How do the other cruise line's private islands compare to Castaway Cay?

[brewcrew]

Only been to Castaway Cay and Coco Cay. Coco Cay was just plain awful when we were there (7 years ago). It smelled horrendous and bird poop was all over the ocean playground area. Food was ok though. Castaway Cay has never disappointed me. Maybe Coco Cay has changed though...

 

[jimandami]

Tacking on to OP...anyone have experience with NCL's new Harvest Caye?

We were at Harvest Caye a couple weeks ago and I was underwhelmed. The large pool is nice, but the beach is pretty rocky and not nearly as pretty as Castaway. The zip lining did seem fun but kinda pricey. DH and DS rented a kayak, which was $35 I think and limited to a small area of water from what they said. Add that to the fact that you have to pay for food and drinks, and I wasn't impressed. Having said that, we loved our cruise on the Escape and we paid over $1000 less for that cruise in the Haven in a suite (with beverage package and dining package included) than we would have for a verandah on the Fantasy.

 

[Dug720]

I'm not sure if Amber Cove counts - pretty sure it is Carnival Corp exclusive and it's definitely a thing that was developed for ships. But...

No Beach that you can swim at or even lay out within the grounds. Just a pool. They have "cabanas" that I laughed at when I saw - over water, poolside, or hillside - that are barely shacks. There is a zip line but it looked short and boring for that. A pay restaurant and a couple of pay bars. And of course DI and that ilk. They do have a tiny little 6 or so booth area for local crafts.

Totally LOOKED manufactured. They didn't even attempt to make it look natural.

 

[hrhdhd]

Its been a while, but we've been to RCL's Coco Cay and NCL's Half Moon Cay.

Half Moon Cay is visited by Holland America and Carnival, but not on the same days.

HMC is very nice. It does require tendering, but the island has larger boats that it uses rather than the ship's tenders, unless two ships are there at the same time.

The beach is long and beautiful, offering shade as well as sun, there are private cabanas to rent (including a grand cabana that can fit like 12 people), and bars are nearby.

 

[mevelandry]

RCL seems to uses the word "Labadee" to hide the fact that is is located on the island of Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world.

-Paul

They don't hide it at all. It's written on the itinerary and in the description on Labadee's page of the RCCL website.