Better "Beach Day" vs Better "Stay Onboard Day" ?

[LMaxwell]

Will have both Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk on our itinerary.  

Both are basically chill out and relax beach days so will probably only use one and stay onboard the other.  

Do you have a preference for one over the other?  Grand Turk has a pier; HMC is tender, correct?  HMC is an extension of the cruise line; is there lunch served there (Island BBQ?) Our port time is 11am-5pm at HMC and 7am - 4pm for GT.  Is the dock at Grand Turk a Carnival Corp owned facility and an extension of the ship?  It's been a few years since I have been to GT and it all sort of blends together.  

 

Advice/opinions? 

Edited July 25, 2022 by LMaxwell

[DaveOKC]

In your case I would opt for GT.  I like the earlier time on the beach and then pop back onboard for lunch.  The lunch on HMC is just so-so IMO.  

[Daisyloo]

I would vote to go ashore on HMC.  We love it there.  They do a bbq lunch that is good.  They have the big shoreside  tenders there so it goes faster than if you had to use the ships tenders.  

The beach is gorgeous and very clean.

Grand Turk is nice too, but in our opinion not nearly as nice as HMC.  

[vicd1969]

There is a pretty reasonable drinks package at HMC. I think it's around $30 so worth it if you get more than 3 drinks during your time there. That may be the tiebreaker lol.

 

[friendswithdave]

We've enjoyed HMC much more than Grand Turk in past visits. 

[rkacruiser]

I would visit Half Moon Cay and spend part of the day at my favorite bar in the Caribbean:  I Could Stay Here Forever!  If the lunch buffet served is not to your liking, you could return to the ship for a late lunch.  Or, depending on the time, return to the ship and then return to Half Moon Cay.

 

Grand Turk is a good port stop.  But, once/twice there, is there a reason to make another visit?  

[Mary229]

I am not a beach person but I did like HMC.  It is a quiet beach even with two ships in port.  The tenders are a pain and if there is more than one ship  there go early instead of later.  The lines can be long late in the day.  

[rkacruiser]

3 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

The lines can be long late in the day.  

 

Returning to the ship, this is particularly true.  HAL has made welcome improvements in recent years in providing covered shelters for people to line-up while they wait for a tender.  So much better than standing out in the open Sun or rain.  

[waiting2retire]

Easy one for me. I love tenders (crazy, I know) and I love the water/beach in Half Moon Cay. Also nice to have a free light lunch onshore if desired. 

[Mary229]

Another thought. The weather may dictate your final plan and you may  have to stay onboard. Ummm, that just makes decisions harder🤷‍♀️

[kangforpres]

After going on many Beach Break Shore Ex's in Mexico and the Caribbean I've decided staying onboard and using the sea view pool, and the Lido or Dive in for food is a better option.

[0106]

I did an excellent independent snorkeling tour in Grand Turk.  Was not interested in anything Half Moon Cay had to offer.  Although the HMC beach is beautiful, we were not interested in lying in the sun.  Was not impressed by the lunch buffet at HMC.

[albingirl]

This is so easy for me.  I wouldn't miss either.  It's such a treat to go ashore and get in the water, and I do love the barbeque at HMC.  I once talked with a HAL employee about visiting ports and he said he would never miss a port; it's just such a privilege for the staff to get off the ship for an hour here and there.  That certainly puts things into perspective for me. 

[Florida_gal_50]

Hmc is the nicer beach.  I’m not a fan of tenders so grand Turk is just easier.

[LMaxwell]

3 hours ago, vicd1969 said:

There is a pretty reasonable drinks package at HMC. I think it's around $30 so worth it if you get more than 3 drinks during your time there. That may be the tiebreaker lol.

 

What is the HMC drinks pack? 

[LMaxwell]

3 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Another thought. The weather may dictate your final plan and you may  have to stay onboard. Ummm, that just makes decisions harder🤷‍♀️

Always a possibility when taking a cruise. 

