BeakerR Posted September 29, 2019 #1 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Sailing in three weeks on the Magic and just wondering if anyone can provide some insight/advice on the boarding process for the tenders going to Half Moon Cay? I have heard that it can be a cluster trying to obtain a boarding number and they only have a couple of tenders available. Any tips for getting early boarding numbers WITHOUT Priority Boarding or Faster to the Fun? THANKS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joebucks Posted September 29, 2019 #2 Share Posted September 29, 2019 I've never had an issue boarding when I want. The first time I did one, I was there as early as it started because the internet scared me. I was the only person waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tierlifer Posted September 29, 2019 #3 Share Posted September 29, 2019 MY GF and I literally walked off the elevator on 1st floor, walked down one flight of steps and through security and onto the boat with zero wait time at approximately 10:40 am.The tender boat that waited another 5 minutes and onto the shore around 11 am. The beach was filling up quick but plenty of lounge chairs further down the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyFan33579 Posted September 29, 2019 #4 Share Posted September 29, 2019 (edited) There are plenty of tenders available that are constantly going back and forth between the ship and port. The good thing about Half Moon Cay is it is a quick trip from the ship to the port, unlike some other tender ports like Belize. Unless there is a reason you have to be one of the first ones off the ship, I would wait an hour or so for the initial surge of passengers to subside. Edited September 29, 2019 by PhillyFan33579 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homosassa Posted September 29, 2019 #5 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Remember, Half Moon Cay is only a very nice beach that will be there whenever you go ashore. Unless you have an excursion (and then tender information may be provided) or you are a person that absolutely must be first to obtain that absolutely perfect lounge chair that is the only one that will do, relax. Have a nice breakfast and let the stampede die down and make your way ashore in a leisurely fashion. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purvis1231 Posted September 29, 2019 #6 Share Posted September 29, 2019 I agree with Homosassa, there is no need to rush. Wait to after the big rush. If you have an early excursion Carnival will assign you to the appropriate tender. (Once we did the glass bottom boat so we were given a ticket for the first tender.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JandPB Posted September 29, 2019 #7 Share Posted September 29, 2019 We waited for the early risers to clear and walked down and right onto the tender. It was a non issue. Don't sweat it and enjoy the beautiful beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeakerR Posted October 9, 2019 Author #8 Share Posted October 9, 2019 THANK YOU everyone for your comments!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skrufy Posted October 9, 2019 #9 Share Posted October 9, 2019 On 9/29/2019 at 7:55 AM, BeakerR said: Sailing in three weeks on the Magic and just wondering if anyone can provide some insight/advice on the boarding process for the tenders going to Half Moon Cay? I have heard that it can be a cluster trying to obtain a boarding number and they only have a couple of tenders available. Any tips for getting early boarding numbers WITHOUT Priority Boarding or Faster to the Fun? THANKS!!! Our two visits went smoothly but we waited for the early rush to die down. Walked right on to the tender. Coming back there was a short delay in line for the tender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin 4 Ever Posted October 9, 2019 #10 Share Posted October 9, 2019 If you are wanting to get off the ship early you will have trouble getting on the first or second tender or at least that's been my experience and I've been 4 times. If you aren't in a rush to get off wait until around 10 or 1030 and you should have no problem. If you want to be off asap book an excursion and you will get to board early if it's an early morning excursion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjmbruce Posted October 9, 2019 #11 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Do clamshells, floating mats and snorkel gear sell out quickly? We have FTTF but not sure if we want to get up early to take advantage of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcearth Posted October 11, 2019 #12 Share Posted October 11, 2019 We were the first people on the first tender a few weeks ago on the Magic, but we had a Villa booked. If you want to get off of the ship early (and don't have a Villa or Cabana booked), here is what you do: around 3 pm the day before, they will put out the tender tickets in Ocean Plaza. You just need to get in line and snag the time that you would like. I was there playing trivia and the #1 and #2 tickets were there for awhile, as not a lot of people were lined up initially. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpayroll Posted October 11, 2019 #13 Share Posted October 11, 2019 On 10/9/2019 at 12:40 PM, sjmbruce said: Do clamshells, floating mats and snorkel gear sell out quickly? We have FTTF but not sure if we want to get up early to take advantage of it. They have lots of floating mats. Don't think they ever sell out of them. Don't know about the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeakerR Posted October 11, 2019 Author #14 Share Posted October 11, 2019 6 hours ago, jcearth said: We were the first people on the first tender a few weeks ago on the Magic, but we had a Villa booked. If you want to get off of the ship early (and don't have a Villa or Cabana booked), here is what you do: around 3 pm the day before, they will put out the tender tickets in Ocean Plaza. You just need to get in line and snag the time that you would like. I was there playing trivia and the #1 and #2 tickets were there for awhile, as not a lot of people were lined up initially. Great Tip!!! Exactly what I was looking for!! THANKS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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