifeguard on duty but to be honest he was most interested in whether or not the kids in the toy section had a bracelet on then he was about their safety. Our group are all strong swimmers (several lifeguards) and we always had one of the parents out in the water watching.

 

While the kids were off playing, one of our parents took out a bottle of water from her bag and a granola bag - not even thinking - the waiters were quickly in her face yelling at her. We had every intention of ordering food but the way they attacked her was ridiculous. They ended up confiscating her backpack. We ended up going to the bar and ordering ourselves as we refused to deal with the waiters in the pay-go area.

 

The beach was good - smaller then I had thought it would be -- very few rocks although there is a rock bottom out near the water toys. We opted for Mr. Sanchos over Paradise simply because I heard it had a better beach.

[poobears]

We were just at Mr. Sanchos last week with a group of teens (14-16 year olds).

 

It was $17 for 4 people to taxi to Mr. Sanchos. We walked right in and headed to the Pay-go section. We are not drinkers so figured the AI side was not worth it. We luckily found a group of loungers together at the back under the trees (no charge). The teens got their passes for the water toys ($15 each).

 

There was quite a wind that day so waves were big. Some of the water toys (Iceberg) were not in the water which I assume was due to the waves. Lots of options for the kids to play on although our group all said that several of the toys were difficult to get up on to. The water levels range from toy to toy but most were in deep water.

 

There were lifesjackets available - not sure if there was a cost involved - and there is a lifeguard on duty but to be honest he was most interested in whether or not the kids in the toy section had a bracelet on then he was about their safety. Our group are all strong swimmers (several lifeguards) and we always had one of the parents out in the water watching.

 

While the kids were off playing, one of our parents took out a bottle of water from her bag and a granola bag - not even thinking - the waiters were quickly in her face yelling at her. We had every intention of ordering food but the way they attacked her was ridiculous. They ended up confiscating her backpack. We ended up going to the bar and ordering ourselves as we refused to deal with the waiters in the pay-go area.

 

The beach was good - smaller then I had thought it would be -- very few rocks although there is a rock bottom out near the water toys. We opted for Mr. Sanchos over Paradise simply because I heard it had a better beach.

 

 

Geez that is just crazy. I'm glad you posted it though because I wouldn't have thought twice about pulling out my water. I have seizure induced migraines and never go anywhere without water and meds. It wouldn't have even occurred to me just because I was on their beach I couldn't take out my bottle of water and drink it, especially if I noticed signs of a migraine coming on and needed meds fast. I can see their side of things but dang they could dial it down a bit. A simple sorry no outside food or drinks allowed is enough.

 

We don't drink either so it's always iffy on whether an AI would be worth it or not but they jack the food prices up so much on the islands that if you are going to be there all day it's pretty easy to justify $55 each especially with the kids playing in the heat and getting thirsty.

 

Sounds like the beach is nicer at PB and we wouldn't have deal with the crazy waiters there so maybe we'll head that way if we do the beach. Is the food better at either place?

 

Although I'm thinking the stress of the ocean toys may be more trouble than it's worth with them not being strong swimmers and I don't want to stay in the water the whole time. Chankanaab may be the way to go, they'd have plenty to do without that. Need to see if their website will pull up today. I could do a taxi, admission and still have $100 left over for food for the same price as the AI side of Sanchos.

[JohninDC]

In their defense, Mr. Sanchos -- especially the non-AI side -- is in the business of selling food and drinks.

 

Food and drinks at any of the 3 spots you are looking at will be about the same.

 

PB and Mr. Sanchos are just down the road from each other so I would not expect any differences in water quality, beach, sand, etc.

 

Chank is a Marine park/reserve. The beach there is very nice, but also very small. It has been several years since we visited, but I do not recall any water toys there - small pool, sea life shows, and a snorkel area.

[poobears]

That is why I said I can see their side of things but there are ways to handle it and screaming at a customer if that's what happened and I have no reason to believe it didn't, is not the way to handle it. How they treat customers will make a difference in whether I go there or not. Not saying I wouldn't go there now, I'd just be careful with my water lol. I'd still have to take it with me though, can't chance being caught out without a way to take meds.

 

I'm thinking maybe snorkeling at Chankanaab may be more fun and safer than the water toys, I see they have free life vests there and a nice snorkel area if they want to do a water activity. I'd probably need to invest in some prescription snorkel masks though both of the girls have horrible vision, mine is ever worse but I can wear my contacts. I see some ways to rig up cheap alternative DIY ones yourself but we have another cruise in April that they may want to do it again so might as well buy a good one if we go that way. I'd rather do a full mask though, those seem more comfortable.

[poobears]

After reading all the bad reviews on the food and over crowding at Chankanaab I think we'll stick to PB or Sanchos. One of the kids requirements is it has decent food. They can always find something other than the water toys to do I guess.

[ACNCON]

In their defense, Mr. Sanchos -- especially the non-AI side -- is in the business of selling food and drinks.

 

I completely agree and understand that they need to sell drinks/food to make money at the Pay-Go side. We were using their facilities for free after all but there was a better way to deal with things instead of yelling. They could have just come over and said "hey, we don't allow outside food or drinks...here's a menu". My friend would have been fine with that as we had already planned to order food. It was a slip on her part by grabbing a bottle of water but how she was treated was wrong. The waiters lost in the end as we ordered our drinks/food directly from the bar = no tip for them.