Minor update on Coco Cay

[goingcrazywithkids]

lets just hope the weather cooperates with us! looks like ALOT of rain this week.

[Islandgirl441]

19 hours ago, goingcrazywithkids said:

That would be awesome! I am sailing this weekend....i hope this is true!

Please let us know if the pier is operational. I am sailing the last week in March.

 

[BND]

Apparently Anthem docked there today.

 

[AshleyDillo]

Mariner docked at the pier today.  It is up and running!  I have zero to compare it with as this was my first visit to the island.

 

The pier still isn't complete, meaning that they need to extend it further to accommodate the larger ships. They have put in a temporary pedestrian bridge which has closed off the area that used to allow the tenders.  Once you hit the end of the pier, the sand begins.  They do have the big sand wheelchairs and pushers, but I saw a few strollers and ECVs left at the end of the pier.  

 

The pool area looked incredible.  The bar area ia huge and has both a swim up and dry side.  The only shade is immediately around the bar.  Drink package worked fine at the bar.  The pool has a zero-entry/beach-entry area and a lot of places that has a wide shelf to lounge in the water before it dropped off.  There were tons of loungers around the pool and there's even a grassy area with loungers.  

 

I was only over at South Beach as we had a couple of beach bungalows rented.  There was golf cart service that drove us out there.  The loop around to the bungalow area went past the waterpark construction, but we didn't hear any noise at the bungalows.  When we arrived we had to check in at the concierge desk to get wristbands.  The bungalows came with food delivery for 6 people and a cooler with water.  There was a restroom by the bungalows and an outdoor shower. 

 

There was also a nearby floating bar.  It stayed pretty busy.  It was amazing to see just how far you could walk out on the sandbars and not even be up to your knees in the water.  As for wildlife, we had chickens roaming near the bungalows, one of our group's kiddos decided to pet a jellyfish and also found a sea cucumber.  The seagulls weren't even aggressive.

 

So it is shaping up quite nicely there..as I said I have zero to compare it with as to how it was before but it was an enjoyable first visit.

[Croozin Soozin]

29 minutes ago, BND said:

Apparently Anthem docked there today.

 

Anthem definitely didn’t dock there today. We are on our way to Port Canaveral and then Miami instead of Coco Cay. Hoping we dock there next week!

[BND]

3 minutes ago, Croozin Soozin said:

Anthem definitely didn’t dock there today. We are on our way to Port Canaveral and then Miami instead of Coco Cay. Hoping we dock there next week!

Okay.  Saw a post on FB.  So many changes surrounding Coco.

[George C]

We are there 3/30 on celebrity infinity curious on suite perks love suite beach on ladabee 

[sparks1093]

23 hours ago, bigeck said:

Parts open today

https://cruisefever.net/parts-of-royal-caribbeans-new-and-improved-private-island-open-tomorrow/?fbclid=IwAR18vzsuo32bC_ICZps3VcuNIUnFvmfYsdjSTxO1D_XoMK7jvzTBjCMkjUM

Hmmm, don't see the Anthem listed as one of the ships visiting Coco Cay. 

[RW_MI]

10 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

The pier still isn't complete, meaning that they need to extend it further to accommodate the larger ships

 

Has anyone read a timetable for this?  

 

edited to add - I called Royal and they're saying May, but I wonder what the likelihood of that is.  I'm booked on Allure in November.

Edited March 17, 2019 by RW_MI

[SAmome]

10 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

I was only over at South Beach as we had a couple of beach bungalows rented.  There was golf cart service that drove us out there.  The loop around to the bungalow area went past the waterpark construction, but we didn't hear any noise at the bungalows.  When we arrived we had to check in at the concierge desk to get wristbands.  The bungalows came with food delivery for 6 people and a cooler with water.  There was a restroom by the bungalows and an outdoor shower. 

 

 

Thanks for reporting back all the info Ashley. I was confused about the access to South Beach since it was lumped in with the "December 2019" group.

 

South Beach, Coco Beach Club and the overwater cabanas will open in December 2019

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/when-does-perfect-day-at-cococay-open

 

Did you happen to see any signs of where the Snack Shack will be located?  I don't see it on a map but found a reference under Waterpark Cabana that made me wonder if it was going to be something accessable to both South Beach and Waterpark areas or in a private area only for waterpark guests.

