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Activities on Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas

speedbump1999

By speedbump1999,
in Holland America Line

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speedbump1999

speedbump1999

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Anyone out there that can tell me about the activities on Half Moon Cay and the amount that is charged. I am travelling with my 9, 10 and 13 year old on the Maasdam on 3/31/05 and this is one of the stops. I have read they have a waterpark and a playground but can't find too much about them. Any info would be very helpful!

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TedC

TedC

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Check HAL website, select a Caribbean cruise that stops at HMC, click on that stop and the shore excursion list should pop up with all the excursions and prices.

 

Of course you can have a great time without spending a penny. The water park for kids seemed to be free and the beach is probably the best you've ever been on. The BBQ is also free. You can get poor to fair snorkeling close to the rocks where the tenders come, also free.

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kryos

kryos

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Anyone out there that can tell me about the activities on Half Moon Cay and the amount that is charged. I am travelling with my 9, 10 and 13 year old on the Maasdam on 3/31/05 and this is one of the stops. I have read they have a waterpark and a playground but can't find too much about them. Any info would be very helpful!

They have a lot of "excursion" thingys at HMC, but with kids, you'd be better off just making it a fun beach day. They've just put in a water park for kids and I think that's free. Also, there's swimming, snorkling, etc. ... which are also free. The barbeque is also free.

 

If you want to spend some money, you could do the stingray excursion that I've heard they have there now ... you'll have to check the prices on the website. They also have horseback riding, parasailing, an eco-lagoon cruise, banana boat rides, etc.

 

You can also rent a variety of water toys at the island.

 

Like another poster said, though ... HMC makes a great beach and water day. No need to really spend as much as a dime while there. Save your money for excursions at the other ports.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

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cvillehf

cvillehf

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We are also on the 3/31 cruise and I just would like some feed back as to if it is worth going to the end of the beach where the snorkeling is to snorkel. Do you have to climb over rocks to get in to snorkel there?

We were there last year and we just stayed on the beach. We were late getting there so there wasn't a barbecue that day and we didn't get alot of time to explore. I did notice that a alot of the kids really enjoyed the banana boat rides, but they don't last long and may not be worth it for the price with 3 kids

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TedC

TedC

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You don't have to climb over any rocks. Just swim out from the beach to

where the tenders come in.

 

There are rock jetties defining the channel for the tenders, but you want to stay on the beach side of the jetty. It wasn't great snorkeling, but it was OK, and it was free. The area is the "close" end of the beach, where everyone arrives. You can stake out your section of beach anywhere.

 

We picked a midspot - not too far from the food or the snorkeling. It's still a beautiful beach despite losing much vegetation in last year's hurricanes.

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damdamsels

damdamsels

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When we were at HMC the middle of January the weather wasn't real warm. The water park consisted of quite a few animals that the kids could climb and ride on and also a slide. The kids seem to be having a good time but was geared more the the younger kids. My sisters did the horseback ride and enjoyed it but was concerned about the horse manure that was floating in the ocean where they were swimming. They thought that it was kinda gross. They also didn't get to run the horses at all. They swam only a little but my sisters still enjoyed it..Hope the weather is good for you..

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SharonN

SharonN

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Has anyone done the Eco Lagoon Cruise? I am thinking of booking that on line in the next couple of days.

 

We just did the Eco Lagoon Cruise last Sat and enjoyed it. It takes place in the lagoon with some of the other new tours (starts next to the Aquatrax and we went by the people in the Kayaks and those fishing for bonefish). They drive you over on a Tram. There were 10 people on our trip and the boat would probably only hold a few more than that. It has a glass bottom area in the center you look thru. Our Guide was Travis and he was very friendly. They took us to some specific areas: first to look for 7 year Apples, then another area for Sea Stars, then for Sea Urchins, then along an area of coral. I think it lasted just over an hour. On the way back they dropped us off at the BBQ area (or would have taken us back to the entry area).

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K&RCurt

K&RCurt

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I took some photos last week of the Kids area at HMC. I will post them here sometime tonigh after I figure out how. IMO kids in the age range you listed may not be entertained there for very long. There is, however, plenty to do. DW and I went on the Eco lagoon Kayak adevture. This was a great experience but we will certainly each get OUR OWN kayak if we go again!

 

SHARONN: Hi! We're glad to see you made it home ok. We finally got home at 3:30 Monday morning! I guess I shouldn't be surprized based on you past experiences with Delta.

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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We just did the Eco Lagoon Cruise last Sat and enjoyed it. It takes place in the lagoon with some of the other new tours (starts next to the Aquatrax and we went by the people in the Kayaks and those fishing for bonefish). They drive you over on a Tram. There were 10 people on our trip and the boat would probably only hold a few more than that. It has a glass bottom area in the center you look thru. Our Guide was Travis and he was very friendly. They took us to some specific areas: first to look for 7 year Apples, then another area for Sea Stars, then for Sea Urchins, then along an area of coral. I think it lasted just over an hour. On the way back they dropped us off at the BBQ area (or would have taken us back to the entry area).

 

Thanks Sharon, I have gone ahead and booked the 10:15 Eco Lagoon Cruise and figured then we would finish about the time for lunch and they can drop us off at the BBQ area. Thanks, we are looking forward to this.

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SharonN

SharonN

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I took some photos last week of the Kids area at HMC. I will post them here sometime tonigh after I figure out how. IMO kids in the age range you listed may not be entertained there for very long. There is, however, plenty to do. DW and I went on the Eco lagoon Kayak adevture. This was a great experience but we will certainly each get OUR OWN kayak if we go again!

 

SHARONN: Hi! We're glad to see you made it home ok. We finally got home at 3:30 Monday morning! I guess I shouldn't be surprized based on you past experiences with Delta.

 

Hi K&RCurt! Sounds like you had an interesting trip back but glad you finally made it (and didn't decide to go to the Cayman's on your way!). Our flights left on time. We barely had time to make the connection in Cleveland (not sure why they book them with 30 mins between in different concourses. More of a problem since we were in the back of the first plane and thought we'd never get off!).

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JaniceB

JaniceB

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Colleen,

 

I read that they have specific activities on Half Moon Cay for the kids. I called and ask HAL. These actvities are not posted on the website. If there are enough kids on the ship, they will post them once you are on the ship. There is a charge for the activity. I would wait until you are on the ship and see what they might plan, otherwise just plan for a day at the beach. I am sure you could buy some beach floats at a dollar store and other beach items and bring them along instead of renting one. The beach floats are not hard to pack since they are flat in the package. You can just throw them away when you leave.

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