Half Moon Cay cabanas

[dmband1701]

Good evening everyone! My husband and I booked a cabana for our stop at Half Moon Cat and I was wondering if as a perk you get to go on the first tender ship? Also anyone who has stayed in a cabana did you have any issues with people invading your space? Thanks in advance:o

[R3D3P]

Good evening everyone! My husband and I booked a cabana for our stop at Half Moon Cat and I was wondering if as a perk you get to go on the first tender ship? Also anyone who has stayed in a cabana did you have any issues with people invading your space? Thanks in advance:o

 

Yes, you will receive priority tendering to the island. We did not experience any issues with other cruisers coming into our cabana. We had cabana 7.

 

RdP :)

Edited February 10, 2014 by R3D3P

[dmband1701]

Yes, you will receive priority tendering to the island. We did not experience any issues with other cruisers coming into our cabana. We had cabana 7.

 

Thank you for the info. Very excited for our vacation!

[Danacat222]

I have rented both a villa and a cabana. I wrote a review of the cabana at Carnival.com and they rejected my review, my guess is because they did not want others to read about what we experienced both times in the way of having our space invaded. With the villa, people came in and looked around. I gave a tour. One couple appeared while we were in the hot tub. Someone welcomed themselves to our floating mats and used the outdoor shower to rinse off.

 

With the cabana, people took mats when we went to get lunch. People used the steps as a changing station and resting stop.

 

We saw two grown women going into the villa that was next to our cabana (12), the group that had rented the villa had left and they were going in and using the hot tub, then we saw them go in another cabana that the renters also had presumably left.

 

That being said, i have been to HMC three times and i don't think i will rent a cabana or villa again. The villa was cool because there is a restroom with a shower in the bathroom, the hot tub, it's nice if you have a large group. There are enough chairs and shade to not need a cabana. I'm glad we did those but learned we just don't need them.

[l2f]

We have rented a cabana twice. This was our experience.

 

The first time.... We were further down the beach. We did have one couple attempt to take the float mats. We just informed them they are for people who rent the cabanas while, conveniently looking at a "private.. (not sure exactly what the sign said) sign. We could tell they did read the sign as they were appoligetic.

 

The couple stayed in the area. At lunch time we offered to let them borrow the mats for a hour while we were eating. They borrowed one and returned it as expected.

 

The second time we rented, again were further down the beach and we had no problems.

 

I did a lot of reading of HMC threads on this prior to the first time renting a cabana. It seemed at the time the biggest complain was "invaders" not knowing the mats, shower, etc was only for the cabana renters. Likewise most felt signage could be better to help with this.

 

Regarding the 1st tender. We did have priority tendering but never made the 1st tender. In both cases we went to the meeting location for excursions. And both times we were on the second tender. Actually both times we were one of the first people on the 2nd tender.

[winddawn]

Good evening everyone! My husband and I booked a cabana for our stop at Half Moon Cat and I was wondering if as a perk you get to go on the first tender ship? Also anyone who has stayed in a cabana did you have any issues with people invading your space? Thanks in advance:o

Yes you will get priority tendering with your cabana excursion. I have had issues with people helping themselves to my cabana. They will walk right in or come use the shower or sit on the steps. The further down the beach your cabana is though, the less problem you will have with cabana crashers.

[jks336]

there should be a sign on both sides, not just the one side that I've seen pics of. I just feel its rude even if they didn't have signs to assume that you can use the cabanas there when you see its not like a rental hut.

[gusandgidgetsmom]

We have rented a cabana 8 times. The same one each time number 9. It is close to the bathroom so we like that feature. We have never had anyone invade our cabana space other than the people from the villa coming over and taking the chairs out front since they must have had 35 in their villa! The chairs are not just for the cabana so I would not say it was an invasion of our space.

I have rented a cabana for our upcoming cruise in September. We hope we can get 9 or 10 at that time. Close to things but far enough from the crowds.

[crusinfamof4]

We got priority tender, however, we missed the first tender-too many people had priority that morning, so we were in line to board and there were too many, so we had to wait for the next tender to pull up. Not a big deal, but when you are first on the tender and have to wait for it to fill up, it takes time. Regardless, we had a blast.

 

As I had read on here, we got a cabana further away from the action. We had # 14 and it was great!!!!! No one came up and used our shower or took our chairs, nothing. It was really like we had the beach to ourselves-especially once the people next to us left in cabana 15. Great time!

[R3D3P]

I should have added that we did not experience any problems with people using our cabana I believe mostly because our cruise director during the Fun Ashore & Fun Aboard show mentioned that the use of cabanas were for those that reserved them. Not all cruise directors do this.

 

RdP :)

[dmband1701]

I am more shy and reserved then my husband so I am guessing if anyone tries to sit on our cabana or use it my husband will tell them that it is ok for a fee. ;)

 

I figured we would just take turns going to grab our lunch as I want to eat in my cabana rather then the bbq area anyways.

[ckhappy]

I have never been to half moon cay. Are the cabanas worth the money for just the two of us? I see from pictures there are little two seat lounge chairs with a canopy on the beach as well. Which would be better? We are going in mid October not even sure what the water will feel like.

