When you step on a cruise line private island, and it’s maybe not the first thing after the ship arrives, the site can be discouraging. Yes, it’s beautiful, but there are people everywhere and every seat you can see has a towel on it already.
It looks like the island is full — something that’s believable when two large ships are in port. That, however, is usually not the reality.
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Islands like Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay and Norwegian’s Great Stirrup Cay have more room than it appears. Yes, you can buy access to more private spaces, but you don’t actually need to do that.
All of these islands are bigger than they appear. It might take time to find what you’re looking for, but even on the most crowded days it’s probably there.
Come Cruise With Me Executive Editor Dan Kline and PostCard Travel Planning’s Dennis Post have the lowdown on one each hack to guarantee yourself a place to sit on a cruise line private island.
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How to not spend money at cruise line private islands
Transcript:
Dan Kline: Good afternoon, cruisers, or good morning, or good night. I don’t know where you are. My name is Dan Kline. I am the executive editor of Come Cruise With Me. That is comecruisewith.com or comecruisewith.me. I am next to Dennis Post.
We are sweltering under the sun here at Great Stirrup Cay, but I want to give a piece of advice. Dennis, we’ve been to private islands a lot of times together. Is that fair to say?
Dennis Post: Yes.
Kline: Now, you can pay extra for cabanas, you can rent chairs in certain cases, but I’ve been to Coco Cay, I’ve been to the Carnival Island, I’ve been to the Disney Island. There is one secret piece of advice that I think is really important on a crowded day. Do you know what that is, Dennis?
He does not.Â
It is keep walking. Nobody goes all the way to the far end of the island.
There’s always chairs there. You can see open chairs here, and people are looking around. The chairs that are closest to the ship are going to get claimed first, so if you’re looking for a place to sit down, just keep walking.
In many ways, it’s like the old Disney advice. Which is go to the back of the park and work your way forward, because everyone gets off at Epcot, gets in line at Spaceship Earth, and the line is two and a half hours, then at five o’clock the line is 15 minutes. So keep walking.
You don’t have to pay extra, and really it is a lovely experience, whether you’re at Great Stirrup Cay, whether you’re at CocoCay, whether you’re at Celebration Cay coming up soon. I don’t even remember what the Disney Island is called, but that was lovely.Â
Have a good day, but don’t complain about not finding a seat.
There’s always seats. I am Dan Kline. He is Dennis Post.
Come cruise with us soon.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me’s Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
