Ocean Cay better beach area?

[teecee89]

We have never been to Ocean Cay. Which beach area is better for adults? We would like some waves in the water so is Sunset Beach or Lighthouse Bay better? I assume the lagoon is calm water. Where can we snorkel right off the beach?  (not an excursion) Thank you!! 

[rikitikitavii]

1 hour ago, teecee89 said:

We have never been to Ocean Cay. Which beach area is better for adults? We would like some waves in the water so is Sunset Beach or Lighthouse Bay better? I assume the lagoon is calm water. Where can we snorkel right off the beach?  (not an excursion) Thank you!! 

The lagoon is usually calm, Sunset Beach, Bimini Beach, Lighthouse Beach would get wave action.   I’ve never snorkeled at Ocean Cay though.

[ready2cruzagain]

We like Lighthouse beach.  The snorkeling there is decent for a new island.  Go close to the rocks.

[suebubbles]

18 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

We like Lighthouse beach.  The snorkeling there is decent for a new island.  Go close to the rocks.

Is Lighthouse beach where the free umberallas are ? is there plenty thanks

[GPPhilly]

On the opposite of the ship is Bimini Beach.  We love it there if you are looking for some waves and not many crowds.  No really chairs or umbrellas there though

[ready2cruzagain]

6 hours ago, suebubbles said:

Is Lighthouse beach where the free umberallas are ? is there plenty thanks

Yes. We have never had a problem getting an umbrella or chairs but then again we go early and usually stay all day.  Hard to find a chair and umbrella later in the day. There are a lot of chairs and umbrellas.

[suebubbles]

15 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

Yes. We have never had a problem getting an umbrella or chairs but then again we go early and usually stay all day.  Hard to find a chair and umbrella later in the day. There are a lot of chairs and umbrellas.

Thanks we like too make early starts to the day too  

 

[cruiseguy56]

Can you get to Bimini beach or Ocean house without being in a Yacht Club room? When we went we weren't allowed to go across the bridge as we weren't yacht club. Don't know if the original poster is, but if not....

[cruiseguy56]

On 3/20/2023 at 12:28 PM, teecee89 said:

We have never been to Ocean Cay. Which beach area is better for adults? We would like some waves in the water so is Sunset Beach or Lighthouse Bay better? I assume the lagoon is calm water. Where can we snorkel right off the beach?  (not an excursion) Thank you!! 

The Lagoon (south beach) is calm. But, be advised there are some unusual (to me anyway) marine animals in the water. We noticed what looked like ragged brown plastic bags floating about a foot and a half under water. Thought we'd be kind and remove the garbage. Upon getting hold of it, discovered it was a type of jellyfish we've never seen at home or anywhere else in the Caribbean. Luckily, although we were stung, it had a very mild sting. Not sure how bad it would be to small children though.

Edited March 22, 2023 by cruiseguy56

[teecee89]

On 3/21/2023 at 10:08 AM, GPPhilly said:

On the opposite of the ship is Bimini Beach.  We love it there if you are looking for some waves and not many crowds.  No really chairs or umbrellas there though

We ordered the umbrellas from MSC, can they be put on any beach on the island?

[travelingtink]

1 hour ago, cruiseguy56 said:

Can you get to Bimini beach or Ocean house without being in a Yacht Club room? When we went we weren't allowed to go across the bridge as we weren't yacht club. Don't know if the original poster is, but if not....

Crossing the bridge gives access to Ocean House Beach on the right which is yacht club only, but there is also Bimini Beach and North Beach on the left. You should have been able to cross, unless there was some reason the other beaches were closed.

 

We liked Bimini because all you saw was endless ocean, no other beaches or ships to be seen. I did not snorkel but did see several fish and rays as they swam right up to the shore. But there is very little shade so renting an umbrella is a must. 

[travelingtink]

2 minutes ago, teecee89 said:

We ordered the umbrellas from MSC, can they be put on any beach on the island?

Yes you can use them anywhere but you have t carry it around. There is a spot to pick them up near the ship, but if you are heading to Bimini or North beach there is a place to pick them up there so no need to lug them around. 

[cruiseguy56]

22 hours ago, travelingtink said:

Crossing the bridge gives access to Ocean House Beach on the right which is yacht club only, but there is also Bimini Beach and North Beach on the left. You should have been able to cross, unless there was some reason the other beaches were closed.

 

We liked Bimini because all you saw was endless ocean, no other beaches or ships to be seen. I did not snorkel but did see several fish and rays as they swam right up to the shore. But there is very little shade so renting an umbrella is a must. 

We were there in August of 22 when we were told ONLY Yacht club folks could go over the bridge to the beaches there. All beaches were open the two days we were at the island. Perhaps we we're just misinformed by a new or poorly trained bridge guard. Thanks for the update, it's good information to know if we cruise msc again.

[KarimaJ]

We were just there and able to cross the bridge to the other beaches. They have these pole holes buried in the sand at least in lagoon area. You stick the umbrella in. We found shade under the trees in lagoon, it was nice. We saw a few white fish in lagoon but not much else. My daughter swam out to the floating docks in the lagoon and somewhere saw a barracuda I guess.