Report on CocoCay July 7 - Mariner

[Tabbymom]

I'm doing a day-by-day post trip review on the main RCI board - here's my CocoCay section:

 

The tender entered a small harbor with a statue of a mermaid and docked at a little village setting. There was a photographer grabbing everyone as they disembarked, then you were free to go where you wanted. They had given out maps of the island along with the Cruise Compass the night before. There were a number of tropical looking buildings with bars and washrooms; also cooking and picnic facilities for lunch. There was a small straw market with lots of clothes, jewelry, straw bags, and other souvenirs – this was on a cash only basis. DS and DH had booked Wave Runners at 11:00 so we settled in some chairs nearby to relax and wait and do a little floating. This was one of the small coves so I kept floating back to shore and having to paddle hard to get out, which made me glad we decided not to snorkel since we were doing that in St. Thomas. I kept hoping to wash up on Nassau but kept ending up on Cococay. There were lines to show how far out you could safely go.

 

It didn’t take long for the drink runners to appear, up and down the beach about every 3 minutes calling Coco Loco…Coco Loco…Coco Loco…it started to drive me loco! They didn’t sell too hard but it was very annoying. I had read about going on to the less crowded parts of the island and maybe the drink guys weren’t out that far, but we wanted to be near the Wave Hut. After lunch I did go to one of the bars to get a Coco Loco – took me a while to get the bartender’s attention. The drink turned out to basically be a frozen fruit punch with rum. Wouldn’t you think a drink with the word “Coco” in it should have coconut?

 

DS and DH went over to the Wave Hut and signed in; DS had to show his drivers license since he was under 21. They went through a training and safety video and other instructions and finally went out to the wave runners. The tour lasted about 45 minutes and took them in and around four other islands. The water was choppy so the ride was quite bumpy – DS said that it was a thrilling and chaotic experience that he didn’t need to do again for a long long time! While they were gone, I walked around a little and tried out a hammock. Getting in was easy; getting out not as easy! And I agreed with DH’s assessment that pillows would have been nice since the rope hammocks got a little uncomfortable after a while.

 

They served buffet style lunch with salads, hot dogs and burgers, chicken, fries, drinks, and desserts and maybe something else. The food was only so-so and the sea gulls were ferocious so you couldn’t leave it alone for a second. After lunch we settled at the beach past the Wave Hut – it was bigger and nicer and there was more room to float. There was an organized volleyball game along with all the water park and water activities. Overall, we found Cococay to be pleasant but not very exciting; of course this is a matter of personal taste. I think it would have been much nicer to go to Nassau but then of course RCI would not have made more money.

 

We left about 2:30 (last tender was 3:30) and there was already a long line waiting so maybe we weren’t the only ones getting bored! It actually didn’t take that long but you do have to wait in the sun. We had to show our Sea Pass to get off the island and again to get onto the Mariner.

[Grannycb]

Tabbymom - Thank you for the review! I was wondering if there was snorkeling off the beach or if we will need to take a tour to get to a better location? Did you see snorkeling or hear any comments about that?

[Tabbymom]

There is snorkeling off the beach; I don't think there are any tours. I've learned from these boards that there are shallow areas for novices then you can swim out further where there's a sunken plane and ship. Apparently you need to rent one of their infloatable vests, too. We didn't snorkel since we planned to do it on St. Thomas, plus the water was a little choppy. Plenty of people were snorkeling; I did overhear others talking and it sounded like they enjoyed it. If you search these boards and the main RCI boards you should be able to learn more; that's where I got my info!

[cruiseapril]

Enjoyed your review. We liked swimming at Coco Cay and managed to stay away from the seagulls at lunch by not taking food on the beach. People who did had their food swiped!

[Tabbymom]

One young couple left their food on a picnic table then went off to get drinks. By the time they got back....:eek:

[tigerdadky]

Are the coco locos cash only or do they go on ur sea pass and how much where they.

[Tabbymom]

The Coco Locos were paid by SeaPass card, and they were $6.84 which includes the automatic tip. They come in different color souvenir plastic cups with lid and straws.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Some folks find Coco Cay boring. Others find it very relaxing. I much prefer Coco Cay to Nassau, a city that has lost much of it's charm since the 1970s.