CocoCay or Little Stirrup Cay is one of the

Berry Islands The Berry Islands are a chain of islands and a district of the Bahamas, covering about of the northwestern part of the Out Islands. The Berry Islands consist of about thirty islands and over one hundred small islands or cays, often referred t ...

, a collection of Bahamian

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

s and small islands located approximately 55 miles north of Nassau. It is used for tourism by

Royal Caribbean Group Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a global cruise holding company incorporated in Liberia and based in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival C ...

exclusively. Little Stirrup Cay is adjacent to

Great Stirrup Cay Great Stirrup Cay is a Sloan, Gene (June 24, 2017). "Norwegian Cruise's private Caribbean isle gets a serious spruce up". ''Times-Colonist'' (Victoria, British Columbia). p. D5. island that is part of the Berry Islands in the Bahamas. Norwegian C ...

, Norwegian Cruises' private island since 1977.

Description

The island is less than a mile (1.57 kilometer) long from east to west and less than 480 yards (.43 kilometer) from north to south. It has a population of 38 (2010 census). In 2019, the island was extensively renovated by Royal Caribbean at the cost of US$250 million.The island is marketed as a Royal Caribbean private destination named "Perfect Day at CocoCay" A pier was constructed on the north side of the island, which allows cruise ships to dock directly instead of using tenders. The east end is the center of recreational activities with beaches fronting a

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

basin where

manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living speci ...

rays Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

, and numerous

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

can be seen. Nature trails run the entire length and width of the island. The renovation also included a water park, with North America's largest and tallest water slide, Daredevil's Peak.

Tourism

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which owns

Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean International (RCI), also formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Flo ...

and Celebrity Cruises, assumed the lease of the island upon acquisition of Admiral Cruises in 1988. It was renamed to “Perfect day Coco Cay” in 2018. The island is now separated into 2 different sides, the “thrill” side (which is the water park) with 2 different towers containing a total of 9 slides, and a pool with different amenities, and a wave pool. And a “chill” side, that contains many different beaches lined with chairs and hammocks. Also available on the island are different cabanas that gusts can rent out during there time on the island

Climate

References

External links

Aerial photos of Little Stirrup Cay
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309041631/http://www.blue-n-gold.com/halfdan/bahamas.htm , date=2013-03-09
About the Stirrup caysImages tagged with "Coco Cay" at Flickr
Berry Islands Royal Caribbean International Private islands of the Bahamas