 

• Food & Drinks: Keep yourself fueled up for adventure with complimentary food, drinks and beverages from the nearby Snack Shack.

[AshleyDillo]

9 hours ago, SAmome said:

Did you happen to see any signs of where the Snack Shack will be located?  I don't see it on a map but found a reference under Waterpark Cabana that made me wonder if it was going to be something accessable to both South Beach and Waterpark areas or in a private area only for waterpark guests.

 

Snack Shack is now open.  We passed it on the golf cart ride over to the beach bungalows.   I didn't explore much as we had the bungalows and food delivery (and I am also lazy) so I don't know where it was relative to everything else.  I just know the bungalows were behind an area that had signage saying South Bay and based on the golf cart ride we took to get there, it's the furthest away beach right now.  It definitely felt quiet and secluded and when we hopped off the golf cart and tried to follow the other folks we were stopped as we hadn't gotten wristbands yet.  There were no free loungers at all on this part of the beach but you could access it without renting a bungalow by walking over along the water.  

 

The crew out there were very excitedly talking about the overwater bungalows which are going to be the last things to be completed and not until the end of the year.  The construction fencing said November 2019 for the overwater bungalows and May 2019 for everything else.  

[SAmome]

Thanks for the info.

 

Does anyone know where on the map Snack Shack resides?  Is it free food continuously available instead of needing to wait for the free lunch (often lines)?

 

Is there anything else to be built on South Beach, besides maybe more bungalows?  Maybe they are lumping South Beach in with the rest since there isn't accessible food until Coco Beach Club has openned.  Then I assume they'd make the whole area private, sort of like a suite beach on Labadee but just for those renting cabanas or bungalows.

 

South Beach, Coco Beach Club and the overwater cabanas will open in December 2019

[SAmome]

[ihopfar]

41 minutes ago, SAmome said:

 Is it free food continuously available instead of needing to wait for the free lunch (often lines)?

 

 

Also, does anyone know what snacks they are offering at the Snack Shack?

[GUEST71919]

Oh, good news! I hate hate hate tenders and a pier when we arrive in May would be lovely 😊 

 

@AshleyDillo  great to hear your thoughts on the bungalows since we will be there soon (and quiet is just what we were seeking, at least a relative peace!). I had read that we would be brought menu’s from which to order lunch bc of how far the bungalows are from any food service on the island (and I doubt that they are looking to shuttle us all to one and back).  Is that what they did with you? Thanks!

Edited March 18, 2019 by 2Beeze

[SRF]

On 3/16/2019 at 7:47 AM, SAmome said:

Thanks for the info, good to hear the rccl estimates were on target for the pier.

 

 

Uuuh, original estimates were September.  2018

 

😄

[AshleyDillo]

9 hours ago, 2Beeze said:

Oh, good news! I hate hate hate tenders and a pier when we arrive in May would be lovely 😊 

 

@AshleyDillo  great to hear your thoughts on the bungalows since we will be there soon (and quiet is just what we were seeking, at least a relative peace!). I had read that we would be brought menu’s from which to order lunch bc of how far the bungalows are from any food service on the island (and I doubt that they are looking to shuttle us all to one and back).  Is that what they did with you? Thanks!

 

We had 3 bungalows and they gave us a menu to select from and asked what time we wanted the food delivered.  This was set up the day before, but I don't know if that will be typical to order in advance or was done for us since we had 3 bungalows (6 people's worth of orders for each x 3 = 18 meals).  I didn't see the menu or do the ordering but I was told they had a lot to choose from..they had starters that included chips and salsa, tacos, salads; entree choices included burgers and chicken sandwiches; desserts were cake, cookies and fruit choices.  The food came all at once and was packaged in plastic boxes.  We had drink service (in theory) but it was easier to walk up to the bar.  We had bungalows 23, 24 and 25 which were the ones closest to the public beach area with the floating bar.  There was a food truck that was serving as the food prep area, heating area but it was not a walk up counter where we could get extra food.  They would have taken us over to the buffet area in the golf cart if we would have wanted.

