Castaway Cay vs RC Coco Cay

[sunshineNJ]

Can someone who has been to both compare them please. Thanks

[tinkerone]

deleted.

[ilovetexas]

Originally Posted by tinkerone

i myself have only been to dcl's cc but my friend has been to both and says there is no comparison, that cc is by far better. i have heard that rc's is fenced off from the rest of the island to keep people out and that you often see children there hoping for food. that i think is very sad. disney has the whole island.
now as i said, i've only heard this so maybe someone else can chime in.

You are referring to Labadee, not Coco Cay. Labadee is a private area on Haiti, Coco Cay is a private island in the Bahamas; both are utilized by RCCL.

I've been to both Castaway and Coco and I think they are both pretty. I preferred Coco Cay but it really depends on what you want. Food was about the same on both (yuck!), beaches were very pretty and clean. I did like that there were trams on Castaway to get you around from place to place. Our DCL cruise with kids couldn't dock at Castaway so we never visited the family beach, our Fantasy cruise was sans kids and we went to the adult beach. I thought the loungers at the adult beach were poorly maintained and drink service was spotty. Coco Cay is a tender port so that's different, if you don't like tenders, then Castaway is the better option.

I've been to three private islands (so far) and they are all lovely beach days. So far, Half Moon Cay has been my favorite but I wouldn't turn down a day at any of them!

Here is a link where you can research some of the private islands:
http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1418

[tinkerone]

Originally Posted by ilovetexas

You are referring to Labadee, not Coco Cay. Labadee is a private area on Haiti, Coco Cay is a private island in the Bahamas; both are utilized by RCCL.

I've been to both Castaway and Coco and I think they are both pretty. I preferred Coco Cay but it really depends on what you want. Food was about the same on both (yuck!), beaches were very pretty and clean. I did like that there were trams on Castaway to get you around from place to place. Our DCL cruise with kids couldn't dock at Castaway so we never visited the family beach, our Fantasy cruise was sans kids and we went to the adult beach. I thought the loungers at the adult beach were poorly maintained and drink service was spotty. Coco Cay is a tender port so that's different, if you don't like tenders, then Castaway is the better option.

I've been to three private islands (so far) and they are all lovely beach days. So far, Half Moon Cay has been my favorite but I wouldn't turn down a day at any of them!

sorry, your right. i think i will just delete my post......again, my bad, sorry.

[ilovetexas]

Originally Posted by tinkerone

sorry, your right. i think i will just delete my post......again, my bad, sorry.

Hey, no worries, I think RCCL is the only one with 2 private islands and it can be confusing.

[iloverags2]

Not sure when the previous poster's friend was at CocoCay, but in the numerous times I have been there I have never seen children begging for food (which is what I think was eluded to in that post). CocoCay is a private island, just like all other cruise lines. No, it's not nearly as large as Castaway Cay (at least not the developed areas) and it is not as nice as CC either. But it is a nice little island. My biggest complaint would be the nickel and diming RCI does. The water toys (all pretty much inflatable - trampoline, "rock" wall, slide) are extra. RCI also does not allow you to bring your own snorkel gear and then snorkel for free (although if you walk to the furthest beach area, you can often do so without RCI employees prohibiting you). Castaway Cay has many more opportunities for recreation (biking for $6/person, volleyball, crab races, etc.) although CocoCay has a few activities as well.

This board has numerous photos of Castaway Cay that the OP can find. I'll just post a few pics from CocoCay...

Cove and pier where tender drops off ship passengers (all shops located here)


View of ship from cove


BBQ area


One of many hammocks (found the further you walk)


My mom relaxing on the beach (it was incredibly windy that day, so the staff had turned the loungers on their side)


Mom walking along the beach


Hope this helps you get an idea of what to expect if you decide RCI over DCL.