Half Moon Cay is Holland America Line’s private island in the Bahamas, owned by parent company Carnival Cruise Lines.
The 2,400 acre island features a 2-mile long, crescent-shaped beach of white powder sand, and is uninhabited except for a few caretaker residents. The only visitors arrive via Holland America cruise ships, and on separate days, Carnival ships make port calls here as well.
There is no dock for the cruise ships, so guests are tendered from the ship to the island.
Originally named Little San Salvador Island, Half Moon Cay is one of 700 islands in The Bahamas archipelago, and is located 100 miles southeast of Nassau between Eleuthera and Cat Island. Holland America Line purchased the island for $6 million in 1997. The locals who sell arts, crafts, and souvenirs s in the straw market reside on nearby Eleuthera Island, and commute to Half Moon Cay whenever a ship comes into port.
We visited Half Moon Cay today on our Western Caribbean cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam. The welcome center — just past this sign — features an information booth, restrooms, a bar, a Bahamian straw market, a post office, a first aid station, an island shop and tram stop.
Only 50 of the island’s 2,400 acres have been developed. The remaining acreage includes a 700-acre lagoon, a Wild Bird Preserve and a wildlife sanctuary.
Guests who want a luxurious beach-day experience can rent the two-story private beach villas or the smaller beachside beachside cabanas with optional butler service pictured above. Half Moon Cay also boasts one luxurious (and expensive) Oasis Cabana with hot tub, wet bar, barbecue, lifeguard and wait staff for up to 25 people.
Most visitors enjoy the complimentary barbecue buffet at the Tropics Restaurant.
There are three waterfront bars including one in a Pirate Ship replica that generally has live entertainment.
We always like to step inside the peaceful Bahamian Chapel, which may be used for weddings or vow renewal ceremonies.
We never miss the opportunity for a walk on the beach. Half Moon Cay enjoys a tropical marine climate, with year-round daytime temperatures ranging from the high 70s to the high 80s F.
This is paradise like no other place. The sparkling clear, blue water is ideal for swimming or floating. There is no one to hassle you.
The only downside? The staff tends to pack up all of the food, close the bars and try to head you off the island between 1:30 and 2 pm, although our ship was scheduled in port until 3:30 pm.
Like the name of one of the island’s beachside bars, I Wish I Could Stay Here Forever, we are never quite ready to leave.
Have you visited Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas? What was your favorite part of the experience? Please share in comments below.
Check out these other posts on Caribbean cruise ports:
- Touring the 1700’s Great House and Sugar Plantation on a Shore Excursion from Falmouth, Jamaica
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Para-sailing from Cozumel, Mexico
- Exploring “The Baths” of Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands via a Seabourn Shore Excursion
- Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s Private Resort in Haiti
- Getting to St. John from St. Thomas During a Visit by Cruise Ship
- The Cayo Levantado Beach Escape in Samana, Dominican Republic
- Cruising With a 12-Year-Old: Snorkeling and Climbing Dunn’s River Falls from Falmouth, Jamaica
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