2 ships at Half Moon Cay same day

[CoastalCounseling]

I noticed another ship is going to be at HMC the day our ship is there. How will this affect the availability of chairs, float matts etc??

 

Has anyone experience HMC with both one and two ships there?

 

Thanks,

Kelly

[Cruising since '81]

What is the date of your cruise,; or more specifically, the date you will be at Half Moon Cay?:) ;) :) ;)

[CoastalCounseling]

We will be at HMC on Dec 19th. Looks like the Zuiderdam and Prinsendam will be sharing the facilities.

[jhannah]

The Prinsendam holds less than 800 passengers, so you shouldn't have any problem at all. We were there on the Zuiderdam, sharing with the Zaandam. I didn't notice any crowding at all. We easily got our beach loungers and enjoyed lunch without a long line. They seem to handle things on HMC very well. It's an absolutely fabulous place.

[gizmo]

On my last cruise there was another ship at HMC, I think it was the Zui. It was very crowded. We got there early and had no problem finding chairs but as it got later it was more difficult for people to find chairs. I liked it much better when only 1 ship was there.

[peaches from georgia]

The pax with the problem, of course, are those on the 2nd ship to arrive, especially pax not on one of the first tenders. ;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

 

Really love HMC when there is only one ship there.

But have been there when 2 ships were in port. One time another HAL ship arrived at 8 AM. We didn't get there till after 9:30. Their tenders were already going to the island. By the time our tenders got ready, the beach was very crowded. We opted to stay on our ship that day.

This past March when we were on the Oosterdam, we got there first. So our tenders were already taking people to the island when the Volendam arrived. We got good seats on the beach. By the time the lunch time came, it was very crowded. It was a sea of people waiting in the lunch lines.

:)

[iowacruiser]

We have also been there when Volendam and Oosterdam were parked off shore. The key is getting on the island as quick as possible.

Our ship was the first to unload and we had no trouble getting lounge chairs for 8.

The later you waited the farther down the beach you had to go. Not real crowded but it was more like miami beach in the middle of the summer than a tropical paradise to yourself.

[ekerr19]

:)

 

Really love HMC when there is only one ship there.

But have been there when 2 ships were in port. One time another HAL ship arrived at 8 AM. We didn't get there till after 9:30. Their tenders were already going to the island. By the time our tenders got ready, the beach was very crowded. We opted to stay on our ship that day.

This past March when we were on the Oosterdam, we got there first. So our tenders were already taking people to the island when the Volendam arrived. We got good seats on the beach. By the time the lunch time came, it was very crowded. It was a sea of people waiting in the lunch lines.

:)

 

Krazy -

 

I'm with you - it was much better when there was only one ship... we actually planned a couple of cruises based upon the number of ships at HMC. Our TA (and HAL) confirm the one ship at HMC days are a thing of the past, unfortunately.

 

This past April, we were second to the Oos, the Oos helped with the tenders, which was very nice - they also left a few hours before we did, again nice - but due to our late arrival (12:00 pm) , no BBQ for us - also they ran out of much of the liquor by about 3:00 -3:30 pm. We didn't have to back on board til about 5:30 pm , but most people were starving and thirsty!

[wdw1972]

I've mostly been there when we've been the only ship, but once or twice encountered 2 ships. At this point, having been there - I'd stay on the ship if it was going to be a 2-ship day. The crowds just aren't worth it! If you're the 2nd ship to arrive, good luck!

[Orcrone]

We're scheduled to be there from 11 - 6 aboard the Maasdam. The Oosterdam is there form 8 - 4. Sounds like it might be best to allow everyone else to go first, catch lunch on the ship and maybe head there early afternoon (1 or 2). This way maybe a lot of people on the Oosterdam will have left and we could stay until as late as possible.

[iluvcruzin]

That's what we did in Costa Maya Marc. There was a Carinval ship that arrived early in the morning and we docked at noon. All of the beach chairs were gone and most prime spots around the pool area in the mall. We just stayed on the ship until later in the afternoon.

 

I wonder how it would work though if you reserve one of those "clam shells" that cover a chair. Do they save enough for the next ship to arrive? Anyone experience this being the 2nd ship to arrive?

