Tell Me About Half Moon Cay please

[dumbdorkyd]

We are first time cruisers looking at the Pride out of Baltimore with a stop at Half Moon Cay. We will have our mother (78) with us and she will be in a wheel chair (non-motorized) so I am looking for any and all information.

 

How easy is it to get off the ship and to the beach with a person in a wheel chair?

 

Does the ship provide lunch on the island?

 

Has anyone rented a cabana, if so, please tell me about it.

 

Also, any information about the Pride would be helpful.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Dee

[newt98]

We are first time cruisers looking at the Pride out of Baltimore with a stop at Half Moon Cay. We will have our mother (78) with us and she will be in a wheel chair (non-motorized) so I am looking for any and all information.

 

How easy is it to get off the ship and to the beach with a person in a wheel chair?

 

Does the ship provide lunch on the island?

 

Has anyone rented a cabana, if so, please tell me about it.

 

Also, any information about the Pride would be helpful.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Dee

 

it might be tought o get to a cabana with a wheelchair, but if you can, it would be worth it.

 

the ship provides lunch on the island, it's a bbq, with chicken, burgers and hot dogs, and sides, its not bad.

 

we rented the cabana, and i would definitely do it again. if i remember right, you are picked up by a cart and driven to a point near your cabana. so if you have a wheelchair, they might be able to drive you right to it. in the cabana you will have drinks waiting for you, salasa and chips, some fruit, and some veggies. it is really nice to have a place of your own on the beach.

also, the further down the beach you are, the less people that will be there. i have pics of the cabana on my webshots page under half moon cay.

 

mike

[texas cowgirl]

We were there Oct. of last year. You are tendered to the island, which means she would have to get on & off the tender. Is she able to walk at all? There is lunch and it was very good. Did not get a cabana as there are covered area to sit. We did the Sea doos and had a great time.

[stampinrobin]

Can someone be kind enough to tell me exactly what Half Moon Cays is?

 

Thanks!

[newt98]

it's carnivals "private" island. one of our favorite stops on our last cruise.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I would tell you about it if I could, but....

 

Carnival canceled a cruise we booked on the Elation (moved it to the west coast) which was going to HMC. Then another sailing we were on SKIPPED HMC that day due to high seas...

 

:rolleyes:

 

Some things just are not meant to be. LOL

 

Tom

[waiting4acruise]

We went to Half Moon Cay last December on the Triumph.

All I could say it was Paradise.

[misguidedangel]

Half Moon Cay is a Holland America (and Carnival Cruise Line) private island. It is sheer paradise. You will not want to leave. The sand is as fine as icing sugar, the beach is long and clean, Deck chairs are available for EVERYONE!!!! No looking and not finding a deck chair. The water is warm and beautiful.

 

I was there in Sept 07 and the plan was to be there Sept 08, but Hurricane Ike ruined those plans. I now have to wait for Jan 2010.

 

Cabanas are usually booked on board the ship and not ahead of time, otherwise ALL would be booked a year or more out for each sailing. As for wheelchair access, call the cruise line and see if there is a cabana that is wheelchair accessible. I wanted to get a cabana, but since we didn't go that way....

[calicruise74]

What is the max capacity for one cabana?

 

Thanks!

[stampinrobin]

Thanks for the info, I didn't know about this!

 

I went to the Carnival website hoping there was an easy way to search for which ships/itineraries included this, and could not find it.

 

Can someone help me with either finding it or telling me which ships travel there.

 

Thanks!

[DarthGrady]

I would tell you about it if I could, but....

 

Carnival canceled a cruise we booked on the Elation (moved it to the west coast) which was going to HMC. Then another sailing we were on SKIPPED HMC that day due to high seas...

 

Some things just are not meant to be. LOL

 

Tom

 

See, thats my fear with our 2009 cruise on Fascination. I have heard that the only problem with HMC is that sometimes you don't get to go! I wonder what the percentage is of cruises that miss the port due to weather/high seas/krakens/Poseidon's fury, etc...

 

Oh well, nothing you can do I guess, just cross your fingers.

[dumbdorkyd]

it might be tought o get to a cabana with a wheelchair, but if you can, it would be worth it.

 

the ship provides lunch on the island, it's a bbq, with chicken, burgers and hot dogs, and sides, its not bad.

 

we rented the cabana, and i would definitely do it again. if i remember right, you are picked up by a cart and driven to a point near your cabana. so if you have a wheelchair, they might be able to drive you right to it. in the cabana you will have drinks waiting for you, salasa and chips, some fruit, and some veggies. it is really nice to have a place of your own on the beach.

also, the further down the beach you are, the less people that will be there. i have pics of the cabana on my webshots page under half moon cay.

 

mike

 

Nice pictures. Was the cabana very expensive and how far from the water?

We were there Oct. of last year. You are tendered to the island, which means she would have to get on & off the tender. Is she able to walk at all? There is lunch and it was very good. Did not get a cabana as there are covered area to sit. We did the Sea doos and had a great time.

 

Yes, she can walk (very slowly) with a cane. My mother really wants to go on a cruise with the daughters (4 of us). She has had to give up driving and is showing early signs of dementia. Perhaps I am not being realistic on taking her, but I have a burning desire to see her wish fulfilled before it's too late. I thought the cabana would provide her a place to be out of the sun where it might be cooler for her.

