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COCOCAY, Bahamas — Approaching this Royal Caribbean private island, before you see anything else, you see the jagged red outlines of the tower wrapped with the Daredevil’s Peak waterslide.
It is the marquee attraction in the “Thrill” half of CocoCay, and at 135 feet it is billed as the tallest waterslide in North America.
Daredevil’s Peak is just one of 13 waterslides in the Thrill Waterpark, which also includes a wave pool, an adventure pool, cabanas lockers, changing rooms and a snack shack. But it is one thing everyone wants to do, including me, when they come off the ship.
And so, it takes a while to ride it. Starting at the bottom of the tower, I climbed the internal staircase about halfway before running into the back of the queue.
My traveling companion and I took in the beautiful view of the island and all its new facilities as we waited about 40 minutes to get to the top. After the initial rush, lines grew significantly shorter, with waits of 10 to 15 minutes later in the day.
The top of the ride is covered with a large sun canopy. On some waterslides, there is nothing but a bare platform at the top, which leaves riders feeling very exposed. But this ride affords a view without making it too scary.
Don’t bring sandals, shirts or loose jewelry because they all must come off and be held on the way down. Glasses must be secured by lanyards.
Daredevil’s Peak encircles the tower and, from the outside, the angle of descent doesn’t look excessively steep. The launch is not too bad, but the rider picks up speed fast and soon is hurtling down the tube at a frightening velocity. There are some nice light effects, alternating opaque and clear tube sections with rainbow stripes and (my least favorite) pitch dark segments.
In a matter of maybe 15 seconds I suddenly emerged into the sunlight and received a face full of water as I hit the long runout. I looked around, tried to get my bearings, and stood.
The thrill was delivered as promised at CocoCay.
Source: travelweekly.com
