Mariner 2-stop / late night CocoCay announcement

[Clarea]

Just now, LuCruise said:

 ...  no MDR lunch ...

 

That would be a significant loss for many.

[ValleyCruiser]

10 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Wondering too about activities during the day.  We love sea days as there is lots going on and things are open.  Guess less things and maybe no bellyflop contest, no MDR lunch, no scavenger hunts, etc etc 

This is my concern as well.

9 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

That would be a significant loss for many.

Agreed.

 

I will be on the September 30th sailing, which I believe is the first sailing with this itinerary, so I will be happy to report back on how these options may be affected, since I have no intention of taking advantage of Coco Cay both days.

[cruisegirl1]

 There are usually limited activities on Sea days,  maybe some trivia and a couple of other activities. I suspect that they will still have limited activities but most everything will likely  still be closed. 

Edited August 15, 2019 by cruisegirl1

[LuCruise]

12 minutes ago, ValleyCruiser said:

This is my concern as well.

Agreed.

 

I will be on the September 30th sailing, which I believe is the first sailing with this itinerary, so I will be happy to report back on how these options may be affected, since I have no intention of taking advantage of Coco Cay both days.

Thanks.  That would be great.  On the flip side, at least your "sea" day will be less crowds.

Enjoy your cruise.  It's not so far off.

[LuCruise]

16 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

 There are usually limited activities on Sea days,  maybe some trivia and a couple of other activities. I suspect that they will still have limited activities but most everything will likely  still be closed. 

Exactly.  To me, that is the main negative.

[depplep]

I'm on Mariner tomorrow. I will report back what is open on the ship at Cocoa Cay.

Edited August 15, 2019 by depplep

[Baron Barracuda]

Why don't they just overnight in Coco Cay, spending 2 days there and then one in Nassau.  On several sailings on sister line X we overnight-ed at other Caribbean islands. 

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Why don't they just overnight in Coco Cay, spending 2 days there and then one in Nassau.  On several sailings on sister line X we overnight-ed at other Caribbean islands. 

 

They probably will do that when they can, but are likely dealing with scheduling conflicts now.

[KG1924]

I don't mind the change, we really enjoyed our visit to Coco Cay this past May-to us it's just an extension of the ship since anything we do is free lol!

My question is about how they handle staffing. When we were there it was one of the first weeks with everything open (I know they aren't officially done yet, but it was kind of a 'grand opening') and some of the bartenders that we visited frequently talked about how a large percentage of the staff was working on the island and then doing their regular jobs that evening. Now I'm thinking they went above and beyond for the first few visits as far as staffing goes to make a good impression, but if a ship (or two) is going there multiple times then I don't see how they can continue not only putting a high percentage of staff on the island while it's docked as well as how they can have them work so many hours like that. One would assume (or hope) that they would have a staff dedicated just to the island, right?

[depplep]

 

What if I miss the ship in Coco Cay? Can I reboard two days later?

I would like to return to (insert any port here) two days later, can we start doing that now?

Edited August 15, 2019 by depplep
Syntax

[Clarea]

28 minutes ago, depplep said:

 

What if I miss the ship in Coco Cay? Can I reboard two days later?

I would like to return to (insert any port here) two days later, can we start doing that now?

 

I don't think they will let you miss the ship in Coco Cay.

[depplep]

Of course joking, but I just got to thinking, what if someone misses the ship in Coco Cay? They're coming back a day later. 

Edited August 15, 2019 by depplep

[Clarea]

37 minutes ago, depplep said:

Of course joking, but I just got to thinking, what if someone misses the ship in Coco Cay? They're coming back a day later. 

 

I know that one time a guest was so badly behaved that Guest Services put him off thr ship in Coco Cay.  He had to charter a boat to get to an island that had air service to Nassau, and then take a flight from Nassau home.  Very expensive.