[LMaxwell]

Does anyone have a link to photos/review of HMC?  I am wondering with the late arrival (11am) if they will even have lunch on the island and what it consists of.  Is the buffet on the ship open on the HMC day? 

[AFNavigator]

2 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

What is the HMC drinks pack? 

The HMC drink package is basically a 1-day copy of the Signature Beverage Package.  All drinks $11 and under, 15 drink limit.  The HMC package is only usable on the island.  The onboard beverage packages do not apply on the island.

Cost is currently $29.44, including gratuity.  All adults over 21 years old booked in the same cabin must also purchase the same package.  The price might initially sound steep for only being on island for 4-5 hours max but you would hit that price point with just a couple of fruity alcoholic drinks and a couple sodas or waters. 

 

[zgscl]

IMO HMC is a perfect beach day. While it is a tender port, they have very large ferry boats/tenders at HMC and do not use the life boats. This means they can get people back and forth quickly and there is not much of a wait to go ashore. Additionally they set up a very nice (and free) lunch BBQ on the island.

 

Also as it is their private island there is no one there trying to sell you a tour or goods when you get off. They do have a couple stores selling goods and you can do a tour if you want. Very nice beach which is easy to walk to from the tender area. 

[Caribbean Chris]

Half Moon Cay also now has a lobster shack where you can pay extra for a grilled lobster lunch with rice & beans. (Caribbean spiny lobster, not a Maine lobster.) It was about $20 when we were there in December. Not the best I’ve ever had in the Caribbean, but OK as a change of pace from the free buffet.

 

I, too, like that it is a clean, pretty beach with nobody pestering you to buy stuff like jewelry - we usually walk way down and find a shady spot for a couple of loungers. Waiters stroll by often, so you can sign for a beer or other drinks to be charged to your room account.

 

The big tenders are much easier to board and depart from versus the typical small tender experience, and it’s a quick process. 

[LMaxwell]

7 hours ago, AFNavigator said:

The HMC drink package is basically a 1-day copy of the Signature Beverage Package.  All drinks $11 and under, 15 drink limit.  The HMC package is only usable on the island.  The onboard beverage packages do not apply on the island.

Cost is currently $29.44, including gratuity.  All adults over 21 years old booked in the same cabin must also purchase the same package.  The price might initially sound steep for only being on island for 4-5 hours max but you would hit that price point with just a couple of fruity alcoholic drinks and a couple sodas or waters. 

 

Thanks for sharing the info.  I don't think we would get $60 worth for us, but that's a nice option.  It's too bad they don't allow only 1 to be bought, or a 5-10 drink card.  It's just overkill for us on the island where we might have a cold beer with lunch. But it's a unique offer compared to other lines . 

[1ANGELCAT]

11 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

Does anyone have a link to photos/review of HMC?  I am wondering with the late arrival (11am) if they will even have lunch on the island and what it consists of.  Is the buffet on the ship open on the HMC day? 

For photos of the island, see Roger Jett website. 

[DaveOKC]

11 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

Does anyone have a link to photos/review of HMC?  I am wondering with the late arrival (11am) if they will even have lunch on the island and what it consists of.  Is the buffet on the ship open on the HMC day? 

Ship buffet will be open on HMC day.  We dine there after an early visit to the island as we do not care much for the HMC lunch.

[Nymich]

We were at HMC last November and the beach was eroded terribly.  It was  one narrow beach!  Hopefully they are paying for the necessary sand replacement.   We were also at Perfect Day in October and Great Stirrup this past January and both beaches blew HMC away.  I don't like to say this as I prefer HAL but those are the facts.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Nymich

[albingirl]

1 minute ago, Nymich said:

We were at HMC last November and the beach was eroded terribly.  It was  one narrow beach!  Hopefully they are paying for the necessary sand replacement.   We were also at Perfect Day in October and Great Stirrup this past January and both beaches blew HMC away.  I don't like to say this as I prefer HAL but them are the facts.

Funny, I didn't notice it dramatically in February this year.  We've been to NCL's private beach this year and didn't like it at all.  Each to his/her own.  Maybe I just prefer HAL overall.