Our 'one last time' trip- October 2018 - Day 18 - Cococay

[minnie52]

My alarm woke me at 6.30 today. We were stopping at Cococay today but when I looked out the window land still seemed miles away! There is a lot of work going on there at the moment – I believe they are building a dock for ships so in the future you will not need to get a tender from the ship (they probably aren’t the professional terms). Because of this there were big cargo ships and cranes in the sea so the view wasn’t as pretty as it could have been.

I started packing up a few of our bits as we would be back in Florida tomorrow! Our few days on the ship had flown past. Dan woke around 7 and said it had been really choppy in the night (but he is a bit of a drama queen - so probably hadn't been!) Leah woke around 7.15 and got dressed and played on the ipad while she waited for the rest of us to be ready.

Dan went down and got a coffee from Starbucks while I tried to wake Ellie. We were ready and headed down to breakfast at about 8. Once we were fed we made a quick stop at the room to grab our stuff (and make sure we had swim shorts! ) and then headed to the gangway.

We had to get a tender to land today and we managed to get on the first one over. As we came in you could see one side of the island was a complete building site – I believe they are building a pool area and a whole load of other things. It looks like it will be amazing once its finished.

Despite this, once we were off the tender we couldn't see or hear any of the building work going on and it didn't distract from our enjoyment of the day. We got off the boat at about 9.30 and wandered round the beach areas to try and decide where to set up base for the day. The beach first was the snorkel beach which was this one:

but we walked further right and ended up on a quieter beach just before the VIP area.

The one further round from us was the family beach with inflatables in the sea and other activities. The plan was to get round there later but it never happened and we ran out of time.

Dan had remembered his snorkel mask today so was keen to get in the sea, Ellie loves fish so he stayed in the shallow area with her and they saw a few fish. Leah paddled around the shore splashing around. The sea was so blue!

It wasn't long before Dan decided he wanted a drink so when she’d got bored he came back and went and got us a few drinks. Luckily, we were able to charge them to our seapass as the island is owned by RC and we had forgotten our cash and bank cards . I got a pina coloda and he got a g&t. Mine came in an orange souvenir mug which didn’t make for a very pretty Instagram picture!

The kids amused themselves for a while splashing in the waves and building sandcastles. It was sad knowing our holiday was coming to an end but I felt so lucky to have been able to spend this time together in some of the most amazing places.

Dan headed off into the deeper area to do some more snorkelling around the shipwreck while Leah did some reading and Ellie played. When he came back he said he had seen a huge stingray, jellyfish and large schools of fish. I would have liked to have gone out there but was too scared to go by myself! I'd brought him a gopro before we went exactly for this snorkelling and he had left it at home which was a shame!

We spent the morning playing and relaxing on the beach, Dan
had a few more g&t's and before we knew it it was coming up for lunchtime. We had a glass bottom boat booked this afternoon so we headed for lunch fairly early. It was included again and was buffet style but not as much choice as on the boat. There were burgers, hot dogs, chicken kebabs, salad though and plenty to choose from. There didn’t seem to be enough tables for everyone though and they were outside so no air con! We managed to squeeze on the end of another couples table though and ate our food.

By the time we had finished we had a quick toilet stop and then checked in for our glass bottom boat. I wasn't going to book an excursion for Cococay but I had read some great reviews and booked this. I was really looking forward to it! The island was so pretty.

We waited to be called and then followed the driver to the boat – on our way we saw a huge group of iguanas sunbathing!

There were probably about 20 people on the boat – mainly adults which made me a bit nervous in case the kids got bored but they were fine.

It was run by a local ex diver and another man and they were fantastic. They showed us their island where they live and explained their commute which looked incredible! He was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic it was so enjoyable to listen to him talk. He took us round to the east first and over the coral where we saw schools of fish, some blue tangs and jellyfish. He also pointed out how clear the sea was it was 24foot deep in places and you could see straight to the floor. It was amazing. I also managed to get a full picture of our ship.

He then took us round to the other side of the island where we got to hold starfish, sand dollars, lobsters and all sorts of shells (including a moana shell according to the kids).

It was an hour and a half but it went so quick and we were all disappointed when they said it was time to head back. We got back around 2.30 and Dan wanted one last snorkel so we headed back to the loungers where Leah read and Ellie spent some time splashing in the water.

Dan came back around 3 and said he had seen another stingray and a shark about 2m long! He was a bit shook up but the lifeguard said it would have been a lemon shark and was harmless (I must admit after googling it I would have probably been scared too lol) After that encounter there was no chance he was getting back in the sea though so we headed to the tender.

We were one of the last ones on but we managed to get a seat and meant we weren’t waiting to long before we headed back to ship. When we got back they let the whole top deck off first which seemed to take ages and it was so hot and uncomfortable by this point. But we were eventually in and took the stairs to our room. Dan grabbed his coffee card and went and got a Cappuccino and the girls a chocolate milkshake. We all had showers and got ready for dinner. It was less of a rush than last night and I did some jobs I had been putting off, like ordering our shopping for when we got back and transferring some more money to our currency card. We went down to dinner at about 6 as usual.

Tonight I had a goats cheese and tomato tart

Carbonara

and pavlova.

Dan had coconut shrimp

lamb shank and fish of the day

followed by profiteroles.

We also had a crème brulee to share.

Leah had chicken fingers and Ellie had steak. They both had the Lenson special of brownie, ice cream and cookies as well.

The service was outstanding again and food was amazing. Towards the end of the sitting the head chef made a speech and they all sung a song. It was actually quite emotional, and it was a nice way to end the trip. They all work so hard and we made sure we said a proper goodbye and thank you to both Anouska and Lenson. The kids gave them both hugs they had enjoyed their experience so much.

Anoushka told us that if they don’t get feedback of 10/10 then they have to report to their manager and explain why! She also said they are forewarned when they get an English family as they are notorious for acting as if nothing is wrong and complaining afterwards. How embarrassing! I guess the American way is more upfront about things so at least they know where they stand. For us the service really stood out and we will be making no complaints!

After we had finished eating we headed back to our room so we could finish packing. We came back to another towel animal - much to the kids delight.

We were sad to be leaving tomorrow – after being unsure to start with we had loved our cruising experience. It was different to what we were used to but the places we had visited, the service and food we had experienced had made our trip so enjoyable it was something we would love to do again. In fact since we have been back it has been non stop what Leah has talked about and asked to go back and do again!

We decided to self disembark tomorrow and to carry our own luggage rather than try and get it all sorted and left outside tonight but we needed to be off by 8.30 so it would be another early start. Dan watched some more of his programmes while I did some trip notes and we were all in bed by 10.

[LLKJDisney]

What amazing beaches the sea looks incredible... and the food looks delicious!

[Palm trees]

That sea is so blue, looks fab. I think I'd have been utterly terrified if I came across a 2m long shark though!