Episode 67: Plan your Perfect Day at CocoCay

In this episode, Krystle and Julie share all their best tips for making the most of Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas. From the record-breaking Thrill Waterpark with the tallest water slide in North America to relaxing beaches, swim-up bars, and the new adults-only Hideaway Beach, we’re covering everything you need to know. Whether you want adventure, relaxation, or family fun, these CocoCay tips will help you plan the perfect day.

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Transcript

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Welcome to Wanderlust and Wishes, the podcast where we explore the world one destination at a time. I'm Julie. And I'm Crystal. As travel agents with Fantastical Vacations, we are here to share our passion for travel and help you turn your wanderlust into reality. From hidden gems to bucket list adventures, join us as we dive into the sights, sounds, and stories of our favorite destinations. So grab your passport, pack your bags, and let's embark on this journey together. So let's get started.

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Bye.

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Hi, everybody. Welcome to episode 67 of Wanderlust and Wishes. Today, we are going to dive into the details of Perfect Day at Coco Cay. We've talked about that this is the private island for Royal Caribbean in the past, but we've never gone into the details of the island. And we thought that would be a great topic. But first, we have several bits of news to go through. All sorts of news. We've missed some news over the last couple weeks, so we're just going to throw it all in. So rapid fire here. epic universe minecart madness and ministry of magic were added to express pass so only dragon racers rally is the only one without it now so that's a game changer yeah huge 2026 disneyland is now open for booking finally hallelujah getting later and later every year i know i know with that they also opened the end of 2026 and first quarter of 2027 for word Disney Cruise Line. So we can now book those if you're looking for like spring break 2027 and want like a year and a half to pay on it. For those that are interested in going to Halloween Horror Nights but have a little bit of scaredy cat and you are a little apprehensive about going, they have released this Deathly Afraid medallion. It's about$20 and you wear it. And when you go through the scare zones, the scare zone actors know to kind to take it easy on you and they don't jump out and scare you. However, this is not for the houses. So you can wear it all you want in the house, but it's not going to make a difference. I was watching videos this weekend on social media of people testing it with and without, and it was night and day difference. So they're really like, they see it, they're going the exact opposite way. So that's cool. Yeah. It's like the, it's like the sea of like parting, parting of scary people. They just like go away. This weekend was D23. We didn't get a lot, especially compared to how much we got last year. So instead of doing a full episode, just some little tidbits, lots of movie news. Tron is getting a red and orange overlay starting mid-September for a couple weeks, maybe a month for the new Tron Ares movie. A Carousel of Progress at Walt Disney World is going to get an update with Walt Disney and Walt Disney Animatronic that will introduce the show. So he'll be right at the very beginning which is really cool i'm excited about that yeah they must be loving it to disneyland for them to bring it this way and then the other piece of news that's a little controversial already is the walt disney world castle is getting the og colors back so the pink is going away and it's going to be like the gray and blue with some gold i don't have feelings one way or the other but i know that there's lots that are super excited and some that are sad i was telling crystal before we started recording that at first when they started doing the pink I was like what are they doing why are they changing it and now I love it so it's gonna be weird without it but either way I mean it's it's still iconic it's still Cinderella's castle so it'll be great yeah all right so let's jump into the episode so if it's your first visit or your fifth hopefully we have some sort of tip or trick or secret you'll want to use that will help you make the most of your time on the So it can be a perfect day without spending a dime. Or if you'd like to spend money, you can do that too. One of the things that can often be confusing is the pronunciation of the word C-A-Y. For Disney's private island in the Bahamas, it's called Castaway Cay, and it's still spelled C-A-Y. But for the Royal Caribbean Island in the Bahamas, it is Coco Cay. If you hear it both ways, just roll with it. So we're going to start out with the island overview and layout. As we've mentioned, Coco