Is Ocean Cay boring?

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

Where can I find a layout of the locations of things on the island. We are there in January but leave island at 6 p.m. so no light show for us.. Darn!

 

Try this website: https://www.mscoceancay.com/en-us

[SirWolf]

Map of Ocean Cay (October 2021).

[dexddd]

10 hours ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

Where can I find a layout of the locations of things on the island. We are there in January but leave island at 6 p.m. so no light show for us.. Darn!

On their website.  I also posted pdfs of island and things to do on my two trips on this board.

[CruisinLJ]

On 11/2/2021 at 2:52 PM, Tapi said:

We were there in September. Like most private islands, this type of destination is mostly for people who enjoy a beach day. Not so much for people who appreciate local cuisine or the destination’s history. 
 

But we had an absolutely fantastic time and found things to do besides sitting at the beach all day. We booked a wave runner excursion which was exhilarating and informative. We started by taking the wave runners to a location where we spotted dolphins freely frolicking in the ocean. From there, we raced to another cay south of Ocean Cay.
 

I was a bit apprehensive about the thought of being on a waverunner far from land, but the water was so clear and shallow that my apprehension quickly subsided. We then stopped the wave runners and the tour guide took some time to inform of us about the area, the history behind Ocean’s Cay development, and the conservation efforts with the marine reserve. My wife is a NON-beach person and she loved this excursion. We then returned to Ocean Cay. It provided a different perspective to see our ship docked at Ocean Cay from a distance. 
 

At night, we returned ashore for the beach party and the lighthouse light show which was entertaining and different. You can watch the light show from the ship as well, and the synced music will be played on the open decks. It was neat to be ashore at night; something that is rare when visiting private islands. 
 

Once again, Ocean Cay is best for people who enjoy a beach day, but there’s more to Ocean Cay than just the beach. 
 

Thanks Tapi!  It is really good to hear they are doing a beach party at night.  That will be a new experience for me 🙂
 

 

 

 

 

 

[JetGreen]

Whatever about it being interesting or not, it is a total joke to call it a “Marine Reserve”. 

 

Lots of innocent marine life is getting caught in the shark nets that surround most the beaches on the island. What kind of a marine reserve is that?!

[Tapi]

3 hours ago, JetGreen said:

Whatever about it being interesting or not, it is a total joke to call it a “Marine Reserve”. 

 

Lots of innocent marine life is getting caught in the shark nets that surround most the beaches on the island. What kind of a marine reserve is that?!

Unless the information disseminated about Ocean Cay is completely bogus, it seems like MSC is doing an admirable job turning what once was a site for industrial excavation and void of life into a thriving marine eco system.

 

When MSC purchased the island, the corals were basically dead. Life, both in the water and land was basically non existent. They have a dedicated team of marine biologists who have brought new life to the corals surrounding the island, and with that, sea creatures have returned. They have seen a return of land animals to the island as well. 

 

MSC is also developing a working conservation center in the island which will allow cruise passengers to see first hand what is being done to redevelop this once barren place while they continue their research. 

 

I’m not naive enough not to realize that MSC’s main goal is to capitalize on a private destination for their passengers, but I also think that they deserve credit where credit is due. To me, it’s amazing what they’ve done with what once looked liked like a construction site in the middle of the ocean. 

[jules815]

On 11/2/2021 at 1:38 PM, MonsterJoe said:

 

It is indeed a nice great place to take a walk.  The paths are lined with great sounding speakers (not too loud...ambient) and just about everywhere you look is a great photo opportunity.

 

Those speakers were great. We were impressed that they're synchronized. And you're right, just loud enough and really good music selection.

We over nighted  at Ocean Cay last month, and the first day was a total beach day for us (loved!). Second day we got off the ship after breakfast and walked all over the island. We walked to the Lighthouse Bar and had a couple of drinks. Very impressed with the design and size of that bar. I bet it will be hopping during non-covid sailings. Caught the shuttle and went back to the Yacht Club beach and had lunch again at Ocean House restaurant.  

We were really impressed with Ocean Cay. They did a great job. 

 

[shipgeeks]

On 11/6/2021 at 5:32 PM, JetGreen said:

Whatever about it being interesting or not, it is a total joke to call it a “Marine Reserve”. 

 

Lots of innocent marine life is getting caught in the shark nets that surround most the beaches on the island. What kind of a marine reserve is that?!

Look up the posts about MSC's Loggerhead Turtle Hatchlings program.  One of many projects that MSC carries on there.

 

[dexddd]

On 11/6/2021 at 4:32 PM, JetGreen said:

Whatever about it being interesting or not, it is a total joke to call it a “Marine Reserve”. 

 

Lots of innocent marine life is getting caught in the shark nets that surround most the beaches on the island. What kind of a marine reserve is that?!

