A common misconception amongst cruisers is that you have to spend money at CocoCay to have an incredible day on the island. The truth is that Royal Caribbean designed CocoCay so that you can walk off the ship and have an easy beach day with chairs, umbrellas, and incredible food without spending anything extra. Of course, you are paying for this day as part of your cruise fare, which is why cruises stopping at CocoCay tend to be higher, but currently Royal Caribbean’s private destination is one of the most sought after destinations in the Caribbean. Before we can answer the question about whether Hideaway is worth the extra money, let’s first talk about what Hideaway Beach is and how it’s different from the other beaches at CocoCay.
What is Hideaway Beach?
Hideaway Beach is Royal Caribbean’s adult-only (18+) beach club at CocoCay. The beach club includes a massive infinity pool with a swim up bar, a protected lagoon, multiple bars (my favorite is On the Rocks), and one new restaurant (included in the day pass price) called Slice of Paradise. The pizzas are decent, but I highly recommend the empanadas!
Of course, you also have the traditional snack shacks (branded as Hideaway Hut) here as well, which includes the typical offerings like the crispy chicken sandwich, and mozzarella sticks. In addition, the Hideaway Hut has some unique offerings which we’ve come to love such as the coconut shrimp and the ceviche.
Royal’s dynamic pricing for cruise add-ons
It’s worth mentioning that Royal Caribbean does dynamic pricing for all of their add-ons, meaning that the price you will pay for a drink package, wifi, or even Hideaway beach will fluctuate based on demand. There’s so many factors here, like whether CocoCay will have 2 Oasis Class ships that day, or whether it’s Spring Break, but because of the constant fluctuation and discounts that Royal does throughout the year, our recommendation is to book it early, but keep an eye out for emails promoting discounts. You can always cancel and rebook to take advantage of the new deal, all the way up to 72 hours before the cruise.
So… What are you really paying for with Hideaway Beach?
Like we mentioned above, CocoCay has so much to offer without paying anything extra, so why would I need to add-on Hideaway? There’s 5 main reasons I would book Hideaway Beach and hopefully this can serve as a guide for you on your upcoming trip to CocoCay:
- Hideaway Pool is heated, Oasis Lagoon (free to access) is not. If you are sailing in the winter months where the highs may be in the low 70s, this makes a big difference.
- No kids!! We love kids, but the truth is that Royal Caribbean is a family cruise line, so you’ll get your fair share of kids bumping into you on the pool deck or splashing you in the pool. If you are truly looking for an escape from that, Hideaway Beach is for you.
- You are looking for a fun, party atmosphere. Royal has come a long way with Hideaway Beach since opening it in early 2024. The music was originally pretty obnoxious, and tough to escape, even for my friends and I who were on a bachelor party, but Royal has listened to feedback and turned down the music across the private beach club entirely. Still today, the pool does feature a live DJ with air cannons, and a small section of the pool will feel like a Vegas-style pool party with champagne guns and dancing. The pool is huge, so you can be in the pool without being “in the party”.
- Quick bar service is important to you. CocoCay has so many bars and places to get drinks, but the truth is that at Hideaway, given the number of bars, you will have faster drink service compared to other parts of CocoCay. Again, this is totally dependent on the number of guests on the island, but even with 2 Oasis Class ships at CocoCay, we had remarkable bar service at Hideaway Beach. The number of employees and the layout of the beach club and the positioning of the bars make a massive difference.
- Live music and bar games. To me, this is by far one of my favorite things about Hideaway, which is On The Rocks. If you walk past the Hideaway Hut, like you are walking towards the ships, you will eventually stumble across On The Rocks, which features a live band (INCREDIBLE), shuffleboard, a pool table, and plenty of seats in the shade where you can soak up the remarkable ocean views. Typically when I’m at Hideaway, I easily spend 2 hours at On The Rocks alone!
How much extra should I be paying for a Hideaway day pass?
Given all the considerations above, it truly is a personal decision on whether Hideaway is worth it to you. All that to say, anything under $50 per person is a no brainer for me, which as of May 2025, is still doable looking at my cruises for later this year. The only way I would pay more than $50 per person is if I was sailing in the winter, where I know the ocean and Oasis Lagoon pool is not going to be a viable option for me, where I would probably stretch it to a max $70 per person.
If you are not seeing prices under $70 per person on the Royal Caribbean cruise planner today, continue checking back frequently as Royal is constantly running promotions on cruise add-ons.
Let us know what you think in the comments below, how much is Hideaway beach worth to you?