Our day at our cabana on Half Moon Cay

[klmrph]

Just got back from the Fascination yesterday. We went to HMC on Tuesday and had the turquoise cabana #3. We arrived at JAX port around 11am and were on board around 12:15 if I remember correctly. I headed straight to the excursion desk and we were the third to rent one. There was a couple in front of us asking about the cabanas and the crew member told them that they usually are booked within 24 hours. We were given a ticket and told to meet in the Palace theater at 7:45am the morning of HMC. We went to the theater and anyone who booked an excursion at HMC was invited to this meeting. It basically gives you the benefit of getting on the first tender. We tendered right along with some of the crew. They didn't ask for our ticket to get on the first tender, we just followed an crew member to the area.....so really anyone could of made the first tender.

 

The day started off a little cloudy and the tender over was chilly, but once on the island it warmed up nicely. It didn't get real hot, I think it was probably around 75 degrees but breezy. Once on the island we went to the excursion desk and handed our ticket to the crew member. She then had us get on a truck which took us to our cabana. Since we were there so early, our drinks/food were still not there and actually our food never did arrive. I guess I should of questioned it more, but we were close to the food anyway and just brought it back to the cabana. Here are some pics taken right after arrival.

 

 

The cabana was $225 to rent and included snorkel equipment for 4 (asked us our shoe size when we reserved it and our pop preferences too), 4 mats, 4 cans of pop and 4 bottles of water. It was also supposed to come with fruit/veggie/chips, but they never delivered this to us and I just let it go since these items were available for the most part at the lunch buffet on the island. Oh, they also brought us 4 beach towels but we had brought our own anyway.

 

For the first couple of hours we just hung out by the cabana. My littlest one loved playing in the sand. The sand is truely heaven. It is so soft. Here is my little mermaid in the sand.

 

 

By 11am we were getting hungry, so at 11:20 we headed to the buffet which started at 11:30am and they let us at it around 11:25am. My favorite was the jerk chicken and rice. They also had hot dogs, hamburgers, cold salads, fruit, cookies, cakes and maybe a couple more items that I didn't try. We brought our food back to our cabana and enjoyed it there. By the time we came back with our food, the island was really filling up. People were having a hard time finding chairs in our area and the areas closer to the drop off point.

 

It was a short walk from our cabana to the food area. The bathrooms were also close by. The kids area was still a little walk, but I did take my little one down there. She is almost 3 and enjoyed the small boat water slide. They also had a main bar area with music playing. We could here it from our cabana and I enjoyed that. We didn't order any drinks but there were crew members walking around taking drink orders. Below is a pic in which I took a shot from in front of our cabana and you can see the kids area in the distance.

 

 

After lunch, we just relaxed some more. I basically hung out in the cabana lounge chair reading my book. We didn't end up even using the snorkel gear, but did enjoy the mats. The water was a little cool at first, but was easy to get use to once you were in it. I did see a school of clear looking fish swim by me while in the water. My 3 year old also enjoyed the other wild life on the island. The first pic below is my view from my lounger before the crowds arrived and the next pics are our island friends.

 

 

 

 

Since our dinner was at 6pm and my 3 year old still hadn't napped we headed back around 3:30pm. She fell asleep as I was carrying her to the tender.

 

We loved HMC and I would love to spend a few days there just relaxing. I am not sure if I would rent a cabana again, but who knows if I will ever go back, so I wanted to have the experience. If the weather would of been hotter, it may have been more valuable. We also didn't use the snorkel gear and probably wouldn't in the future, so if I do go back by chance, I think I would just rent a couple clam shells and a mat if I decided I wanted one for the day. I would recommend getting there early to scope out a good spot.

[NYGirl1002]

Thank you so much for the informative post and pictures. You really gave me a good look at what to expect.

[CruiseinNJ]

Great info. Thanks. Good to know to head to the excursion desk immediately upon boarding if I want one! Can these be booked in advance? I didn't see it listed as an excursion.

[klmrph]

Great info. Thanks. Good to know to head to the excursion desk immediately upon boarding if I want one! Can these be booked in advance? I didn't see it listed as an excursion.

 

They cannot be booked in advance with Carnival, only with Holland America.

[pmoniz]

klmrph - Thanks for sharing your experience with HMC and the cabana. Great pics! We're looking forward to visiting this island on our upcoming cruise in May! You wouldn't happen to know if anyone had rented the Private Oasis Cabana while you were there by chance? We're keeping our fingers crossed that we get onboard early enough to book that one!!

[klmrph]

klmrph - Thanks for sharing your experience with HMC and the cabana. Great pics! We're looking forward to visiting this island on our upcoming cruise in May! You wouldn't happen to know if anyone had rented the Private Oasis Cabana while you were there by chance? We're keeping our fingers crossed that we get onboard early enough to book that one!!

 

I didn't notice if it was booked or not. I didn't even think to check it out.

[linsue1231]

Thanks for the review. I have a few questions.

 

Do you know what cabana is close to the bathroom...

 

Did they have the upgrade option for the cabana and if so do you know how much it was...

 

Do you know the price for the private Oasis cabana....

 

Thank you for your help..

 

Linda

[pmoniz]

linsue1231 - I called Carnival the other day and asked about the Private Oasis. I was told that its $1295 up to 12 people and any additional persons would be $95. It included food, drinks, butler, chef, lifeguard, floating mats and snorkel gear.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

[seabreezer]

Loved the pictures, especially the first one - it is really stunning ... hope you're framing it. Thanks for your post.

[clb6110]

Thanks for the info.I was debating renting one but now have made up my mind.How spread out are the cabanas?I don't think it matters to me which one I get unless its a huge walk to the bathrooms,tenders, food etc.I don't mind walking a hundred yards or so but don't feel like walking a mile to the facilities.Help please.

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for the review. I have a few questions.

 

Do you know what cabana is close to the bathroom...

 

Did they have the upgrade option for the cabana and if so do you know how much it was...

 

 

1-4 and 8-10 are closest to bathrooms.

 

The butler upgrade on HAL is $270.00

[Insel]

klmrph,

Thank you so much for posting. The photo of your little mermaid in the sand is precious. We are headed there in May and cannot wait.

Anything else you can think of about the day, what you would do or change would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Lisa

[LisaDee]

Oh, bummer! I had convinced myself that we didn't need a cabana but after seeing your pictures now I really want one!! Guess I'll be standing in line at the excursion desk after embarking while DH and kids get to explore the ship. :)

[ANGlady]

klmrph,

 

I will have a 2 year old with me this month at HMC and was thinking I might possibly get him to lay down for a little while to nap if I had a cabana. Do you think that would be possible at all? Maybe if we had one of the cabanas further down with less people around? He's a good sleeper, but I wonder if there is just far too much going on around the cabanas.

[mszula]

We were at HMC two weeks ago yesterday. <sob>

For some added fun take some "fish food" into the water with you. We brought back a leftover hot dog bun and a cookie and went out to feed the fish. We were only about waist deep and got mobbed by them. What a blast!!!