I will admit, that first impressions of Nachi Cocom aren't flashy. You take a taxi there, passing all the other beaches that you've read about (if you've researched the port at all), and the taxi pulls up at a little gate where they buzz you in. You don't see much when the taxi drops you off, and the first thing you do see is the lady with the sombreros who wants you to wear one and have your picture taken. By this point, you're probably thinking "did I make the right decision?" Then you proceed in to the register where they collect the rest of your money (in cash), and you feel a bit better because they had your name on the list. They then take you to your seats for the day, and your waiter runs over, introduces himself, and takes your first drink order.
Once you sit down and look around, we were very happy to find the beach uncrowded, but wondered if it would fill up later in the day. It didn't. Then we headed out into the ocean, and enjoyed the water, and the gentle surf that wasn't too strong for the kids. We used a float in the water and on the beach, the kids played in the sand with the sand toys we brought, and everyone had a great morning. Our lunch was great, and after lunch we took advantage of the pool which was one of my favorite parts. Once on the beach, or in the pool, our first impressions were greatly overshadowed by how beautiful it was and how much we all enjoyed ourselves.
We did pay to rent a float, and we did purchase the picture, and we did tip our waiter. But we still paid less than we would have with
DCL for a much more crowded experience without the beverages and the pool.