My Observations of the Paradise named HMC

[sail7seas]

I posted the following on another thread but then thought I'd start a new thread so those who have wondered about HMC might see this more easily.

Only my personal observations.....we were thrilled to find it survived so well.
(Put in your prespective that Disney's Island was so destroyed, there literally is just about nothing left and Princess' Island suffered badly. No ships can call there.) We and HAL were VERY, VERY lucky how well HMC weather the hurricanes.

My personal observations of HMC are not exactly the same as others I have read.


We have been there so many times that perhaps there were differences I observed that a 'first timer' would not be aware of.

There were a total of 35 clamshells in place on the beach. I counted them. Some appeared to be brand new; others had a slightly weathered look but all were in A-l top condition.

The beach suffered erosion that was absolutely obvious to DH and me and to another cruiser we were with who knows HMC well. It is not severe but it did 'shrink' the beach just a bit.

The water has been 'roiled' if that is the word?? It is still its magnificent turquoise blue color and was as breathtakingly beautiful as ever. Still transfixes you with the beauty of it all. However, we could no longer see our feet when wading in the water. It is still clear and clean and the ocean floor is still as smooth as ever, however it will take some (unknown to me how long) time for all the sand or whatever to settle down to the bottom to allow the water to be that same sparkling clarity. We did not see any of the fish we were accustomed to swimming around us when we were in only knee deep water. I am very sure they will return soon as the water is still sparklingly clean and unspoiled. They sadly may have not survived the storm in huge number I am speculating and perhaps a few breeding seasons and we will have them back at your feet again (hopefully).

The barbeque area is wonderful as always. If it suffered any damage it is not obvious. We had one of the best lunches ever there as Chef Franz added some things to the salad area we had never seen before. He also added a few extra desserts we had never had before but HAPPILY, the wonderful brownies were available in generous quantity.

There may have been a few picnic benches missing here and there but for the most part, the seating remains about the same as before.

What sadded me alot was all of the missing flowers. All bougainvalia was blown to bits; not a flower in sight. It's only a matter of short time until they blossom again, I am sure.

The foliage was stipped, as previously stated, but it has been carefully pruned to approximately the same height and is neat and has been well tended to. New growth is already VERY obvious and the plantings have survived, are healthy, and will soon flourish again.

We watched as carpenters/workers pounded away on the WaterPark. It is coming along and hard to tell if any 'rebuilding' is being done or if it is simply being completed. Some beach area has been lost during the construction as it is roped off to keep pax out of the area. I could not determine if that is temporary and that beach will again be available when the building is completed.

There are a few cabanas missing; others are almost ready to be used again but IMO no big deal to rebuild/rewire/reopen. Only a short time for that to happen IMO

The shack where beach massages were given is gone; only a matter to time until it will be replaced (if they choose to rebuild it). No big deal to do, I wouldn't think.

The chapel is intact. Some of the stone work around the yellow (welcome to HMC) archway seems a 'bit weathered' but hey......it's the Bahamas....some weathering is fine IMO

Any specific questions I haven't answered, just ask and I'll try to 'remember'

[Orcrone]

Sail,

Thanks for the detailed report on HMC. Weather permitting, I'll be there for the first time in less than 3 weeks.
I also posted this in another thread, but thought I'd repost it here.;) :)

[Sage]

Sail,

Welcome home. I hope that you had a wonderful and relaxing time on your cruise. Thank you for the report on the cabanas and HMC. The island is still beautiful I am sure, and we look forward to being there in December.

[jhannah]

Thanks for the report. This is good news. I had feared the worst because of the reports coming in regarding Castaway Cay and Princess Cay. Let's just hope they get a break for a few years from all the recent bad weather.

[CruisinNana]

Thanks for the report, Sail. I am so glad to hear paradise is still a paradise! I am curious about the orange cabana since that is the one we have rented on our upcoming November trip to HMC. Did you happen to notice if the orange cabana is still standing?
Thanks again for the report!
Dee

[DFD1]

Thank you, Sail. Glad you're home safe and sound. We'll be at HMC on the Volendam on November 27. That port call is always one that we especially look forward to. In fact, since the "new" has worn off so many of the Caribbean ports, HMC has become more special to us than ever. Thanks again for your review. I'm looking forward to your other comments about your cruise.

