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I'm so over Half Moon Cay!

Slarty

By Slarty,
in Holland America Line

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scamper

scamper

Posted
Posted

I've got a four stop history with HMC, and you can count me as one in the "over it" choir. Yes, it's lovely and the water is beautiful, but water sports and sunning is about all it has to offer and since I have been blessed/cursed with fair skin, the sun and I aren't the best dancing partners. On the plus side, at my age my skin is preternaturally wrinkle and (mostly) line free!

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pauladolla

pauladolla

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Have been many times and always enjoy HMC. The sand is like powder, for more privacy walk aways down the beach there's always less people.

It's much nicer than Princess or Norwegian's private island.

Leaving Sunday on the Eurodam and HMC is the first stop.

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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DH and I are not "beach" people per se, but if you have an active roll call, there is one option that we have done twice and have very much enjoyed....The Oasis (Grand Cabana) on HMC.

 

The PG staff take care of you and there are hot tubs, slide, lots of shade, cabanas, restrooms, etc. Your lunch is prepared there for you and it is very good.

 

It can make a real difference at HMC for those who have "been there done that".

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jbhcw

jbhcw

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DH and I are not "beach" people per se, but if you have an active roll call, there is one option that we have done twice and have very much enjoyed....The Oasis (Grand Cabana) on HMC.

 

The PG staff take care of you and there are hot tubs, slide, lots of shade, cabanas, restrooms, etc. Your lunch is prepared there for you and it is very good.

 

It can make a real difference at HMC for those who have "been there done that".

 

We have done this three times...once with just family and twice with cruising friends...They have been some of the nicest days we've had cruising. When I think of HMC...the Oasis is what I think about.... I love the water but cannot be in the sun so much anymore...so all the shaded area is wonderful..we don't do a lot of excursions anymore...so having the Oasis just makes for a fun and relaxing day in a beautiful place.

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djhsolara

djhsolara

Posted
Posted

We LOVE HMC. It is one of the things that we look forward to on every cruise (and we are not beach people). I am not bothered by the new additions...if they add revenue that helps in some way to keep my price in line, then it doesn't bother me. I can't complain about the closeness of the chairs or anything like that because we only use one chair as a storage for our "stuff" while we're in the water or walking the beach or at the BBQ.

 

We generally get a float and float around in the beautiful water for quite a while (in fact, we recently bought floats just like ones that we rent that we're taking with us...they cost us less than one rental fee to buy them). It's so easy to lose yourself there.

 

The last time we were there we had a new experience for us and it made me love it even more. We walked down the beach a bit past all of the "goings on" and we honestly felt like we were on our own private island. It was totally quiet and there was no one around. Extremely peaceful, serene and absolutely gorgeous.

 

We would go on a cruise that only went to HMC for a week. [emoji6]

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Former Goalie

Former Goalie

Posted
Posted
We LOVE HMC. It is one of the things that we look forward to on every cruise (and we are not beach people). I am not bothered by the new additions...if they add revenue that helps in some way to keep my price in line, then it doesn't bother me. I can't complain about the closeness of the chairs or anything like that because we only use one chair as a storage for our "stuff" while we're in the water or walking the beach or at the BBQ.

 

We generally get a float and float around in the beautiful water for quite a while (in fact, we recently bought floats just like ones that we rent that we're taking with us...they cost us less than one rental fee to buy them). It's so easy to lose yourself there.

 

The last time we were there we had a new experience for us and it made me love it even more. We walked down the beach a bit past all of the "goings on" and we honestly felt like we were on our own private island. It was totally quiet and there was no one around. Extremely peaceful, serene and absolutely gorgeous.

 

We would go on a cruise that only went to HMC for a week. [emoji6]

The single time I was there, I walked past all the cabanas to the far end of the cay, and back. Beautiful, peaceful walk. I have no need to be part of the action, and, we don't do the on shore cabana thing, although we do love the retreat cabanas on the HAL ships that do offer them.

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  • 1 month later...
dznymom

dznymom

Posted
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I love all the Private Island stops and consider them a highlight of most of my cruises. Although it has been a number of years since I have been to HMC, I absolutely loved it. It compared very favorably to the other ones I have been to (Coco Cay, Great Stirrup Cay, Castaway Cay & non-island Labadee). I fully expect to enjoy it when we stop there next month even though it sounds like they have over commercialized it. The water should still be the most amazing color on earth, and with luck the sun will shine and people will be happily playing in the sand and the water. I can't wait!

