Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Half Moon Cay...a travel Tuesday post!

This is probably going to be the most self contained place that we'll visit because the only way to reach Half Moon Cay (pronounced..."key") is by a cruise ship.  This private island owned by Carnival Corporation is worth the cruise, even if you hate cruising.  But really, who the heck hates cruising?!

Half Moon Cay is only visited by cruise ships owned by Carnival.  Many people assume that's solely Carnival Cruise Lines, but they'd be wrong.  Carnival Corp. also owns Holland America, who originally owned Half Moon Cay before they were purchased by Carnival Corp.  Therefore, Holland America, or HAL, also visits Half Moon Cay.  

Now that we've got our history down pat, let's talk about the island!  It's a private island paradise.  I've visited every cruise lines private island except for Princess' and from what I hear and read, it's not even in the same category as HMC, so I know what I'm talking about here, people.  It's the BOMB!  When we visited in 2010, we were also lucky enough to grab one of the private cabanas for the day and as far as we're concerned, this is the way to go.  (you'll understand more when you get to the pics)  The island is located in the Bahamas. 

The cruise line provides a free BBQ lunch while you're on the island, so no need to worry about food while you're sunning.  There's also multiple bars set up, so if you're a drinker, you're also set.  There's parasailing, jet skis, snorkeling, clam shells for rent, music, horseback riding and walking trails for the adventurous types.  The cabanas come with snorkel gear, so we enjoyed that off and on throughout the day.  If you opt out of those activities, there's plenty of free lounge chairs positioned through out the islands beaches for pretty much everyone.  There are also restroom facilities positioned over the island and they were actually pretty clean considering every person walking in them is covered in sand or oil...or both.  If you decide to take a cruise, it's worth checking out one that specifically hits Half Moon Cay JUST to visit this paradise.  In almost 19 years of cruising and almost 20 cruises under our belts, we've never found a private island that is more serene or beautiful.  The layout is perfect for finding adventure or serenity...whichever you are looking for can be found while you're on HMC.

Here's the pics from our day there:

The cabana we chose. 

Snacks waiting for us in the cabana...there was also a fridge with soda and water!

Those are two of my kiddos...but, really look at that water!

About 1/20th of the loungers on the island...not even kidding.  There are some farther away that aren't so close together if you want privacy.

The inside of the cabana and the loungers that were included.  Yes, that's my man's idea of swimwear fashion.  Bless him...  You see that lounger on your left with the Kindle on it?  That's where my butt was almost the entire day.  The next photo is my view from that lounger!

No caption needed for you to understand this, is there?

BEST. PRIVATE. ISLAND. EVER. 


The cabana rental was 150.00 dollars for all of us.  That included drinks, snacks, snorkel gear, floatation mats for the water, a hammock just for us, and a private shower that we could rinse the salt water off with.  The little shower head was outside the cabana.  I didn't think it'd be a big deal. I was wrong.  It was worth 50 dollars all by itself!

I hope that if you're planning a cruise, this place will factor into your decision making process.  We found more relaxation on this day than we have in a long while.  It was simply stunningly beautiful!  Bon Voyage!!

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