Half Moon Cay open?

[English_in_Spain]

DutchByAssociation posted this on another thread talking about storm damage to the beach at HMC

"I can confirm it... I've seen the photos (they are for internal use though so unfortunately no photos that I can post) however I know they had a plan in place to restore the beac very quickly as this CAN happen from time to time.

 

Let's just say, that it was a VERY good call for Captain Mercer to not call at HMC on the OP's cruise"

see post #7 here

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1115871

[HWY 101]

DutchByAssociation posted this on another thread talking about storm damage to the beach at HMC

 

"I can confirm it... I've seen the photos (they are for internal use though so unfortunately no photos that I can post) however I know they had a plan in place to restore the beac very quickly as this CAN happen from time to time.

 

Let's just say, that it was a VERY good call for Captain Mercer to not call at HMC on the OP's cruise"

 

see post #7 here

\

thank you Sir..it seems some of the ladies just to like to chat.. truth or fiction?

 

Happy Sailings../. and we did tender there. and might I say the Jamaicians" on the hoseback ride were not only helpful but friendly as well sea/ swim or not.. make of it what it is and enjoy your cruise... imo as we can also go total smoking cruises... yeah man.. those guys were cool and not selling.. we had a great time..it was a good ride.. swimming or not.. Happy Travels..

[English_in_Spain]

\

thank you Sir..it seems some of the ladies just to like to chat.. truth or fiction?

 

Happy Sailings../. and we did tender there. and might I say the Jamcians were not only helpful but friendly as well sea swim or not.. make of it what it is and enjoy your cruise... imo

 

I am sorry but I do not understand what you mean.

Are you referring to my post or to the one by Dutch?

What do you mean "ladies like to chat"?

What are Jamcians? Do you mean Jamaicans? What has this to do with HMC?

[HWY 101]

spelling is not required here or idle chat.. butt, yes we were there recently sir and storms were coming.. got it? it was tough for the last tender flotation device to get back to the

eurodam? got that? happ;y sailings..

:)

 

We give our comments on personal experience.. nothing else.. dutch or otherwise.. Eurodam Dec.. cruise.. you were talking about half moon cay, right? spelling chief..?

[jojoacq]

Cooper10-8 are you a Marine, or were a Marine? (Well once a Marine, always a Marine!), my son is presently a Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune.

[IRL_Joanie]

DutchByAssociation posted this on another thread talking about storm damage to the beach at HMC

 

"I can confirm it... I've seen the photos (they are for internal use though so unfortunately no photos that I can post) however I know they had a plan in place to restore the beac very quickly as this CAN happen from time to time.

 

Let's just say, that it was a VERY good call for Captain Mercer to not call at HMC on the OP's cruise"

 

see post #7 here

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1115871

 

Thank you English in Spain!! I sure hope they get it repared before to long... I am so looking forward to relaxing under a Clam Shell in less than a month.

 

Joanie

[HEYJUDE1]

You asked this question before and OP answered you right away.

 

I was on that sailing & Capt. Mercer said there was a lot of damage from a passing storm. We had a cooking class and spoke with the chef & he said he saw pictures of the damaqge & it was extensive.

Judy

[boxer2]

We were there on 1/7 on the Maasdam. Weather was cool, so not many passengers were on the beach. We decided to take a walk around the island, which we had never done before. There is a path on the other side which you can take to see some ruins. Never knew it was there. We had a great time exploring the island.

[m steve]

and missed 2 ports due to high winds, Grand Turk and St. Martin. They took us to St. Thomas instead. Strangely there were 6 ships scheduled to be in St. M but onlt one was in St. T. Could someone have cut a deal? No problem at HMC a day or 2 later.

As for the spelling comment. I try to review what I write for spelling errors of mistyping before and after I send the message and correct what I see, if I see it. It's very easy to do and shows respect for the readers of your comments. As well as for yourself.

[Belgian fry]

There was no damage apparent when we were there on Monday 4 Jan. The weather wasn't great but the sea is warm.

[artnak]

We were at HMC on Friday 01/08 (Eurodam) .. calm seas, beautiful warm day (80F). Beach looked fine (we've been twice before). One gentlemen on our ship said this was his first time in HMC after missing it twice on previous sailings.

As we were leaving HMC the Captain announced that the shipped hadn't dropped anchor and was using the engines intermittantly to keep the ship in place. I assumed this was because of the calm seas. Where the tenders pulled up on the port side of the ship, the water was as calm as a pond. That was not the case on our 2 previous stops at HMC, where the waves were at times coming over the sides of the tender. :eek:

[Y's Owl]

Apparently some ships have been stopping at Half Moon Cay recently. Here are their logs on the Geocaching site:

 

 

[view this log]

January 8 by GPSJay (259 found)

On a shore excursion from the Holland America MS Eurodam. Just a note that somebody else logged ahead of us today. Great walk along the path, then took the shore route back. Much appreciated cache, as our excursion to see the stingrays was cancelled due to cold weather. TFTC!

 

[view this log]

January 1 by Tommi Potx (1206 found)

I was extremely bummed when our shore excursion from the Westerdam was cancelled due to heavy swells and rip tides.

I had a whole bunch of loot to drop off here.

 

[view this log]

December 26, 2009 by lostwoodsrambler (972 found)

A quick find on a very beautiful island. Daytripping from the Westerdam. TFTC!

