Mariner of the Seas Cruise - Our Day at Coco Cay

On our 2nd day of our cruise, we didn't rush to get off the ship because we knew that we had until 5:00pm to visit the private island of Coco Cay. We got up and ate breakfast at the Windjammers, which is a buffet on the ship. We then went back to our stateroom, and packed up the cameras, etc., to board the tender boats to the island. It was a very hot day. Luckily, we were the last ones to get on the tender, so it wasn't long before we were heading to the island.

Our 2nd day onboard the Mariner of the Seas, consisted of us visiting the private island of Royal Caribbean, which was Coco Cay. The cruise line is in the process of refurbishing this private island, by building a dock, and having all sorts of new water activities. During our visit though, we could not see much being done, because they have built walls to hide the construction. The dock only seemed to be 1/2 finished during our visit, and we tendered to the island.

It's still a beautiful island, but I was a bit surprised to see how it looked now, compared to what it looked like many years ago, when we visited. Many trees have been removed, and there is less shade than before. I didn't see any hammocks hanging from trees like they once had.

The BBQ lunch that they had on the island was not very good. Very limited food to choose from, and what they had, didn't taste all that great. They had plenty of picnic tables to sit at, and they were shaded, so that was a plus. They had cold ice water, ice tea, and lemonade available to drink.

Coco Cay has a small marketplace where you can shop for the normal things that you would see at cruise ports, such as t-shirts, sun dresses, tote bags, beaded necklaces, and bracelets and things like that. We walked through the marketplace, but didn't buy anything.

Beer on the island was almost $11.00 each (including the gratuity and tax). We were a little surprised when we seen the price. We only seen the one designated smoking area, but then again, we weren't looking for them, because we are non-smokers.

There are many iguanas on the island, and they are not that afraid of people. I got some really nice photos of a few during our visit.

I was a little disappointed in the island though, because it was so built up, compared to what it was when we went many years ago. It just doesn't seem as private as it use to be.

Across from Coco Cay, in Norwegian Cruise Line's private island, called Great Stirrup Cay. It looks like you can see a lighthouse from a distance, but it's not the lighthouse that you see on the island. The lighthouse is further in a distance. We weren't sure what the structure was, but it definitely wasn't a lighthouse. You can see what I'm referring to, in the photos below.