[depplep]

2 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I know that one time a guest was so badly behaved that Guest Services put him off thr ship in Coco Cay.  He had to charter a boat to get to an island that had air service to Nassau, and then take a flight from Nassau home.  Very expensive.

Wow! That's crazy. 

[later]

We are on a b2b2b2b starting on 9/30 on the Mariner and am not happy with the change.  I don’t appreciate losing the casino time.

 

also not big on beaches but I have no problem with one day but 2 days suck.

 

Typical change after final payment date. Thanks a lot RCCL.

 

 

[depplep]

It's like a cruise to nowhere.

[depplep]

Or... being forced to walk the plank.

[time4u2go]

On 8/14/2019 at 3:11 PM, tinkr2 said:

Seems fun to be there at night and have beach parties.

 

I bet the mosquitoes will think so too!

[DancerMama25]

On 8/14/2019 at 7:21 PM, Mikew0805 said:

Just got a letter about our cruise on the Navigator October 4th. Our stay has been extended until 10pm, with night time activities and a BBQ. Just curious if anyone else on any other sailing have received this notice?

 

 

I am officially jealous!!   I’d love the night party on the island!

[DancerMama25]

8 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

I bet the mosquitoes will think so too!

 

No mosquitoes...there is no fresh water there for them to breed.

[gatour]

4 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

 There are usually limited activities on Sea days,  maybe some trivia and a couple of other activities. I suspect that they will still have limited activities but most everything will likely  still be closed. 

Limited activities on sea days???

There are all kinds of activities on sea days.  It is the port days that have limited activities.

 

[LMaxwell]

I like the idea of a later stay and evening activities/entertainment on the island.  That sounds fun.  But there is not enough to interest me at CocoCay to spend 2 full days there on a Monday-Friday cruise.  I also enjoy sea days and the tranquility of the ocean.  I also love SeaDay lunch in the dining room; it's a real treat for me at least.  

[Zach1213]

15 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Why don't they just overnight in Coco Cay, spending 2 days there and then one in Nassau.  On several sailings on sister line X we overnight-ed at other Caribbean islands. 

 

Do they house employees on Coco Cay? If not, that could be part of the issue of needing to figure out those employment logistics. Even if they do, you would likely need to increase staff presence.

 

(This is on the assumption that, like Labadee, Coco Cay is manned by local Bahamians, not ship crew. I have never been personally, so I don't know for sure)

[cruisegirl1]

13 hours ago, depplep said:

It's like a cruise to nowhere.

Not  really because most of the ship venues will be closed during the day, for the entire 4 days.  At least we used to have a chance to have lunch in the MDR, but not I suspect it will be closed, just like on other port days.  Ship activities like pool games  will likely  be scaled back to the limited port day activities.    Yes the ship will be less crowded when folks are on Coco Cay , but it will also not be moving and  can get hot. 

 

I know it is a first world problem, as any cruise conversation is, but many folks ( including me) book a B2B for short cruises or even more than 2 cruises in a row and  really like a sea with activities, lunch in MDR, casino etc.  

 

We have 2 sets of B2B booked, but after that  I suspect we  won't bother with Mariner again. We live 8 hours  from port and won't make  the trip for  just 3 or 4 days, and I don't want a B2B cruise that has no real sea day.  I am happy RCCL provides us so many other options.    

 

M 

[mark290]

My uninformed, uneducated guess is that eventually the drink package will not be honored at Coco Cay.

Whether right or wrong somebody in charge has to be thinking there is a lot of money to be had by charging people

$10-$15 a drink when they are stuck on an island for two days.

 

Cruise lines have a hard time resisting following what other cruise lines do. Some are good and some are not so good but

one company starts it and others follow. Is RCCL the only one that honors the drink package on their private islands ?

 

Room service charges, pay dining venues, private islands, slides, drink packages, paying for programs that offer special services, smoking restrictions, more elaborate onboard shows, can't bring alcohol onboard, can bring two bottles of wine and the list goes on.