 

That said, we now have a number of ports we don't bother getting off the ship for, or we sometimes just run off to do an errand. There is something so peaceful about a nearly empty ship that we thoroughly enjoy those days as well. I totally get why one would give up HMC for day onboard :)

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wldflr

wldflr

Posted
Posted

On our cruise in January 2015, rough seas prevented us from tendering to HMC so everyone got to stay onboard - so no quiet day on ship OR a "beach day" to sit in our clamshell, read, walk down the beach, have a drink or whatever.

 

So we were very happy this year when we got to go ashore. And yes, I'm not a fan of the pirate ship but we sit just outside in our loungers and enjoy the musicians who come ashore to play inside for an hour or two.

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BruceMuzz

BruceMuzz

Posted
Posted
The first couple of times it was fun. Great beach. Service good. Water cold (in winter months). New island-based tenders helped.

 

I don't even go onshore now. Just stay on board and read my kindle on the balcony.

 

You?

 

Shame on HAL for holding a gun to your head and forcing you to buy cruises to one of the most boring places on earth.

Have you considered leaving the ranks of "tourist" and joining the travelers go to far more interesting places?

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lastlook

lastlook

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If the weather is nice and we are the only ship at HMC, I do enjoy spending time in the gorgeous water with the nice sandy bottom. I have never cared for the lunch on HMC, so we head back to the ship in the early afternoon for something to eat. We had the nicest day yet at HMC this past December 29th - perfect weather and the water temp was quite nice once you adjusted to it. Since we've been to most of the Caribbean islands either on a land vacation or via cruise ship, we will stay on the ship if nothing interests us ashore. This past cruise, HMC was the only port where we got off the ship (until we had to disembark at Port Everglades!) :-) Otherwise, we are content to relax with a good book and a beverage on our balcony, or (preferably) in a retreat cabana on the ships that have them.

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Sam.Seattle

Sam.Seattle

Posted
Posted

Wow... that was an interesting exchange of comments for 6-pages...

 

My following comments are laced with humor and fact... now, please don't take me too seriously and please keep the flames to a minimum. It has been a while since I have posted here and see many of the old regular are still here saying the same old thing...

 

Fact 1 - HAL is is business to make money and reward stock holders. Don't fool yourself thinking is anything else.

 

Fact 2 - HMC is making a lot more money renting two story cabanas etc... so, get use to it.

 

Fact 3 - As previously stated... Beauity is in eye of the beholder.

 

Opinion 1- I agree that HMC is nicer than Princess Cay, but no where near as nice as Labadee.

 

Oinion 2 - The plan is working! The folks who don't spend money on renting cabanas etc are staying on board which allows more tender space for the folks who are spending $$$$ on cabanas and booze.

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albingirl Great Review Rare

albingirl

Posted
Posted
OK, I will be the freak and admit that I love HMC and think it is one of the most beautiful beaches. And since we get there in February we are coming out of winter in New York, so it is a little bit of heaven on earth.

 

2lkvhgj.jpg

 

Agree, agree, and agree. I even like the barbeque. Been there a gazillion times and it never loses its charm for me.:D

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MARLEY225

MARLEY225

Posted
Posted

This is my favorite stop in the Caribbean with HAL. Every cruise I book must include her. I never understand why people knock the islands which are basically beach locations - if you are not beach people why are you on a Caribbean cruise ????

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SetAnOpenCourse

SetAnOpenCourse

Posted
Posted

  • Nice place for a quiet walk along the water - I walk to the end and usually pass only a few people.
  • Tender service last time was good, compared to previous times.
  • BBQ not a draw - the meat was so over-charred, would have been pure ash if cooked a minute more.
  • Fairly effortless way to enjoy a beach on the cruise.
  • Very nice water, and seeing the big ship so close is kind of neat when you're in the water.
  • Sense of accomplishment from not disembarking with beach towel still in its paper sleeve. ;)

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Nanner

Nanner

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Posted

Just off the 47 day Amazon/Carnaval Explorer on Maasdam, and we missed the first stop on HMC due to winds. The ship was full of mostly well traveled folks, but I heard many who were very unhappy that we missed the stop there. No one was celebrating the lack of the port stop day.

 

Based on that, I think the majority of HAL customers do like the HMC days. Some don't get off the ship, but enjoy the quieter day aboard. Others do enjoy the sand and surf (beats the 6 inches of snow we returned home to).

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