Towels in Cabanas?

[ohflvaz]

Just wondering if we need to bring towels from the ship to HMC or are the towels supplied in the cabanas?:D Can't wait to see the beautiful yellow cabana we reserved.

[lougee1043]

dont remember towels in the cabanas-- we brought ones from the ship as we always do when going ashore

[sail7seas]

Bring towels from the ship with you. There will be towels available on the gangway with a steward handing them out........ Remember to bring them back aboard at the end of the day. ;)

 

Enjoy your cabana and day at HMC. It is a slice of Paradise.

[AAAAmerican]

Bring the towells off the ship and back with you.

 

Your time ashore will not be a bore or chore.. it shall be something you will adore.:cool:

[SanDiego Single]

What is HMC? And can someone tell me about the Cabana's?

 

 

 

Thanks

[lougee1043]

What is HMC? And can someone tell me about the Cabana's?Thanks

 

hmc is half moon cay --its hals private island and hal ships in the carib usually stop there for the day-- beach --lunch various water activies including sting rays also para sailing--horseback riding and a whole lot more

there are about 15-20 cabanas that pax can rent for the day that beats lying on the beach or under an umbrella-- comes stocked with pop-beer-water--snacks--its a/c and has a shower--- great if you want to spend the money--costly for the day---for even more money you get a butler that will get you your food from the food court and i think you also get free drinks from the bar---at one time the cabanas were only available to the suite pax for rental --now its open to the public and they do go fast--there is no island on the pacific side when we sail on the odam in january

[MercedMike]

What is HMC? And can someone tell me about the Cabana's?

 

HMC is HAL's private island. The private cabanas are available for rental for about $200 for the day, and they are the luxurious way to spend time on the beach.

 

Check out our pics of

HMC cabanas

[SanDiego Single]

Thanks for the info everyone. :) To bad we won't have anything like that on the cruise in Jan.

[sunflowerstarr]

comes stocked with pop-beer-water--snacks--its a/c and has a shower--- great if you want to spend the money--costly for the day---for even more money you get a butler that will get you your food from the food court and i think you also get free drinks from the bar---at one time the cabanas were only available to the suite pax for rental --now its open to the public and they do go fast--there is no island on the pacific side when we sail on the odam in january

 

The cabanas are stocked with snacks sodas and water the unlimited house alcohol and beer is for if you get the butler upgrade is what I understood. Also I thought I had read with the butler you dont get the traditional barbecue they do there but actually a 3 course lunch from the Pinnacle? Anyone who knows for sure please feel free to correct me as thats just what I had heard and was basing my decisions on. We already have the taupe cabana booked and we want to get the butler upgrade as well.

[OceanLiner]

Let's start with the butler service. Getting a cabana with the butler service is an fantastic experience. If you already have the cabana, spring for the extra bucks and get the service. You won't worry about towels, or tenders, or food. The butler comes to your room and off you go. There is a very special menu available and you can pick want you want a day ahead. Pick as many as you want. I think we had several of the shrimp and several more of the filet plus multiple desserts. Next to the thermal suite, this is by far the very best that HAL has to offer. PS Tip heavily in cash at the beginning and then watch what happens!

[sunflowerstarr]

Thanks for the tip oceanliner....not to be to intrusive but how heavily should we tip ahead for this? Just curious so we can budget it in. Thanks!

[peaches from georgia]

 

PS Tip heavily in cash at the beginning and then watch what happens!

??? What happens that the butler does not ordinarily do for those that do not tip at the beginning of the HMC day??

 

And yes, we would tip the butler, but at the end of the day as we always tip wherever we are after the service, not before. I know some pax will tip their cabin steward at the beginning of the cruise, but I've never heard what services they have received that those of us who tip at the end of the cruise (or do not tip at all) do not get. Just wondering what pre-tipping adds to the service provided by the cabana butler.

[iceman93]

We also tipped at the end of the day, and didn't notice any service that could have been improved by pre-tipping. As others have mentioned, this is a wonderful experience and (to bring it back to the OP's question) the butler will take care of your towel and all other needs.

[OceanLiner]

It may seem hard to believe, but most of the time the butlers are stiffed by the passengers. I found this out be accident while talking with one of the hotel officers at lunch, and latter confirmed with another source. It seems that everyone thinks that the auto tip policy covers all the staff for everyone, and it does not.

 

The position of butler is given by the hotel managers to those who have really earned the right to get off the ship. These guys really like the position because they get to leave the ship and spend the day on the beach, but it is a great deal of work, alot of running around to make sure that you are happy.

 

We first discovered the pre-service trick of tipping while in Hawaii. We were at one of those kitchy dinner things and when we tipped first we got the service of a lifetime. It seems that many of these type of events result in no tip, and the staff was so happy with us that it was almost embarrasing.

 

How much? We gave the butler a crisp $100.00 bill right as he joined us at our suite. He was elated. Told him this was for the day in advance, and thanks for being with us. We also made sure to invite him to accompany us or join us for everthing; even though he always declined you could tell he was very happy. Towels, snorkel gear, the casual mention of a catamaran; all was brought to us without question or hesitation. The really interesting thing was dinner that night. Apparently our tip and treatment of the butler was mentioned throughout the staff and we were given the royal treatment by the entire dining staff.

[iceman93]

Towels, snorkel gear, the casual mention of a catamaran; all was brought to us without question or hesitation. The really interesting thing was dinner that night. Apparently our tip and treatment of the butler was mentioned throughout the staff and we were given the royal treatment by the entire dining staff.

 

That was very generous of you--kudos!

 

But I will break the bad news that we got the same royal treatment with no pre-tip. That's just the professionalism of HAL's staff!