[Orcrone]

I wonder how it would work though if you reserve one of those "clam shells" that cover a chair. Do they save enough for the next ship to arrive? Anyone experience this being the 2nd ship to arrive?

I was wondering the same thing. It's only $9.00. But I can't see them collecting a fee and telling you to wait until people head back to the Oosterdam.

[Charlie2na]

How does one find out how many ship to be at hmc on lets say Jan 19-05 ?

[peaches from georgia]

You have to check the itinerary of the HAL ships that will be sailing in the Caribbean over the time period you are interested in and then see exactly what day any of them are at HMC. Not as hard as it sounds nor as time consuming.

 

Go to the HAL site, to 'Destinations' and click on Caribbean. Put in Jan 2005 and the ships in the Caribbean will come up. Click on each ship and its itineraries for Jan. will come up. Click on the one that covers the week you are interested in and see what date they sail and what day they are in HMC, if any. It takes as long to explain this as it does to do it. Then you can compare the results with the day you are in HMC and know who will be there when you are. :D

[iluvcruzin]

How does one find out how many ship to be at hmc on lets say Jan 19-05 ?

I did it the long way - looked up all HAL cruises for the week I am sailing and then just looked at the itenerary of each. I used cruise.com.

 

For the ports, most have the information on the web. You can find out what other ships are in port that day too.

[Charlie2na]

Thanks... I think... I'll give it a try...

[Orcrone]

Just one other bit of advice. If you cruise at the beginning or the end of the month, you'll have to check two months. For example, my cruise and the Oosterdam both leave in October (30 and 31, respectively). But they stop at HMC on November 1.

[Charlie2na]

If i've done the research correctly, we're the only ship at HMC on 1/18/05... YIPPIE!

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

 

You will also have to check some of the Panama Canal cruises. There are some 10 day cruises that go in and out of the canal that also stop at HMC.

:)

[Joanandjoe]

Without reading this tread, it wouldn't have dawned on us that two ships would be at HMC on the same day. Now we find that the Oosterdam (their first day) and our ship, the Volendam (our last day), will be there on the same day (11/15) and at the same times (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.). We can't even use the "wait until the big ship leaves" strategy.

 

We had been looking forward to Half Moon Cay. With 3,500 PAX there at the same time, we now wonder whether it will be worth getting off the ship. Why does HAL do such rotten scheduling?

[peaches from georgia]

Without reading this tread, it wouldn't have dawned on us that two ships would be at HMC on the same day...... Why does HAL do such rotten scheduling?

 

There's no way HAL can avoid 2 ships being at HMC the same day during the fall/winter after the Alaska ships have returned to FL. With at least 7 or 8 HAL ships sailing through the Caribbean in the winter, 7 day cruises departing on a Sat. or Sun for the convenience of vacationing pax, and HMC being located in the Bahamas near the home port(s) that the ships use, the only surprising thing is that some days there are not 3 ships at HMC. Most 7 day cruises are going to be stopping at HMC at the beginning of their cruise on Sun. or Mon. or at the end of their cruise on Fri. or Sat.

 

It's not rotten scheduling; it's the problem of giving all the pax who want to go to HMC the opportunity to stop there.. The only way to be at HMC alone is to be on a 10 day cruise whose first full day or next to last/last day falls in the middle of the week.

[Tatka]

We'll have only us (Zuiderdam) in HMC on August 27! :p :D

[divinggirl]

It seems to be more of a fall/winter problem, the only ship sailing the Caribbean now is the Zuiderdam! But do sister cruise lines stop there as well, should we worry about them?

 

Tatka, I know we sail together and isn't that awesome! Now let's hope they don't switch the itin!

[Esme]

We'll have only us (Zuiderdam) in HMC on August 27! :p :D

 

That's because there is only one HAL ship in the Caribbean in the summer. The rest are either in Alaska, Europe or the East coast (Canada/New England). You will never find more than one HAL ship in the Caribbean during the summer.

 

 

divinggirl "But do sister cruise lines stop there as well, should we worry about them?"

 

Not any more. One summer Carnival had one of their ships visiting HMC. You can check out Carnival's itinerary and see what they show but as far as I know they no longer use the island in the summer months.