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CoCo Cay!
Royal Caribbean's private island: Day #4

We arrived at CoCo Cay about 8 on our last morning. We had been told to catch an early tender if possible, the crowds really get going about 10:00. The only private island that you get to "drop the plank" on is Disney's, where you pull right up to the beach! Here, you must get on a tender (2 level boat that holds a great many of your closest friends) and take a 7-8 minute ride to the island. We were one of the first groups there, arriving about 9:30ish. The boats run ever 10-15 minutes, three of them running at a time.

The island is beautiful. (It's not Castaway Cay, Disney's paradise... sorry I'm spoiled...) It is very very nice though! There are tons and tons of chairs, enough for everyone. That's always a concern when you know that all 2,000 passengers are headed for a chair. The snorkeling area is huge, as big as Disney's. There is a water park area with slides, climbing structures in the water etc...for a small fee. There are water sports to participate in for a fee as well. (jet skis, para-sailing, that kind of thing) There is a grille there where lunch is served, a bar, a first aide station, plenty of restrooms and a straw market.

Andy took alot of snorkeling pictures and said there were more fish in these areas than he'd ever seen in all the other snorkeling experiences. (I'll take seeing the tiny ones from the safety of my nice float on top of the water!) There was a sunken boat and airplane out there too- He also saw a lady get bit by a fish, yowie! They'd been told that the fish were aggressive at feeding time and ONLY the lifeguards were to feed the fish. A lady asked for food and tried to feed them herself. The fish drew blood, YIKES!

We lost Andy at one point, only to find him napping in a shady hammock. Not to complain too much though, because I soon joined him! Lunch was great! The cooks from the ship come to the island to fix BBQ ribs, chicken, hamburgers and hotdogs along with tons of sides...and of course dessert! They also serve these, to die for, drinks on the island. They are called "Coco Loco's" and you can get them with or without "booze" as they say. I had two without, YUMMY! They are a combination of pina colada, orange juice, mango juice and something else I can't remember. More like a fruity smoothie and good stuff!! (Mom said just today, she sure wish she had one!)

We checked out the straw market too. They had super cute stuff and it was much nicer than shopping at the straw market in Nassau. There was a nice little area set up for it and it had great deals. I found a purse that I drooled over, but passed up. (a miracle in itself, only b/c I had gotten TWO the day before we left!) I got the cutest tank top with palm trees and swim suits hung out on a line.

After about 6 hours of fun and ALOT OF SUN...we were beat! It was time to return to the ship for rest, clean up and sadly...packing! You know the drill if you've cruised, have your luggage outside your room by midnight! Ick-