private island

[S.S.Oceanlover]

The day at HMC can be your most enjoyable one. Beautiful water, a great beach, a fabulous view of the ship, nice music, reasonable food...what more could someone who is looking to relax in the Caribbean want? And the add on extra shore excursions (sting rays, horseback riding, etc) are nicer and cost far less than those on the regular islands because the income from the cost is not shared with anyone. When on vacation I hate to rush and we tend to eat later than most folks. As a result, the last 2 times we were at HMC (we've been there at least 5 times) was that the food ran low at the barbecue. What the heck, there's always something to eat back on the ship!!

 

The only thing more if I wanted to relax in the Caribbean was to actually go to the caribbean. just sayin':p

 

Bill

[mominwestlake]

Half Moon Cay is a beautiful place- white and clean sand and smooth entry into the ocean. DH and I just went to Coco Cay on our RCI cruise and Half Moon Cay is still our favorite. We rented a cabana when we went 2 cruises ago, and it was the highlight of our cruise. It was totally worth the $220.

[Jeafl]

We were there a few weeks ago and got the clamshells. They are already over some of the lounges, you just need to pay the $17 and an employee will give you a bar that actually holds the clamshell up.

 

Personally, I wish we wouldn't have wasted the money. We spent most of the time in the water, and we were on the island early enough to get a lounge chair under some palm trees anyway. We would have been in the shade with or without the clamshell.

[pokergirl34]

Do the shops there (for souveniers) take cash only or can we use our sail and sign card?

[KandCsailing]

We will be on the Legend and i thought i read somewhere that at one of the ports you can a short trip to the Private Island? Maybe im thinking of a different island?

I think Legend only does western routes and Half Moon Cay is in the east.

You might be thinking of an excursion for the Bannister Island Beach Break in Belize.

[bguppies]

Do the shops there (for souveniers) take cash only or can we use our sail and sign card?

The t-shirt, gift shop I went to last year, took your sign and sail card...

 

I read somewhere that there is a shop on the island, that has local vendors who only take cash, but I never saw that shop.

 

Just the ship run gift shop near the main entrance.

 

Bill

[tangerineplaid]

What's the changing room/bathroom situation on the island?...

[Kerryman50]

If you get a cabana on HMC do you get priority boarding on the tenders?

[Fairhope]

If you get a cabana on HMC do you get priority boarding on the tenders?

Yes. We were on the first tender along with the ships staff and supplies that went over.

[Kerryman50]

Yes. We were on the first tender along with the ships staff and supplies that went over.

Thanks, that's fantastic. Now let's hope they don't sell out before we get on board.

[cruisin07family]

Thanks, that's fantastic. Now let's hope they don't sell out before we get on board.

 

 

You were on the Pride in Feb 2010?? What part of February? Maryland had a terrible February! I can only imagine sailaway in freeeeeezing temps and 2 ft of snow! Yikes!

[Biffer1997]

I think Legend only does western routes and Half Moon Cay is in the east.

You might be thinking of an excursion for the Bannister Island Beach Break in Belize.

 

Maybe the poster was thinking of the Mahagonay Bay Cruise Center in Roatan? AFAIK only one Carnival ship can dock at a time at this center, and it has a free beach attached to it. I really enjoyed my time there in June!

[nothomeonacruise]

I live in an area of beautiful beaches, but I still think Half Moon Cay has them beat. It's breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful. We rented a cabana and really loved it. It came with snorkel things, float mats, food, comfy loungers.. and an air conditioned area. My mother brought a book and read. She said it was heaven and relaxing. I took a float mat out and floated. My husband and daughter did the horseback riding excursion..which they still talk about! Our cabana was away from the crowds. The higher the number the further away you are from the play area. We weren't too far from the bathrooms or from the food, either. (We had #12) :)

[Kerryman50]

You were on the Pride in Feb 2010?? What part of February? Maryland had a terrible February! I can only imagine sailaway in freeeeeezing temps and 2 ft of snow! Yikes!

It was the first week of Feb, and when we got back to Baltimore there was 3 FEET of snow on the ground!!