Half Moon Cay

[SwanseaVillanReturns]

Hi,

 

First time cruiser so expect a few queries in the next few days :D

 

1. Do Carnival provide lunch on the beach at HMC ? If so, from what time as i'm trying to organise an excursion around that time.

 

2. Do Carnival provide lunch on the beaches at St Thomas, San Juan, or Grand Turk ?

 

3. Do Carnival provide beach towels or is that something we have to pack ?

 

4. If we book an excursion how long should we allow for "tendering" on and off the ship?

 

Hope these queries aren't too naive for some of you regulars !!:)

 

Many Thanks

[pcvtmom]

1. Yes, lunch is provided at HMC. I can't remember the exact time, but it's a buffet set-up with grilled chicken, burgers, hotdogs, salads, desserts, etc.

 

2. No lunch is provided on the beaches, but you can return to the ship for lunch if you desire.

 

3. Carnival towels are provided. They will be in your stateroom, and you can request extras from your room steward.

 

4. If you book an excursion through Carnival, you will be tendered in a group. No worries.

 

I suggest you pop over to the ports of call boards (this may be moved there anyway), and read up on the ports you are visiting. Have a great cruise...and welcome to the "addiction"!!

[crewsnews]

...and get a cabana in HMC!

[winddawn]

Hi,

 

First time cruiser so expect a few queries in the next few days :D

 

1. Do Carnival provide lunch on the beach at HMC ? If so, from what time as i'm trying to organise an excursion around that time.

 

2. Do Carnival provide lunch on the beaches at St Thomas, San Juan, or Grand Turk ?

 

3. Do Carnival provide beach towels or is that something we have to pack ?

 

4. If we book an excursion how long should we allow for "tendering" on and off the ship?

 

Hope these queries aren't too naive for some of you regulars !!:)

 

Many Thanks

Welcome to cruising!

 

1. Carnival does provide free lunch at HMC. All food is carried off the ship, so as soon as they get everything off and set up and start cooking, they will be serving food ongoing through the day. The jerk chicken is great. You'll love HMC.

 

2. Carnival does not provide lunch on the beaches at St. Thomas, San Juan, or Grand Turk. Lots of people head down the beach to Jack's Shack at Grand Turk to eat, and there is a Margaritaville right there as you exit the pier.

 

3. You will have beach towels available in your stateroom. Be sure to bring them back to your stateroom every day for your cabin steward to exchange them for clean ones. If you don't return them to your cabin you will be charged for them. You can carry them off the ship to use and bring back with you to your cabin.

 

4. Tendering can take a while. If you purchase Faster to the Fun, you can get priority tendering. Once the ship starts tendering, it can take a couple hours for the crowds to die down.

[SwanseaVillanReturns]

These responses have been fantastic !

 

Thanks All :)

 

Just some follow ups to related questions...

 

1. What time does lunch "start". I'm thinking of doing the 11.00 -12.00 Stingray excursion but am worried that by the time i get back there'll be masses of queues waiting to be fed.

 

4. If the ship is departing at 5.00 , say, what time would i need to be at the tendering point ? 3.30 ?

 

Many Thanks again

[SwanseaVillanReturns]

The Cabana's have all gone !! lol

[Sparky2]

These responses have been fantastic !

 

Thanks All :)

 

Just some follow ups to related questions...

 

1. What time does lunch "start". I'm thinking of doing the 11.00 -12.00 Stingray excursion but am worried that by the time i get back there'll be masses of queues waiting to be fed.

 

4. If the ship is departing at 5.00 , say, what time would i need to be at the tendering point ? 3.30 ?

 

Many Thanks again

 

When we've been at HMC, the bbq lunch has started at 11:30 AM. We go at 11:15 so we're ones of the first in line.

[SadieN]

FYI No food can be brought off the ship due to laws of the various countries. Bottled water is ok to bring off.

Edited May 20, 2016 by SadieN

[SwanseaVillanReturns]

Thanks Sparky2.

 

This is what i was worried about.

 

I'll take a leaf out of your book and book an afternoon rendezvous with the stingrays.

[SwanseaVillanReturns]

Hi SadieN

 

Are you saying that the BBQ food is prepared onshore rather than being carried from the ship ???

[kona_wahine]

San Juan isn't a beach day. I would suggest checking out old San Juan and figuring out a walking tour. El Moro is one of the old forts and that should be on your tour. Lots to see there, very interesting old town.

 

Grand Turk you can just get off the ship and be at the beach. Or walk down farther for less crowds. But I wouldn't eat at Margaritaville. Go back to the ship if you want a bite. (My opinion) the beach is nice, water gorgeous.

 

St Thomas you should figure out a beach you want to go to and grab a cab. (Sounds like beach is your thing) maagens bay is very nice. Lots of taxis to take you back.

 

HMC is heaven. We rented a cabana and enjoyed the beach. You don't need a cabana, it was just a nice plus. Don't feel like you have to do an excursion there. It makes for a nice relaxing day.

[kona_wahine]

Hi SadieN

 

Are you saying that the BBQ food is prepared onshore rather than being carried from the ship ???

 

HMC the crew takes off food and cooks right there. They have a very nice set up. Lots of picnic tables all covered.

[AZmike480]

The beaches at HMC are amazing and the food cooked on the island is good.

