$1000 for a Beach Villa on HMC? YIKES!!!!

[FlyingCruiser2]

Shore excursions just started to show up for our late November trip on the Rotterdam.  We like getting a Beach Villa there and normally it was like $500-$600 for the day.  Now they’re at $999.95!!!

 

There’s a Carnival Ship there at same time - wonder if that’s why?

[richwmn]

8 minutes ago, FlyingCruiser2 said:

Shore excursions just started to show up for our late November trip on the Rotterdam.  We like getting a Beach Villa there and normally it was like $500-$600 for the day.  Now they’re at $999.95!!!

 

There’s a Carnival Ship there at same time - wonder if that’s why?

The chance that a Carnival Ship will be there at the same time is zero. The logistics involved in accounting for on island expenses won't allow it. One of the ships will be moved somewhere else.

 

[CruiserBruce]

Agree. The Carnival ship will not be there. They will change the Carnival ship's schedule.

 

As the Villa is good for 8 or 10 people, right. With lots of food. Not outrageous.

 

 

[Cruise Suzy]

The 8-person Villa (2-story, hot tub, air conditioning, refrigerator, etc) was posted for our cruise today. The 4-person cabana has not been posted yet but the extra person for the cabana is listed. Waiting to have the rest posted.

[Florida_gal_50]

I don’t ever remember the beach villas being the cheap.  Was that on carnival? I remember them being $7 to $8 hundred.  They are selling the playhouses for $699.  I wouldn’t pay $100 for one.  The villa is actually quite nice in comparison.

[FlyingCruiser2]

37 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Agree. The Carnival ship will not be there. They will change the Carnival ship's schedule.

 

As the Villa is good for 8 or 10 people, right. With lots of food. Not outrageous.

 

 

Hope they do change the schedule for the Carnival ship - I’m going off the Bahamas port authority schedule page.

 

The big Oasis thingy at the south end of the beach includes food, however the 2 story villas only include real food if you get the butler add-on (which we normally do).  You get to pick selections prepared by Pinnacle grill served for lunch.

 

[FlyingCruiser2]

2 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I don’t ever remember the beach villas being the cheap.  Was that on carnival? I remember them being $7 to $8 hundred.  They are selling the playhouses for $699.  I wouldn’t pay $100 for one.  The villa is actually quite nice in comparison.

I stand corrected - looked at our last trip there and we paid $700.  Was on the Eurodam just post-covid.  Only 1000 people on board.  

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, FlyingCruiser2 said:

I stand corrected - looked at our last trip there and we paid $700.  Was on the Eurodam just post-covid.  Only 1000 people on board.  

Ahhhh those were the days.  It was so pleasant.

[FlyingCruiser2]

Now the rest of the packages are posted.  Small cabanas are $700 now.  Butler add on went up $100 too.  Oh well.

Edited June 10, 2023 by FlyingCruiser2

[Florida_gal_50]

18 minutes ago, FlyingCruiser2 said:

Now the rest of the packages are posted.  Small cabanas are $700 now.  Butler add on went up $100 too.  Oh well.

Yup the playhouses are ridiculous.  I guess if they don't sell they may be cheaper on subsequent cruises. 

[kazu]

Our roll call was going to book the Palm Oasis.  It’s been $1400 for 12 people.  Our shore excursions just loaded and it is now $2,000 for the exact same thing.  I call that a price jump!

[albingirl]

Crazy. I've never done this, and I  like the island barbecue. Prices are insane. If you feel like throwing money around, well, there's an opportunity right here. ✅️ 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I just pulled up our December cruise. It appears they now have a fancy new way of presenting Shore Excursions lol. Mine only shows Half Moon Cay but yes the pricing is absolutely crazy and definitely not at all worth it. For LESS NCL offers beautiful air conditioned with full bath and shower in each little condo/apartment type Villa that has it's own Private Beach and High end special Buffet included and there is a Spa within short walking distance. The small ones that are probably about 600 sq ft  they allow up to 6 people before charging more. Their pricing is $600 and that is a new price they were not so long ago $499. Plus theirs come with the Butler service. Sadly I would not spend more than $300.00 for what HAL offeres especially since there is no A/C, or bathroom facilities in the cabana. I have already decided we will just stay on board the day we go to HMC.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

I just pulled up our December cruise. It appears they now have a fancy new way of presenting Shore Excursions lol. Mine only shows Half Moon Cay but yes the pricing is absolutely crazy and definitely not at all worth it. For LESS NCL offers beautiful air conditioned with full bath and shower in each little condo/apartment type Villa that has it's own Private Beach and High end special Buffet included and there is a Spa within short walking distance. The small ones that are probably about 600 sq ft  they allow up to 6 people before charging more. Their pricing is $600 and that is a new price they were not so long ago $499. Plus theirs come with the Butler service. Sadly I would not spend more than $300.00 for what HAL offeres especially since there is no A/C, or bathroom facilities in the cabana. I have already decided we will just stay on board the day we go to HMC.

Yup me too. If we were docked it would be a different story but I still wouldn’t buy the playhouse.  Thanks for providing pricing from other lines. It’s eye opening.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

45 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yup me too. If we were docked it would be a different story but I still wouldn’t buy the playhouse.  Thanks for providing pricing from other lines. It’s eye opening.