[USA41018]

Been to HMC twice, last year and this year. It is paradise on earth. The most crystal clear water I have ever seen.

 

The tenders are no problem. Large aisles with wide gangways. Will definitely go again in the future.

[more cruises]

I asked the exact same question on the Holland America boards. Here's a link to that thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=864526

 

There's links to photos there that were great. The best advice I got was to go to the Private Island section under ports of call. You'll find plenty of info there.

[bruce-r]

We are first time cruisers looking at the Pride out of Baltimore with a stop at Half Moon Cay. We will have our mother (78) with us and she will be in a wheel chair (non-motorized) so I am looking for any and all information.

 

How easy is it to get off the ship and to the beach with a person in a wheel chair? If they use the larger, land based tenders, you shouldn't have too much trouble.

 

Does the ship provide lunch on the island? Yep, bar-b-que

 

Has anyone rented a cabana, if so, please tell me about it.Cabana was the highlight of the day. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. On carnival you can only reserve one after you get on the ship

 

Hope this helps

[bruce-r]

What is the max capacity for one cabana?

 

Thanks!

The price is good for up to 4 people. There is an added charge for each person above that number.

 

it's carnivals "private" island. one of our favorite stops on our last cruise.

Actually, HMC is owned by HAL and because Carnival Corp, also owns HAL, carnival cruiseline uses the island when HAL ships aren't cruising the Caribbean.

[newt98]

Nice pictures. Was the cabana very expensive and how far from the water?

 

Yes, she can walk (very slowly) with a cane. My mother really wants to go on a cruise with the daughters (4 of us). She has had to give up driving and is showing early signs of dementia. Perhaps I am not being realistic on taking her, but I have a burning desire to see her wish fulfilled before it's too late. I thought the cabana would provide her a place to be out of the sun where it might be cooler for her.

 

i think it was 250, maybe 200. and it is not far from the water, i'm sure you would be able to help mom get there. if you can swing it, it would probably be really great for her. i think there is a charge for more than four people, but we had a couple friends come to ours a time or two and i don't think anybody cared.

if you choose to get one, go to the excursion desk as soon as you board and reserve it. we chose #7, which was farther away from the majority of the people.

 

mike

[newt98]

bruce,

hello from the NW,

ive been looking at your dive pics for a couple years now, they're great. where is your next cruise taking you?

 

mike

[copvet]

FYI...the Cabana's also have a window type air conditioner in them. The Cabana is open for the most part but with the unit on and the ceiling fan on it stays nice and cool. We just went there this past Tuesday on the Fascination and it was wonderful.:)

[bruce-r]

bruce,

hello from the NW,

ive been looking at your dive pics for a couple years now, they're great. where is your next cruise taking you?

 

mike

 

We're going to the Mexican Rivera, so no diving for me. :(

[dumbdorkyd]

Thanks everyone for your information. HMC sounds great and so does the cabanas. A cabana can be our special Mother's Day gift to her. :)

[Typhoon1]

Cabana #1 (Taupe) is accessible with a wheelchair. It has a paved walkway leading from the path behind directly into the cabana.

 

If you are cabana shopping, #1 is the one that would suit your needs.

[mgm3430]

it is really nice to have a place of your own on the beach. also, the further down the beach you are, the less people that will be there. i have pics of the cabana on my webshots page under half moon cay.mike

 

 

were you in cabana 8 the pink one in the pics? did you like the location? we're going in 3 weeks and that's the cabana we wanted to try to get. any info would be great! thanks!

[Sting Ray]

The Fascination out of Jacksonville always visits Nassau and alternates between Key West and Half Moon Cay (pronounced "key"). If you can, take a cruise that visits Half Moon Cay. It is an awesome port with a beautiful beach and crystal clear water. It was much more entertaining for our children than Nassau was. There are floating objects in the water (e.g., a life-size alligator, shark, etc.) that are anchored to the ocean floor. It's fun to swim out to them and climb onto them. There is even a large trampoline inside a giant innertube that you can swim out to and climb on. It's exhilirating to jump on a trampoline in the "middle" of the ocean.

 

My two children swam for hours and practically had to be dragged out of the water to go back to the ship!

 

Carnival provides lunch on the island that day so you don't have to go back to the ship for lunch.

 

Other cruisers have spoken about the cabanas so I won't add any more to that. Cruisers can also rent a private oasis (I think there were two of them on the island) for $1,395 (yes, $1,395) for the day.

 

The tender I rode on had a wide steel plate on the front that opened down and laid against the concrete dock on the island. The plate was probably 20 feet wide and it would be no problem pushing a wheelchair across it. Getting on and off the ship also wouldn't be a problem with a wheelchair. The tenders have steel plates on the side that open down onto the gangway of the ship and work the same way as those on the front of the tender.

 

Find the "Ports" link on Carnival's web site and you can read more about the island.

[newt98]

were you in cabana 8 the pink one in the pics? did you like the location? we're going in 3 weeks and that's the cabana we wanted to try to get. any info would be great! thanks!

 

yes, it was the pink one, i thought it was number 7, but maybe not. i thought the location was great. it was a ways from the bbq, but the beach didnt really fill up in front of us for quite awhile.

 

mike