Cay is Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas. It is exclusively for their cruise guests, so this is not open to any other cruise line. It is an all-day shore excursion that's part beach, part water park, and part pool party. So you will usually see two of Royal's ships there. Sometimes you'll see a celebrity ship because that's part of the same company. It'll be interesting to see if they dock both the Icon and the Star of the Seas at the same time, just because they hold so many people. I think they're trying to avoid that, if possible, getting like a bigger and a smaller ship. The island is kind of split into four main zones. There's Chill Island and Oasis Lagoon. This is home to the massive freshwater pool. There's tons of free loungers, family-friendly beaches. There's Thrill Water Park. When you get off the ship, This is you walk right into the thrill water park area. This is the iconic tower with the Daredevil's Peak, which is the tallest slide in North America. There's a wave pool, tons of slides, but it is an extra cost. There is South Beach and Cocoa Beach Club. This is on the far side of the island. South Beach is free. Cocoa Beach Club is an upscale extra fee experience. And then there is Hideaway Beach. This is adults only. It's also an extra fee area with a lively spring break energy. Yeah. That's a nice way to put it. Spring break energy. Lots of partying, basically, is what we're going for over there. If you're looking for a relaxing day over there, that's probably not what you're going to be getting. So a quick tip, grab a map at the Arrivals Plaza or use the Royal Caribbean app for wayfinding. Look for color-coded paths. The light green means that it's Chill Island. Orange equals Oasis Lagoon slash Cocoa Beach Club. And then blue equals the Thrill Waterpark. So and I don't know if this will make a difference to anybody else out there, but I was looking at maps online and the way they have it all set up is you come in like the bottom middle of the island. But that is actually on the north side of the island. So I don't know why on all the maps that is on the bottom. So I was so confused when I was like doing directions. That's upside down, basically. Yeah, it's upside down on all the maps that I could find. So yes, you can have a full day without spending any money. So here are things that are included. So we have beach chairs, umbrellas, and access to Chill Island, South Beach, Harbor Beach, and Breezy Bay. The Oasis Lagoon Pool. That is the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean. There's Splashway Bay and Captain Jill's Galleon, two splash zones that are perfect for little kids. There's a free tram transportation around the island. There's freshwater showers and beach wheelchairs available. And then dining at Skipper's Grill, Chill Grill, and Snack Shack is all included. And apparently they have an amazing chicken parm sandwich at the Snack Shack. So you're probably wondering what costs extra. And as we were kind of going through the first section, you heard us say a couple of things that cost extra. So Thrill Water Park, pricing varies by the sailing. It's dynamic pricing, but can reach$150 to$200 plus per person. It does include 13 water slides, a wave pool, and adventure pool, but just be prepared because it's the first thing you see, the kids are going to ask about it, and it can be a hefty price. Cocoa Beach Club, it's around$150 plus per person. It does include high-end food such as lobster and steak, infinity pool, beach loungers, and access to luxe cabanas. Hideaway Beach would which is the adults-only section. Entry starts around$40 per person. Think Vegas-style party scene with a DJ and swimmer bar. Cabanas and daybeds, they start around$1,000. Some include water park or beach club admission for up to six to eight guests. And then excursions, there's zip line, helium balloon rides, snorkeling, jet skis, kayaking, and more. We'll kind of talk through excursions a little bit later. So a pro tip for this section, definitely be on the lookout in the cruise planner for your cruise, because a lot of times these things will go on sale, especially like Black Friday type sales. It's not always at that time, but that's a good time to start looking. I know that some of my clients have gotten the water park half off. And you can always book it and cancel it and rebook if you see like a better price down the road. True. All right, our next section is all about pools, beaches, and the best vibes. So the Oasis Lagoon is a massive pool with islands, coves, and a swimming bar. It does get kind of lively midday, so head early if you want space to spread out. The best quiet beach is on Chill Island. It's a little bit farther from the ships So as Crystal was saying, it's like actually south, but on the map, it's like you go up and to the left from the ship. It's quiet, peaceful, and closer to the food and drinks. All around beach would probably be