 

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Edited February 10, 2014 by ckhappy

[Pellaz]

My sister and I enjoyed the cabana we rented last October (#11)....after trying to rent one the year before for a group of 4 and being denied by weather <shakes fist at the sky>, I wasn't about to be denied again! :)

 

You DO get a lot of perks that otherwise cost money: four floaty mats, four sets of snorkeling gear, a rather nice spread of water, sodas (you pick which flavors), a bunch of oranges (wish you could pick apples instead), chips and salsa, dips, veggie tray, I wouldn't pay the price that HAL charges, but I'd pay the price Carnival charges again.

 

I'd go with a cabana numbered 9 or above if you want to be fairly certain of not getting 'raided.' Getting to the Shore Ex desk as fast as possible after you board is important so you can have a good choice. This is actually a good reason to book Faster to the Fun.

[l2f]

I figured we would just take turns going to grab our lunch as I want to eat in my cabana rather then the bbq area anyways.

 

This is exactly what we have done both times to HMC.

 

Are the cabanas worth the money for just the two of us? I see from pictures there are little two seat lounge chairs with a canopy on the beach as well.

 

This is a personal decision. We think it is a bit pricy for 2 (but worth it.) Our first time to HMC it was just the two of us, but we wanted to try a cabana. So we did and we are glad we did. Our second (and last) visit we got a cabana as well but there were 4 of us. Definitely more affordable between 4 people. For our upcoming cruise we again will be visiting HMC. But we are not getting one this time. Trying something different.

 

Which would be better? We are going in mid October not even sure what the water will feel like.

 

We were there towards the end of November last year. The water was a bit cool, but we did get in a lot and were in at least half the day.

[weredawg]

We had people come up and ask if they could use the shower to rinse off. After allowing one person, I quickly realized that was a mistake since they managed to get some of our stuff wet and told some others that asked they could not.

There were 5 of us, and we had several drinks left. As long as they are unopened, you can bring them back on board with you. The snacks were not bad, and we hardly wanted to go eat after munching on chips salsa, veggies, and fruit.

I thought it was well worth it, and it totally hooked my brother in law to the whole cruise thing. I don't know if it would be worth it for just two people though...?

[092306]

We had cabana #13 and had no issues with crashers. We liked the location and definitely thought it was worth having as i'm not much for the sun and it was great to have for our young son. Renting another one for our upcoming October cruise.

 

 

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[ckhappy]

So does the price that's listed on the carnival website mean only one person has to purchase. Or is that the price per person? I can't really see spending 229.95 per person. Does anyone know?

 

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[quiltsnh]

One person needs to rent!

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

So does the price that's listed on the carnival website mean only one person has to purchase. Or is that the price per person? I can't really see spending 229.95 per person. Does anyone know?

 

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When you go to book it, it explains in the notes that only 1 person needs to book it, not each person. So, the rate is $229 whether you are solo or have 4 people.

 

It's also not for "1 hour" as the website says, but the whole day (note when reserving says this also).

 

Now, why their website team can't fix this to avoid confusion is beyond me.

[CorrieCJ]

We had Cabana #8, about halfway down the beach, and had no issues with crashers. I did let a few people use our shower toward the end of the day. There were 6 of us (2 adults, 4 kids) and it was well worth the $229 as we had plenty of snacks, shade, and shelter from the short downpour. My kids even managed to build themselves a fort with the lounge chairs.

[Pr0spect0r]

Our family was non-plussed by Half Moon Cay in general. Although we didn't book a cabana, I can't say that it is a stop I would be in a hurry to return to. Maybe a cabana would have made a difference, but it irked me that on the island you pay for everything.

 

It doesn't surprise me that folks were swiping your cabana supplies - there is nothing to do on the island unless you start by pulling out your wallet. We found a lounger under a tree and stayed there most of the day, but really it was no different that a day at sea, and far worse than most days in port.

 

We walked the nature trail, played at the beach, looked around at stuff, and decided that the best we could make of the day was to sit under a tree. Our lunch was really bad that day too.

 

If this is the best Carnival can do with their private island experience, then no wonder folks are swiping gear to find some kind of adventure. Call me cheap, but really, I paid for a cruise so I wouldn't have to pay for this stuff when I got there.

 

In case this is misread, I am not saying it is OK for folks to swipe the mats, just that it doesn't surprise me.

[crewsnews]

Sorry you had a bad time. You have to plan ahead if you want to have fun on a budget. It's essentially just going to be a very nice beach day. If you want to use snorkel gear or floating mats, you do have to pay extra, which you would have to do at any port of call. However, if you plan ahead, you could bring a couple of Dollar Store blow up mats with you and blow them up while on the tender ride over. You could also bring your own mask and snorkel to do that for free. I wouldn't bother lugging the fins around. I also use the Bon Voyage Department and get a bottle of liquor for the room. It's a little pricey, but far cheaper than paying for drinks by the glass. I usually bring some of that liquor over to the beach in a sport bottle, mix it with the free juice, and drink on the cheap all day long.

 

You just have to plan ahead and know what to expect on a private island to ensure that you have the best time possible on the budget you have available. You are right though, as far as sight seeing goes, there isn't a whole lot to do in that department.