5 Reasons to Visit Half Moon Cay

Chances are if you’re sailing a Carnival or Holland America itinerary four nights or longer in the Caribbean that you’ll stop in Half Moon Cay, a private island owned by Holland America Line but shared by her sister brands.

Half Moon Cay is located about 90 miles from Nassau, Bahamas and is a tender port – and a must see!

Here are five reasons that Half Moon Cay is awesome!

1. Blue Water

The turquoise water surrounding HMC is unlike any water in the Bahamas. The beaches are awesome and plenty to do. It starts when the ship anchors and you can see the bottom of the ocean floor on a clear day.

2. Island BBQ

You can take a break from the buffets (and Guy’s Burger Joint) for a day a enjoy a beachside BBQ. The covered picnic are serves hamburgers, hot dogs, jerked chicken and all the sides. You can find a full list of the BBQ menu here.

3. Plenty of Shade

It’s fair to say that share is scarce on other private islands in the Caribbean but there is plenty of shade if you do not want to bake in the Caribbean sun. HMC has a multi-deck pirate ship with shade, covered bars, misting stations and a lot of trees.

4. Excursions

Horse back riding, snorkeling, kayaking, nature ecology tours or renting a cabana are a few options on HMC.

Nature Trails

HMC has a mix of beautiful beaches and nature trails to suit both the sun seeker and adventurers. Scattered throughout the island you’ll see signs that give you information about the island, history tidbits and don’t worry, you wont get lost, there are signs with arrows everywhere.

5. Efficient Tendering

Tendering can suck, depending on what cruise line you’re on. You wait in line and it usually wraps up two or three flights of stairs, only for people to come out of the elevator and cut in line on deck zero. With Carnival, they have two different tendering loading stations (forward and mid-ship) and it’s done by a number system, cutting out of lot of the tendering non-sense.