South Beach. It's a great mix of space, beach games, floating bar nearby, and close to the food and restrooms. Harbor Beach is best for the smallest crowds and the calmest water. It is on a protected inlet, which makes the water not as choppy. And then like we alluded to earlier, the party spots. This is the Oasis Lagoon Swim Bar, always packed and festive. And then Hideaway Beach, the full-on adult-only party zone. And for a floating bar, you have one located off of South Beach. You can wade out into the water, climb the steps, grab a drink. No blender drinks here, just beer and basic cocktails. All right, my favorite part is the food. So for food and drinks, the included options. You have Skipper's Grill and Chill Grill. These are both buffet style with tacos, burgers, sandwiches, and salads. So these are just like an extension of the ship included. You don't have to pay for it. The Snack Shacks, think grab-and-go chicken sandwiches, fries, Greek salad, mozzarella sticks, funnel cakes, all that good stuff. And then a DIY dessert, make your own cookie ice cream sandwich at the self-serve stations. Yum. For premium dining, you can go to Cocoa Beach Club. This is more high end, full service dining. Think lobster, steak, ceviche type entrees. And then also Captain Jack's. It is an extra fee. It has wings and fries. It is near the pier. You can get shaded seating and it has live music. Your drink packages work on the island. So your onboard deluxe beverage package or refreshment package extends to Coco Cay. Same with the Boom internet packages. You can post your pictures in real time. If you need to work, leave your work at home. And then your daily crown and anchor drink vouchers can be used here as well. I've actually heard that their internet is a lot better than Disney's internet when it comes to island internet. Yeah, VOOM. I've heard VOOM is much better as well. I agree. Next is some planning tips and hidden gems. Early bird strategy. Get off the ship as early as you can. Just like with, honestly, anywhere you go, anywhere you travel, it's going to be less crowded the earlier that you get off the ship. And it's also going to be less hot in the morning, then return mid-afternoon after the crowds have thinned out again. So the middle of the day, probably like that like 10 to 3 time frame is when it's the most crowded. And you want to try to avoid that time frame as much as you can if you want to get the least amount of crowds. Make sure you eat breakfast on the ship. There's no breakfast anywhere on the island. So just make sure you grab something before you go. Yeah, so if you do get up and go out there early, Don't go so early that you don't eat breakfast. Towels are not handed out on the island. You do have to bring them from the ship. But there are towel swap stations across Coco Cay. So you can exchange wet towels for fresh ones. Something of note is that you do have to check out your towels. So this is on the ship or not. And however many towels you check in, you have to turn back in. So if you check out four towels and you turn back in three, then you're going to get charged... each towel that you don't return. And it's$25 per towel. So you definitely want to make sure that you're paying attention to how many towels you're taking and how many towels you're returning. Yeah, Boreal's a lot more strict about this than like Disney is. So don't let your husband take eight towels and only bring back two. Right. Accidentally end up like in the suitcase or something like that. Yes. Free lockers. These are available near Thrill, Water park, the zipline, and chill island areas first come, first serve. For accessibility, most of the island is wheelchair accessible. There are pool lifts available at Oasis Lagoon and Cocoa Beach Club. There is a dress code for the water slides. No rash guards are allowed on non-raft slides. The lifeguards are really strict, so just keep note of that. Bring closed-toe shoes if you are doing the zipline. I'd say this goes along with all of our cruising episodes. If you're doing anything extra, you need closed-toed shoes, like climbing wall, ice skating, like all the ice skating, you'll need socks. Just make sure you're aware. On the island, look out for wildlife. They have chickens, iguanas, and birds that roam freely. So you never know what you're going to see. It just makes me laugh that they have chickens that are roaming around. I don't know why. It just makes me like chuckle. The official drink of Coco Cay is the Coco Loco. It's frozen, fruity, and you can get it with or without alcohol. And yes, you can snorkel. Just make sure you bring your own gear or you can rent it. There's even a sunken plane wreck that you can find. It's fun. Okay, so next we're going to talk through excursions. Each port stop on a cruise always has a selection of excursions offered. So Coco Cay is no different and it has a wide selection of things to choose from. For all of the different