It was previously a garbage dump basically.  You have actual proof of marine life getting stuck?  We were there recently on four days and at lighthouse beach never saw any stuck in net.  Actually we even saw how two rays would get past net.  One was small and went through holes and the big one would go low, suck into sand and under the net in two seconds.

 

MSC spent hundreds of millions to fix it up for which they make very little direct spend from people visiting.  

[jamesboat]

Im looking at a cruise that does an overnight here

 

Are there any restrictions on enjoying the island at night? The idea of walking around the island at 1am and looking at the stars sounds really appealing to me as its something you cant do on any other beach island on a cruise usually. I rather stay up ;ate like that and sleep in rather than have to wake up early to enjoy the beach before we leave at noon.

 

(And are the bathrooms open all night?)

[Morgsmom]

1 hour ago, jamesboat said:

Im looking at a cruise that does an overnight here

 

Are there any restrictions on enjoying the island at night? The idea of walking around the island at 1am and looking at the stars sounds really appealing to me as its something you cant do on any other beach island on a cruise usually. I rather stay up ;ate like that and sleep in rather than have to wake up early to enjoy the beach before we leave at noon.

 

(And are the bathrooms open all night?)

All aboard is somewhere around 10:30pm or 11am so, sorry, night gazing will have to be from the ship 🙂

 

[jamesboat]

3 hours ago, Morgsmom said:

All aboard is somewhere around 10:30pm or 11am so, sorry, night gazing will have to be from the ship 🙂

 

 

Thats disappointing.

[robc1972]

Was mentioned that if you purchased WIFI on the boat that you can use it on the island.

We were just there last week and nobody in our group was able to sign on to the wifi.

After logging in it came up with a message that we had purchased the single device plan and that we would have to upgrade to continue, even though we were all using the devices we signed in on when onboard.

 

The entire MSC IT Infrastructure from their website to their onboard WIFI needs to be blown up and started over from scratch.

 

[kelleherdl]

1 hour ago, robc1972 said:

Was mentioned that if you purchased WIFI on the boat that you can use it on the island.

We were just there last week and nobody in our group was able to sign on to the wifi.

After logging in it came up with a message that we had purchased the single device plan and that we would have to upgrade to continue, even though we were all using the devices we signed in on when onboard.

 

The entire MSC IT Infrastructure from their website to their onboard WIFI needs to be blown up and started over from scratch.

 

The servers on the island are different from the ship.  We were instructed to ‘disconnect’ our device from the ship system as we went ashore. That will free up that device to connect to the Ocean Cay service.

[SirWolf]

1 minute ago, kelleherdl said:

The servers on the island are different from the ship.  We were instructed to ‘disconnect’ our device from the ship system as we went ashore. That will free up that device to connect to the Ocean Cay service.

that’s correct..

• log off device while on the ship

• “login” to reactivate when on Ocean Cay

.. as described in Daily Program

We had no problem using Wi-Fi on different devices (phone & tablet) while on Ocean Cay.

[robc1972]

4 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

The servers on the island are different from the ship.  We were instructed to ‘disconnect’ our device from the ship system as we went ashore. That will free up that device to connect to the Ocean Cay service.

we all disconnected, restarted did all the normal things and couldnt even see the ship from where we were.
They need the Carnival\Royal WIFI that simply disconnects another device on your account.

[joeyancho]

Yes it is boring with mediocre food.  Shade will set you back $13.00

Edited November 16, 2021 by joeyancho

[rkacruiser]

15 hours ago, joeyancho said:

Yes it is boring with mediocre food.  Shade will set you back $13.00

 

May I ask what you expect during a private island experience?  

[shipgeeks]

Our shade - trees, and umbrellas - were free for the taking.

We are not really beach people, but we just loved our two days there.

[alohayall]

21 hours ago, joeyancho said:

Yes it is boring with mediocre food.  Shade will set you back $13.00

An honest opinion.  Hoping your entire cruise wasn’t that way.  I’m going into my first MSC cruise with a little wariness.  So far, Ocean Cay sounds just up my alley. 

[joeyancho]

2 hours ago, alohayall said:

An honest opinion.  Hoping your entire cruise wasn’t that way.  I’m going into my first MSC cruise with a little wariness.  So far, Ocean Cay sounds just up my alley. 

Actually the cruise was very nice.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  I had a few criticisms but nothing big.  The thing that was odd was a total lack of port info.  Nothing in the daily planner, not even a shopping map. 

[alohayall]

22 hours ago, joeyancho said:

Actually the cruise was very nice.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  I had a few criticisms but nothing big.  The thing that was odd was a total lack of port info.  Nothing in the daily planner, not even a shopping map. 

Glad to hear a good report.