- [Doug Parker] Hey there, I'm Doug Parker,
host of Cruise Radio
and today we're going to visit
and tour that little slice
of paradise known as Half Moon Cay.
Before we head there if you like this video
feel free to hit the subscribe button
and give it a like.
So now let's talk about Half Moon Cay.
The island's actual name is Little San Salvador Island.
It was bought by Carnival Corporation back
in 1997 for 6 million dollars.
For comparison with inflation that's
about 9.3 million dollars today.
Geographically, it's 98 miles southeast
of Nassau Bahamas and it sits on 2,400 acres.
Now only 50 of those acres are developed
the rest is set aside as a wildlife preserve.
When they developed Half Moon Cay
they actually did a really good job
at mixing and balancing the nature part
of the experience in the guest experience because
while there is a beautiful beach there and things to do
there are plenty of nature trails and walking trails.
If you want to get, you know
kind of get back away from the beach for a little while.
As far as cruise ship calls
to Half Moon Cay the island receives
over 200 stops per year.
Now that's between Carnival Cruise Line
and Holland America Line.
Carnival uses the destination most
and Holland America uses the island seasonally
because they have most
of their ships in Europe in the summertime.
So you're talking like April through November
you're gonna see all Carnival ships there
and then starting in November
the Holland America ships start calling there again.
Once they you know, deploy all their ships
from Europe back to the U.S.
Now by looking at the footage here
you're probably wondering just how you get onto the island
because there isn't a dock here and you're very correct.
In fact, the private islands in The Bahamas now
we're only talking about Bahamas' private islands.
The only cruise line areas that
or the only cruise line islands that have docks.
Royal Caribbean is building one right now
for 2019 at CocoCay.
And then Disney has one at Castaway Cay.
Carnival does not have a dock
or those Princess Cay's as well,
or Norwegian's Great Stirrup Cay.
So those are all tender ports.
How the tendering process works though
is you'll just walk downstairs to deck zero
or wherever they load the water shuttles.
You'll board these two-story boats and then it'll take you
over from the ship to the islands
and it's about a 10 to 15-minute trip each way.
Once you get off the water shuttle
you're able to go wherever you like.
A lot of people head towards the beach
and if it's lunchtime you can head
over to the pavilion there to have that barbecue that's done
on Half Moon Cay.
I thought I should probably tell you, just like when
it comes to embarkation on a cruise ship,
a lot of people bum rush to get on Half Moon Cay early.
They want to get the most time on the island.
So if you go down to deck zero early, you're probably
going to experience a little bit of a line trying to get
from the ship over to the island.
If you wait a little while, maybe sleep in
and enjoy breakfast on the ship and then go over
to Half Moon Cay after a couple of hours of it being there
you probably won't experience much lines.
And those water shuttles run back and forth probably
every 15 minutes or so.
A quick stroll around the island shows why it's so popular
among cruisers.
The I Wish I Could Stay Here Forever bar
that's a mouthful to say, but trust me, it's
exactly how you'll feel the second,
once you step foot on the island.
And then not far from the bar is a relatively new addition
to Half Moon Cay, it's the Lobster Shack.
This is a four-fee venue that was introduced back
in 2016 to help celebrate the Island's 20th anniversary.
And the Lobster Shack does have a fairly limited menu
but a lot of it is really, really good and tasty
and I mean they're pretty much pulling these lobsters right
out of the water off the coast of Half Moon Cay
so you can't go wrong there, right?
And if you don't feel like paying
to eat at the Lobster Shack, you can walk over
to the free buffet.
They have a barbecue out there.
There is set hours so you have to watch
and see what time it's actually open until
but a lot of the food is prepared
on the ship with the exception of the grill items.
Like you have your hamburgers, hotdogs, jerk chicken
a bunch of sides.
If you wanna avoid standing in line forever though
you wanna find out what time this is open
and be one of the first people there
because it does get a little bit crowded there
and when people find out that it's open
people swarm to it because you know
you work up in appetite swimming out there in the ocean.
Another spot you'll wanna make sure to hit
on Half Moon Cay is Captain Morgan's pirate ship.
Some people think this is just a cool photo op, but it
there's actually a bar inside
and it goes up multiple levels.
So you can actually go to the bottom level or walk
up to the upper level or go up one more level
and get some pretty cool photos of your ship.
And on the subject of the pirate ship
the further you get away
from the tender operation where they let you off
the better you are because people usually just plop
down right when they step on the beach.
And you know, it's kind of funny
because you see everyone kind of just sitting in one area.
The further down you walk, which is kind of
by the pirate ship or a little past the pirate ship
the less crowded it gets because either people can't
or don't wanna walk down that far.
So the further down the beach you are
the more of the beach you have to yourself.
And speaking of having the beach to yourself
you could actually rent a cabana
on Half Moon Cay and it's great for small groups.
Each one holds about four people
and you can get more in there
but you'll have to pay for the additional guests.
The best thing about the cabanas is they give you, in a way,
they escape the sun.
You'll get some snacks, your fridge filled
with water and sodas.
And if you wanna kick things up even further
you can go to a two-story beach villa.
These will hold eight people and they have a five
person hot tub, a private bathroom, depending on the sailing
and the time of the year.
These are about $550 each.
It may seem like a lot
for a single-day rental, but if you have seven
or eight people splitting the cost, it's not bad at all.
And then if you want to escalate that a little bit more
there is the Ultimate Day at Half Moon Cay.
And that's for 12 people.
It's a 1600-square-foot private oasis.
And most people who visit the island don't even
know this exists.
Or let alone they could rent it, but it's about $1,600.
But again, if you divide that between 12 people, that's
about $133 per person.
And if you think what it includes, it's totally worth it.
I mean, there's an eight-person hot tub, a barbecue area
full bar, dining area, changing rooms.
It's all behind a privacy gate too, to make sure that you
and your guests have it all
to yourselves that no one's around.
You also have the services of a butler, a bartender
even a lifeguard.
This place is pretty sick
and you have an open bar, not a bad thing.
And speaking of bars
if you have the Carnival's Cheers Package for Half Moon Cay
it does not work on this island.
So you have to actually pay
for the drinks as you go on Half Moon Cay.
That goes to the same for Holland America
but Holland America does sell a day package
or a day pass for drinking on this island.
And it varies on price, I believe.
I think my last sailing was on eurodam there
in November of 2017 and it was about $29 for the day.
And that's all you can drink
on the island while the ship is actually docked there.
Again Carnival does not offer any kind
of package.
It's pay-as-you-go.
Holland America did at least offer one
on my sailing where you could purchase a pass
and have an unlimited experience on Half Moon Cay.
Some of the excursions offered on Half Moon Cay
there was the horseback riding,
there was a stingray adventure, island bike tour,
an eco lagoon tour, go parasailing, glass bottom boats,
snorkel excursions.
Typical island experience-type excursions.
You can book these on board or before you go on your cruise
whatever cruise line you're sailing with.
And that will about do it for our Tour of Half Moon Cay.
I'll leave you with a little bit more video footage here
of the island and some of the experiences on Half Moon Cay.
Once again, my name is Doug Parker.
I'm the host of Cruise Radio
and the Daily Cruise Radio news brief.
If you want to check out either of those, you can listen
to them wherever you find your favorite podcast
Just type in cruise radio or cruise radio news.
If you like this video, feel free to subscribe
to the channel for more content and give it a like.
And let me know what you think of Half Moon Cay.
Have you been there?
Or do you book your cruise because of Half Moon Cay?
I know a lot of people do.
I'm curious of your thoughts.
Again, my name is Doug Parker.
Thank you so much for watching.