areas, they each have day passes and cabana rentals. So any of the areas that we went through, they're all going to offer that as an option. Some of the other things that you can you can purchase for an excursion is the Coco Cay all day snorkeling at your leisure. The swimming pigs tour, which this is just really popular in the Caribbean period, like where any a lot of the places where you go. This is a fun excursion that you can book. There's a glass bottom boat tour. A wave jet guided tour. So it's a Sea-Doo tour. You can do a combined swimming pigs and stingray tour. Reef snorkeling, which sounds so fun to me. There's sandbar getaway. So they take you in like a little boat to a sandbar and you can snorkel and have like a little private area. There is a floating beach mat. So it's just this gigantic mat that's out there and you can like all lay out on it. You can kayak. Scuba diving is available for certified divers. And then thrill water park, you can get like a full day or half day passes. And then last but not least, up, up and away helium balloon rides. All of those will be available to book within the app as excursions or on your cruise planner. I thought it was very neat that they have like a little key on each excursion and with like little pictures of what to wear. what to bring, if there's any like restrictions or minimum ages. So it's like all very easy to see if you click into one. So make sure you're checking. Oh, yeah, because, you know, sometimes you just forget or you don't think, oh, crap, I need, you know, money or money or, you know, yeah, you just get excited about the trip and you just don't think about it. So when we went, we were snorkeling in the Dominican and for some reason we didn't think to bring like a credit card we just had cash and little did we know there was like a massive like flea market outside so we're like shoot we have like enough cash to tip the driver and the excursion but we didn't think about like souvenirs after right right i bet that was so fun too yeah so it worked out someone took apple pay so that worked but i was like never making that mistake again oh i love apple pay it's the best i love being able to just take my phone phone and not have to worry about anything else. That's amazing. Just some last bonus tips and fun facts. Julie talked about this earlier, but there's a secret menu item. Ask for the chicken parm sandwich at the snack shack. You won't regret it. The DIY ice cream sandwiches. It's soft serve and cookies. Enough said. What else can you ask for there? That's perfect. Perfection. If you're wanting to do the helium balloon ride, the up, up, and away, it's best first thing in the morning. The wind tends to pick up later, and if it's over so many knots, they can't fly. Same with the one at Disney Springs. You don't want to be one of those people that ends up on social media because you get blown away. And people are filming you getting like blown out into no man's land. Day beds and in pool loungers at Cocoa Beach Club go fast, as you can imagine. So this is something that you want to get there early to grab. On average, Coco Cay averages 11,000 guests per day. So expect some crowds, but it's big enough for their space to spread out. Yeah, that's a lot of people, but it is a very large space. And they do a good job dispensing the people. My clients that have gone, they've never come back and complained that it was overly crowded. I think the water park probably gets pretty crowded, but I think people just kind of come to expect that. But no one's ever had an issue with finding a chair or anything like that.$250 million was invested to upgrade this island to what it is today. It is, like we were just saying, it is massive and has tons to do. It's a gorgeous space. If you ask anybody who loves Castaway for Disney. They love Coco probably more just because there's more to do. They've just done such a good job with it. It's unique in that they have that gigantic water park as part of the island. Speaking of which, it holds the tallest water slide in North America and the largest wave pool in the Caribbean. Well, that's fun. On a little island out there in the middle of nowhere. I know. Every time I see it, everything is so colorful and bright and just happy. It is a perfect day. It really is. So if you found this episode helpful and you would like to go visit Perfect Day, be sure to share it with a friend or leave us a review. We would love to help you get there. As always, our planning services are completely free to you. As always, thank you so much for listening. We appreciate all of our listeners. We hope you all have a fantastic week and we will chat with you all next week. Bye. thanks for tuning in to another episode of wonderlust and wishes if you enjoyed today's episode don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform and remember the world is full of wonders waiting to be explored until next time happy travels bye for now