Fall, 2022 4-Day Cruise to the Bahamas, Part 3

Hi! Hope this finds you and your family doing well, and enjoying the peaceful and comforting Grace of our Lord.

On Monday, October 31, 2022, we boarded the Royal Caribbean (RCL) cruise ship “Independence of the Seas” in Port Canaveral, Florida, and sailed on a 4-day cruise to the Bahamas.

This is the third of 3 articles on this cruise.
Part 1 shows Days 1 and 2 of the cruise, Port Canaveral and the day at sea.
It can be seen here: 2022 Bahamas Cruise – Days 1 and 2

Part 2 shows Day 3 of the cruise, the port of call in Nassau, Bahamas.
It can be seen here: 2022 Bahamas Cruise – Day 3

Part 3 will show Day 4 of the cruise and the port of call in Royal Caribbean’s private island Coco Cay, Bahamas.
This will include:
– Sunrise and arrival in Coco Cay
– Sights from around the island
– Views of the port areas

The following photo was provided by Royal Caribbean’s “Press Center” site.
I could never find a way to photograph the whole ship! 🙂

Itinerary:

Day 4

After Day 3 at Nassau, the ship sailed overnight to their priviate island – Cocoa Cay, Bahamas.

We visited Coco Cay on our October, 1998 cruise on Royal Caribbean.
Then, the island was minimially “developed”.
The ship had to anchor out and tender (by small boat) people back and forth to the island.

In May, 2019, Royal Caribbean completed a $250 million renovation of the island which included:
– Pier on which their ships could dock to allow passengers to walk a short distance to the island attractions
– Thrill waterpark, including the tallest water slide in North America (fee)
– Zip line and Helium Balloon (fee)
– Three main beach areas, some with cabanas for rent, all with beach chairs and umbrellas
– Five places to eat (free)

Sunrise and Arrival

Enjoyed another beautiful sunrise during the arrival at the pier in Coco Cay.

The lights on the right are on Great Stirrup Cay, the private island for Norwegian Cruise Line.

Note the progress of the sunrise.

The ship already docked is Royal Caribbean’s “Allure of the Seas”.

The sun is rising on a “Perfect Day at Coco Cay”

Island Tour

I mainly walked around the island to see the sights.
I did try to snorkel, but the mask leaked and there really wasn’t much to see in the water anyway…
But, I did get wet! 🙂

“All ashore that’s going ashore…”

I walked clockwise around the island seen in this map starting at the end of the pier.
I snorkeled (what I did of it anyway) in the Chill Island area (on the left side of the map).
My favorite area was Cove Beach (on the upper right side of the map, near South Beach).
It was much less crowded. If I return to Coco Cay, that’s where I’ll spend most of my time.

I believe it costs around $80 to get into and use the attractions in this part of the island.
The cost may vay based on the time of year.
Regardless, I only went to areas that were free.

Here are scenes and views from my walk around the island…

The snorkeling area. There’s supposed to be a submerged airplane somewhere out there…

The white specks on the pier are sea gulls.
The water was beautiful!

An example of cabanas one could rent for the day.
I’d heard that some went as high as $200!

There were all kinds of boats available to rent.

I’d imagine these were the most expensive.

This is Cove Beach, on the south side of the island.
I waded out for a ways, was shallow at low tide.

Back to the ship after a fun walk.

Pier Area and Views from the Ship

Before departing, I walked around the pier and on top of the ship for final views of the area.

Castaway Cay (Norwegian Cruise Line)

Coco Cay

We departed Coco Cay at the end of Day 4, and pulled into Port Canaveral early (7 am) on Day 5 to end the cruise.

God Bless!!!