 

I also recommend skipping the excursion at HMC and maybe do an excursion in San Juan instead.

[OCruisers]

You don't really need to do any sort of excursion in HMC. A lovely beach with lounge chairs is provided at no cost. A BBQ lunch (no cost) is there for you to enjoy.

 

No lunches are provided by the ship at St. Thomas, San Juan, or Grand Turk.

At Grand Turk there's a beach with lounge chairs directly where you dock at no cost. Use of the huge pool/chairs at Margaritaville is also free for your use.

 

Happily, no need to pack beach towels! Carnival provides beach towels for you to take on your port stops with you.

 

While possible, it's highly unlikely you'll be tendering anyplace other than HMC.

 

Have a wonderful first cruise and PLEASE do not hesitate to ask if you have any other questions! :)

[tango55]

hi .in St.Thomas we did joe's island tours of s.t.6 hours tour of island and if you want they will drop you off at secret harbour for a few hours .highly informative and lots of scenery and views.$25

Edited May 20, 2016 by tango55
wrong price

[tango55]

san juan is nice if you like to walk around the old town.go left off the ship and stay close to the water.beautiful fountains ,gardens .it heads to el morro.not much hill climbing that way,unless you head uphill across from the ship.make sure to stop at cvs for supplies

[Purvis1231]

FYI No food can be brought off the ship due to laws of the various countries. Bottled water is ok to bring off.

 

This is not exactly true since at Half Moon Cay the ship brings the food off the ship and prepares it on the island.

[OCruisers]

This is not exactly true since at Half Moon Cay the ship brings the food off the ship and prepares it on the island.

 

It's a totally different when the cruise line either bought or long termed leased an area for their private retreat.

[xbatt8]

This is not exactly true since at Half Moon Cay the ship brings the food off the ship and prepares it on the island.

 

Pretty sure she meant that passengers could not bring food off.

 

Bob

[Sabalon]

The one thing that cracked me up on HMC was as we were sitting at the picnic table eating the (excellent) chicken, there were wild chickens milling around in the bushes right by the tables. I just figured the food was real fresh!

 

On HMC, we did the morning snorkeling excursion, and got back and walked right to lunch with no issues.

[poobears]

HMC is my absolutely favorite stop. OMGosh I love it, it's perfect. As far as cabanas go, they showed sold out online because they don't sell them until you are on board and it's first come first serve. At least that is how it was when we last went but that was 5 years ago so maybe it's changed since then but when we went they showed sold out, we were told got straight to the excursion desk and book one and sure enough we were first in line and we got a cabana. They sold out very quickly though.

 

The cabanas are awesome they provide snorkeling gear if you want it, sodas of your choice, fresh salsa, chips and a fresh fruit tray. They are set up down the beach from all the craziness but close enough that if you want to walk down to where everyone else is you can. Also they are just down from where the buffet is.

 

One thing we learned is they close up the buffet about an hour or two before you actually leave so if you want food go get it early. We waited until we were done swimming and by the time we hit the buffet they had already pulled almost everything even though we were still scheduled to be on the island a couple more hours. They pulled us out a burger, even though we told them they didn't have to, which was really sweet of them to do. Good thing we had the chips and fruit back at our cabana.

 

I wouldn't waste money booking an excursion there either, even if you don't get a cabana there is enough to do just hanging out on the beach, listening to the bands play and having fun, save your money for another island. Eat and have some fun.

 

Oh and be warned when it starts getting later in the day, the ocean life starts moving into the swimming area and those little jelly fish start stinging. We started seeing some very large fish zipping around under our feet and next thing we knew myself and a lady we met on board whose family was hanging out with us at our cabana got stung. Dang it that hurt for days, I wasn't about to let anyone pee on it lol

[esdoorn]

Cabana's are sold online under 'shore excursions' section under you booking. Then you select your Cabana number once you get on ship at the shore excursion desk. It helps to have FTTF so you get on the ship right away so you can get one of the higher number cabana's where it is less crowded.

 

Here's a picture from Cabana #11 ( we enjoyed it as it gets shade from two trees ).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[poobears]

Cabana's are sold online under 'shore excursions' section under you booking. Then you select your Cabana number once you get on ship at the shore excursion desk. It helps to have FTTF so you get on the ship right away so you can get one of the higher number cabana's where it is less crowded.

 

Here's a picture from Cabana #11 ( we enjoyed it as it gets shade from two trees )

 

 

.

 

 

Maybe that's what it was, we bought it online then we had to wait at the desk to pick the #. Been too long ago, my memory isn't that good lol We picked the cabana way down at the end away from everyone. I have some photos some where, will see if I can find them.

 

I need to book that cruise next year to take the girls, they would love half moon cay.

[SwanseaVillanReturns]

Hey Guys !

 

Thanks for all your responses - they have all been beneficial.

 

Have decided (rightly or wrongly) on.....

 

HMC - Stingrays (mid afternoon)

USVI - Helmet Dive at Coral World

PR - Self tour of town / forts

GT - Snorkelling corals / "the wall" through local tour operator

 

Determined to enjoy :D

[happy cruzin]

The Cabana's have all gone !! lol

 

If you're still interested - I would put my name on the waiting list as soon as you get on board. Go to the Shore excursions desk.

 

I have heard more than once that cabana's have been secured that way!! ;)