On our most recent Royal Caribbean cruise on the Star of the Seas, we made our second visit to the adults-only Hideaway Beach Club on Cococay, Royal Caribbean’s private island. We had such a nice time on our first visit to Hideaway Beach that we wanted to visit it again, this time with my older parents.
While there are plenty of complimentary spaces available to anyone visiting Cococay, Hideaway Beach is one of the areas that requires paid admission. Hideaway Beach was opened in late January of 2024 around the same time that Icon of the Seas set sail for the first time. In my opinion, this was a brilliant move on Royal Caribbean’s part because with a ship that can accommodate a maximum of 7,600 passengers and is geared towards children, an adults-only (18+) area on Cococay is what many people are looking for. There are some other pluses to the experience at Hideaway Beach, such as the really fun swim up bar located in the heated pool (the Oasis Lagoon can get really cold) and the increased number and quality of food options. Just like with most of Royal Caribbean’s add-ons, the price of admission can range from $39-$100. It’s our opinion that at the right price (I wouldn’t want to pay more than $50 per person) Hideaway Beach is a lot of fun and worth it to us.
The one downside that some have noted about Hideaway Beach is that the music can get really loud and the atmosphere can be too lively for someone simply trying to chill. And, truly if you are looking for a calming day by the pool, perhaps Hideaway Beach is not worth your money. It is a rather expansive area, however, that not only features the pool area but alsoa large beach area. If wanting to get away from the music, it is totally possible to find a quieter place at the beach.
In order to settle this question of “Is Hideaway Beach for everyone?”, for our latest cruise, we booked Hideaway Beach for not only ourselves but for my mother-in-law and my parents as well. We knew that my mother-in-law would enjoy it, because she visited it with us before and really liked it (she loved the pool and the swim-up bar). But, my parents were a wild card. We figured that they would appreciate the kid-free aspect to it, but we weren’t sure how the vibe would work for them.
On the day of our visit to Cococay, Chris and I arrived at Hideaway Beach soon after it opened so we could claim deck chairs and take full advantage of the admission. Shortly after that, my mother-in-law joined us and we began to enjoy our time there. My parents move a lot slower than we do, so they didn’t get there for another hour. The fact that they made it there at all is a testament to how well Royal Caribbean has set it up to help people get to where they need to go while on Cococay. Once they arrived, they decided not to sit with us by the pool but opted for beach chairs. They picked an area that was well shaded as that was more important to them than getting away from the music. In fact, they didn’t mention the music at all. This may be because my mom is hard of hearing and my dad can apparently tune anything out. Their main complaint was that there could have been more shaded areas available. There were a lot of umbrellas that you could put up but few areas of true shade. If shade is a deal breaker for you, you could reserve a cabana, which is an add-on that can be quite costly.
Everyone really enjoyed the food that was available at Hideaway Beach. As a mid-morning “snack”, Chris and I tried some of the pizza and empanadas. We enjoyed them all but found that the chicken and apple empanada were the best. For lunch, my parents got the fried coconut shrimp, some sandwiches and enjoyed some of their other items, many of which were exclusive to Hideaway Beach. Regardless of where we are on Cococay, the snack shack is one of our favorite spots to get lunch. It is complimentary and has all of the ingredients to make the secret Chicken Parm Sandwich or Chris’ creation, the Cococay Double Down, a chicken patty between two funnel cakes. All of the usual items found at the Snack Shack were available in Hideaway as well as some really great additions exclusive to Hideaway Beach.
While Hideaway Beach Club might not have been my parents’ vibe, it really wasn’t about them being older but more just about how they preferred to enjoy their day. They could have had the experience that they were looking for (the shade and good food with few to no kids around) at no extra cost while staying on the ship. And, even though they prefer the slower speed that staying on the ship can provide, they were very appreciative of the opportunity to give it a try. And, you might not know that it is your vibe until you give it a try. If we go back to Cococay as a family, my parents might opt to skip Hideaway Beach while Chris and I will likely book it again, with my mother-in-law in tow. We certainly look forward to the day where we can take our eldest son with us to Hideaway Beach.
If you are looking to try out Hideaway Beach Club, I would love to help you plan a cruise that will take you and your crew to Cococay. Contact me today so that I can help you find a great time to visit this fun, adults-only area.