[GUEST71919]

41 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

 

Great info, thank you! I have no idea how they will assign thee bungalows, but they all seem to be close to the water, close to beverages and close to a rather private bathroom. Add delivered food and it will be just about perfect! Now if only there is some decent snorkeling very close by 🧜🏼‍♀️

[Kmad0202]

What time did most passengers get off... We are on the Mariner next week and a lot of the entertainment is so late at night I am curious as to what time we should get off to get a nice location whether it be at pool or beach (we will decide that when we get there)? Thanks.

[AshleyDillo]

1 hour ago, 2Beeze said:

Great info, thank you! I have no idea how they will assign thee bungalows, but they all seem to be close to the water, close to beverages and close to a rather private bathroom. Add delivered food and it will be just about perfect! Now if only there is some decent snorkeling very close by 🧜🏼‍♀️

 

If you have a preference ask at the shore excursion desk when you get on the ship.  All of the bungalows were close to the bar and the restrooms.  There were 2 rows of them..the ones we had were waterfront.  Each bungalow came with 2 padded loungers outside of the bungalow and 2 mats.  The water in front of the bungalow area was shallow but had deeper pools.  But there were folks waaaaay far out that weren't even in water above their knees.  Again, we chose 23, 24, 25 as they are the ones closest to the floating bar.  They all were also in the front row with an unobstructed view of the water.

[parothead]

24 minutes ago, Kmad0202 said:

What time did most passengers get off... We are on the Mariner next week and a lot of the entertainment is so late at night I am curious as to what time we should get off to get a nice location whether it be at pool or beach (we will decide that when we get there)? Thanks.

before the chair hogs haha

[Kmad0202]

I too have been a victim of the "chair hogs", but it's vacation and I move on, usually somewhere far far far away from the action, which can be good or sometimes can be bad. Last year when we went to NCL's private island, we got off around 9:00 am, and we had the place to ourselves for a good 30 minutes before the stampede of passengers came. This time around, I don't know if I am too excited to be be up late the night before and then wake up early to get a chair in a nice location. Usually we travel with at least 12 to 16 of us, this time there is only 5, so the logistics of everything is SOOOOO much easier.

[AshleyDillo]

I didn't mosey off until 1130 myself.  People were coming and going from the ship at that point.   This was the first time passengers were using the pier, so I did watch people steadily stream off the ship at 8am when I made a coffee run.  I didn't see the pool area until around 2pm and it didn't seem at all crowded then..but it was only a few hours till all aboard at that point.  The floating bar was nonstop busy the entire time.  If it's important to you to get your ideal spot then I would make it a point to get out there early.  I was on Mariner and it didn't feel crowded to me, but I only saw the beach from the very back and didn't eat at any of the available places.  When the bigger ships start coming, I can see it getting bad but I would hope having the waterpark open would help spread out crowds a bit more.

Edited March 18, 2019 by AshleyDillo
Typo

[nu_cruzer1]

On 3/17/2019 at 8:02 PM, SAmome said:

Is there anything else to be built on South Beach, besides maybe more bungalows?

Not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere but I noticed in my cruise planner today that South Beach cabanas were available to book. I sail in March 2020.  It showed that these cabanas were new and hold 8. I assume that these are different than the bungalows and may not exist already. 

[GUEST71919]

2 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

If you have a preference ask at the shore excursion desk when you get on the ship.  All of the bungalows were close to the bar and the restrooms.  There were 2 rows of them..the ones we had were waterfront.  Each bungalow came with 2 padded loungers outside of the bungalow and 2 mats.  The water in front of the bungalow area was shallow but had deeper pools.  But there were folks waaaaay far out that weren't even in water above their knees.  Again, we chose 23, 24, 25 as they are the ones closest to the floating bar.  They all were also in the front row with an unobstructed view of the water.

Which of those was on the outer edge? I think that might afford more privacy (if it’s not too close to the floating bar and not too far from drinks, etc.). 😊   But then again, maybe there would be less shade (love the beach, don’t want another skin cancer 😟)

Edited March 19, 2019 by 2Beeze