Here are some pics of NCL’s cabana and you can see why I am not interested in reserving HALS. We had our own very private beach.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

Thanks for the pictures.  It looks lovely.

[FlyingCruiser2]

21 hours ago, richwmn said:

The chance that a Carnival Ship will be there at the same time is zero. The logistics involved in accounting for on island expenses won't allow it. One of the ships will be moved somewhere else.

 

I posted on the Carnival Roll Call for their trip as I was nosey as to what they charged.  Someone replied that they indeed changed their itinerary to go to Nassau instead.  Before they changed though, it looks like they were charging same as HAL.

[Mike07]

Never been to HMC (assume it's Carnival's Half Moon Cays private island)..... but sounds like HAL is making the port stop at the umbrella company's private island and one of their shore excursions an even more expensive proposition?

 

I took a few shore excursions on my recent HAL cruise and never again will I do a shore excursion with HAL. Speaking with other guests on the ship, they've had similar experiences with HAL's shore excursions being among the worst dollar-value proposition in the industry.

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

30 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

Never been to HMC (assume it's Carnival's Half Moon Cays private island)..... but sounds like HAL is making the port stop at the umbrella company's private island and one of their shore excursions an even more expensive proposition?

 

I took a few shore excursions on my recent HAL cruise and never again will I do a shore excursion with HAL. Speaking with other guests on the ship, they've had similar experiences with HAL's shore excursions being among the worst dollar-value proposition in the industry.

 

 

HMC was acquired and developed by HAL, before being absorbed into the Carnival umbrella, not Carnival. Really, it's HAL's private island,  not Carnival's, historically. And, yes, HAL typically charges more than Carnival does there. But HAL offers some things Carnival doesn't. 

[0106]

17 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

I have already decided we will just stay on board the day we go to HMC.

HMC is really beautiful if you get away from the crowds.  DH is not a beach person but does like to swim in the ocean.  We usually wait until the crowds die down and then take the tender to HMC.  We walk past the crowds near the tender dock until the beach has very few people.  We pull some lounge chairs up under the trees.  We take a swim, relax in the shade, maybe swim again, then return to the ship.  We don’t like the buffet served on HMC.  Best of both worlds: quiet beach, quiet ship.

[fatcat04]

Good grief! We have always gotten one of the little cabanas with butler service (5 times now). Our last time booking one was in Feb 2019 (for our 2020 cruise where HMC was cancelled for weather ) and here was the cost from our booking email.

 

Shore Excursions

Private Cabana Package - Green

Guest  1Jan 10, 2020, Available
Half Moon Cay, BahamasUS$299.95

Butler Service Upgrade Package for Private Cabana

Guest  1Jan 10, 2020, Available
Half Moon Cay, BahamasUS$270.00

Total in US$US$569.95

 

There is zero chance of us paying double just 4.5 years later. For $1000 (which I am assuming both small cabana and butler would cost now) we would get 3 days in prime season at a beach side AIRBNB in St Martin. 

Edited June 11, 2023 by fatcat04

[friendswithdave]

I'm sure they're pricing these cabanas and other shore excursions in order to MAXIMIZE their revenues, not provide decent value for passengers. Nowadays they have to do this. Their survival literally depends on it. I love a beach day but simple is fine with me and my partner. Two chairs, free drink in hand, listening to the waves and just melting. We love HMC, it is always our favorite stop.

[OlsSalt]

3 hours ago, Mike07 said:

Never been to HMC (assume it's Carnival's Half Moon Cays private island)..... but sounds like HAL is making the port stop at the umbrella company's private island and one of their shore excursions an even more expensive proposition?

 

I took a few shore excursions on my recent HAL cruise and never again will I do a shore excursion with HAL. Speaking with other guests on the ship, they've had similar experiences with HAL's shore excursions being among the worst dollar-value proposition in the industry.

 

 

 

We almost exclusively take HAL shore excursions and have been very satisfied with them all. Could we do it "cheaper"? Of course, but we pay for  the convenience of them and have been uniformly pleased with their variety and quality. 

 

Shore excursions are not for everyone. No quibble with that, but I cannot let a blanket statement  condemning them all go unanswered. We like them, we know what we are getting and what we are paying for. We remain satisfied customers. We are also unhappy they have gotten much more expensive, but what hasn't? "Covid" was a huge economic re-set and we will be in its sway for many more years to come. Market forces will settle this out on its own. 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

2 hours ago, 0106 said:

HMC is really beautiful if you get away from the crowds.  DH is not a beach person but does like to swim in the ocean.  We usually wait until the crowds die down and then take the tender to HMC.  We walk past the crowds near the tender dock until the beach has very few people.  We pull some lounge chairs up under the trees.  We take a swim, relax in the shade, maybe swim again, then return to the ship.  We don’t like the buffet served on HMC.  Best of both worlds: quiet beach, quiet ship.

I have been cruising HAL for quite a few years and bben to HMC several times. To be honest I do not like it. It was nice the first couple of times early 2000s I guess as I have gotten older I enjoy the view but hate the beach. I need it a bit more civilized, nice walking paths, bathrooms and showers very close by someone serving me lol basically being at a nice resort. iI am at the age I just want to be pampered. lol

[Cuttersmom]

I just was looking at ours for early November. HMC cabana-699, villa-999, oasis-1999!!!  They were 499, 699 and 1399. Just ridiculous!