Has anyone been there? Nowadays, so many “resorts” are build to order by Cruise ships, I do not know them anymore.
I will be at Coco Cay in two months. Need advice on what to expect and what is good.
I’ve not been to CocoCay, but I’ve been to the Disney private island 3 times. It’s great as only those from the ship are there so there are no (or only a few very controlled) people trying to sell you things or braid your hair, and no one begging for money on the beaches. You don’t have to pay extra for beach chairs or towels. At Disney, the food is included and you pay for alcohol. There are a couple of different beaches for different purposes, like an adult beach, a swimming beach, a snorkeling section, a beach for paddling and those big paddle boats.
I was there but it was years ago and I believe they’ve done massive development since. Have you looked on Cruise Critic? They have a thread for Private Islands in the Ports of Call Caribbean forum, and there is tons of discussion about Coco Cay.
I’ve been there a couple of times. Some people we met on the ship rented a cabana right on the water and invited us to spend the day with them. We had a waiter and lots of good food and drink. I tried the zip line for the first time! DH got very tipsy, which isn’t like him.
Overall, I would say it’s a fun place but nothing special. You certainly won’t get the feel of the Bahamas.
My best friend and I really didn’t like Coco Cay, or the (distant) cousin, Amber Cove, in the Dominican Republic. We love to take cruises for many reasons, but staying in a cruise line designed “resort” when there is so much culture just outside its doors is not one of them. If we felt a destination wasn’t safe enough to explore we simply wouldn’t go to that destination. Now maybe if we were older (than our youthful 60s) and maybe had “been there and done that” we might have a different opinion, but we still enjoy the exploration.
It’s just one day, a beach day. Take a book and read by the ocean.
That’s the kind of day to stay on the ship while (hopefully) everyone else goes ashore.
I liked the zip line. 
Any redeem value on the food ashore in comparison to on board?
Zip line looks exciting.
I haven’t been to Coco Cay in a few years and I know it’s been expanded but we had a great day there on our cruise. When we went it was basically a long stretch beautiful beaches, set up for comfort and fun. Yes it is crowded with your fellow cruisers, but if you don’t have mobility issues and don’t need to be right at the entrance or the main bar you should be able to walk down to a more tranquil spot. We did have grandparents with mobility issues with us, so we paid extra for a special section (looking on the website I think it is now called “chill island”) where they brought us there via a little cart, and we had a shady day bed and chairs and a smaller bar/food area. It was really nice! And even though we had the cart bring us there and back, at one point my husband and I walked the whole length of the beach, back to the main area. It wasn’t that big-if we hadn’t had the grandparents with us we wouldn’t have upgraded to the special area. I’d at least get off the boat and check it out!
When we did a RCCL trip, we spent one day at their private beach resort area. It was a really nice relaxing day…at the beach. Regarding the food, there were appetizers all day long on a buffet (there were several set up) and a great cookout as well…nothing fancy but just fun.
We liked it as a change of pace…and it was the only time we went to the beach on a 10 day cruise.
I would suggest renting a cabana for the day. You get nice chaise seats, and a cabana boy who will take your orders for things!
The cabanas aren’t cheap, so you might want to find a few fellow travelers to go in on one with you.
There is a max allowed in each cabana…so how large is your traveling party? You may have enough folks in your group.