 

[view this log]

December 13, 2009 by geomapper (1096 found)

Found while visiting the island. Arrived on the Carnival Liberty. Very beautiful island, nice walk along the beach. TFTH geomapper

[Huey]

We tendered to HMC on Jan 1st on the Eurodam. I did notice the beach erosion - it was an approximate 20ft by 15ft area blocked by caution tape and there were large rocks visible where the beach washed away on shore close to the welcome center. I did not notice any building damage and didn't notice any buildings being repaired or closed for the day. We loved it there and have never felt sand that soft - my son called it "flour sand".

 

In 2006 we tendered from the Zenith to the private island owned by Celebrity on a cloudy, windy & rainy day. The captain made a bad choice that day. We had to return after a cold drizzly 2 hours - they closed the island due to the worsening weather. The tender could barely keep steady next to the ship and the platform kept getting off the track due to the difference in height between the two boats. When a group of people were on it right behind us - we just stepped onto the ship, the tender went down with the waves and the ship went up and the platform came off the ship a good 3 feet and slammed back onto the ship. Luckily the people were not injured, but it was very, very scary. People were screaming. I would have rather skipped it and stayed on board for the day.

[pipedreams62]

We'll get you to Half Moon Cay

 

[peaches from georgia]

Huey's story is exactly why I hate tendering. We have been in a few dicey situations, several disembarking the ship to the tender, but most often getting back on the ship from the tender. The weather and seas change quickly and once you've tendered into a port you still have to tender back no matter how conditions have changed. One time in rough seas a woman fell between the platform and the tender which was awful and for seniors or handicapped getting on and off a tender can be difficult even with just moderate swells. This is why so often the weather can look beautiful, but you can't get over to HMC.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we first started to cruise hAL and HMC had been opened onloya couple of years -- we were constantly missing HMC because of bad weather -- our record to get to HMC was terrible for quite a few years.

 

But I would rather miss HMC and be safe than sorry.

[imsulin]

Call me the luckiest HAL cruiser! 3 X on HAL, 3 X to HMC. December (over Christmas), April, and Feb. Sailed on the Z ships. Absolutely gorgeous weather and seas each time.

[Rustynail]

Please wish us the same luck for our visit next month.:D

[Iowa-Cruiser]

We were on the Zuiderdam and were at HMC on Jan 3. The weather was great and the seas calm. We did not notice any damage or problems, but our cabana was at the far end of the beach. The main beach along the cabanas was beautiful and white.

 

I was a bit concerned since the seas were quite rough on the way out of Fort Lauderdale, but everything was fine on the warm (but not hot) beach.

[DrTee]

We were able to get to HMC on Jan. 3. The weather wasn't the best, though, and it was quite cold until later in the day. The water was also pretty rough. I think I saw maybe 5 people that actually went in the water.

[Stakeout]

we were on HMC on Jan 7th on the Maasdam ... sure there was some minor beach erosion.. but all was a-okay.. had another great day there... I did some surf fishing as I usually do in my 'secret spot' on the island ...that's if I don't go on a charter with Capt Jolly... this time of year not the best time for offshore fishing there with potential high winds and 'sporty seas'

 

think this was our 26th time at HMC (gotta check on that)...only had to bypass it 2x over the years... heard the 3 blasts/horns from the ship only one other time a few New Year's cruises ago so had to beat feet and back to the ship due to a rain squall.. some nasty seas came up... whheeeeeee!:D

[hensghan]

We visited Half Moon Cay on January 4, 2010. There was no damage to any of the island facilities that we noticed. We didn't particularly enjoy Half Moon Cay that day because it was very cool and intermittently rainy, but it was only the weather that was bad -- the facilitieis appeared just fine.

[sail7seas]

Did it appear the plantings/flowers were damaged? It took a while for them to fill back in again after hurricane damage and the island looked beautiful in November. I'd hate to hear the bushes/flowers were stripped bare again.

[Mpowered]

We were supposed to make a port call at HMC last Saturday, 02 JAN 10, on Westerdam. (snip)

Disappointing? Sure! There were two couples onboard who were to be maried inside the HMC chappel that day.The right decision? Without a doubt! Btw, the capt. scheduled a Q&A session with himself and the CD inside the Vista Lounge about two hours after making that decision + announcement to cancel. In it, he took flak from pax who just couldn't or wouldn't understand why there was no HMC. In that session, he stated that another HAL ship had no problems getting into HMC the day before, so on New Years Day, and he doubted that other ships would have any problems in the coming days. It just wasn't our day! (second time this has happend to us) HMC is a beautiful place but getting in there, you are at the mercy of the elements (not necessarily bad weather/storms) and you just never know!

 

We were there the next day and had no problems, but lots of people were talking about your ship's attempts of the previous day. They said the captain tried and tried but just couldn't get there.

 

We saw no evidence of storm damage, but the place seemed a little run-down, in general. We were not especially happy with our shore excursions there, either. I sound like a grump, but I'm not. We still had a fun visit. Next time, though, we'll pay for a cabana and treat it like a day at the beach instead of a port with shore excursions. The beach is beautiful!

 

Joan

[rangeley]

We were there on Jan 8th on the Eurodam. The weather was 75-80 and it was just perfect! We didn't notice and damage at all. It was paradise as usual!!! :D