[Debi_D]

Thanks againg for the report on HMC, Sail. You did an excellent job with the description of that beautiful island, I am looking forward to putting my toes back into that gorgeous white sand;)

Glad to hear the cabana's made, we have the Orange Cabana waiting for us along with our Cabana Boy:D

Deb

[localady]

S7S-
Thanks so much for your report. Got our docs for the Rotterdam today :D and our 1st stop on the intinerary is HMC. Do you happen to recall if the Orange cabana is still standing???

I understand what you are saying about the clarity of the water. We cruised the Western Carribean about a week after a hurricane, the water clarity was not good. I am sure as these huge hurricanes die down the water will clear!:cool: Thanks again:)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Sail, thank you for that wonderful report. We are all so lucky that Half Moon Cay fared so well. Knowing how quickly everything blooms and flourishes down in this climate, I am confident the bouganvilla and other shrubbery will be full and lush in no time. It will take a bit longer for the flowers to come back on the bouganvilla as whenever I cut mine back I have to wait a bit. But it will all come back; that is for sure.

I believe I'm on the same cruise as Dee and we've rented the turquoise cabana for Sat., 11/13. Did you notice whether the turquoise was in one piece? I'm sure you didn't, but it never hurts to ask. Sure hope they're back in use by then!

Many thanks again:)

[sail7seas]

I'm sorry to say that I do not specifically recall about the orange cabana. As three of you are interested in it, I feel badly I didn't take more careful note. But I truly believe that within two weeks to a month or so, all of the cabanas will be rebuilt and ready. They have workers on the island (some from Eleuthra we were told as well as Jamaica ----who knows if that is true or not?). They will need replacement electric fans/refrigerators/wiring but what was once there can certainly be replaced.


Paradise at HMC is still Paradise, thankfully. :)

[localady]

It's okay S7S, you were on vacation!!;) :cool:

Glad to hear that there is no irreparable damage at HMC. The status of the Disney Island is very sad for sure, as I have many fond memories of fun times with my kids on that island. Knowing Disney, they will make it Disney like again soon!:)

[CruisinNana]

I'm sorry to say that I do not specifically recall about the orange cabana. As three of you are interested in it, I feel badly I didn't take more careful note. But I truly believe that within two weeks to a month or so, all of the cabanas will be rebuilt and ready. They have workers on the island (some from Eleuthra we were told as well as Jamaica ----who knows if that is true or not?). They will need replacement electric fans/refrigerators/wiring but what was once there can certainly be replaced.


Paradise at HMC is still Paradise, thankfully. :)
Not a problem about your not observing the colors of the cabanas left standing. After all, you were on vacation!!!! :D I spend so much time on the raft in the water that it really doesn't matter about the cabana. One of the people I am traveling with can't stand the sun, but she doesn't mind going back to the ship. It will be a wonderful stop for us! :)

[kryos]

The chapel is intact.
Thank you, sail7seas, for providing this comforting information. I was very worried about how that chapel fared the storms ... it's truly a peaceful place that I dearly want to visit again.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[Debi_D]

Sail, you were on vacation so its okay....I called HAL today and they told me my cabana was still okay, but would not give me a confirmation on it.

Localady - I will let you know if we do not hear different if the BIG ORANGE CABANA is still okay:o

Thanks again Sail for all the info that you have provided to us;)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Sail, you were on vacation so its okay....I called HAL today and they told me my cabana was still okay, but would not give me a confirmation on it.

Localady - I will let you know if we do not hear different if the BIG ORANGE CABANA is still okay:o

Thanks again Sail for all the info that you have provided to us;)
........... and the turquoise one, too!!!! Pretty please????;)

[gliles]

........... and the turquoise one, too!!!! Pretty please????;)
Heather - I will personally check it out on our cruise, we tried to reserve one and they are all showing waitlisted :(

[HeatherInFlorida]

Heather - I will personally check it out on our cruise, we tried to reserve one and they are all showing waitlisted :(
Gretchen, I'd take that "waitlisted" with a grain of salt. I've spoken to them twice about mine saying "waitlisted" (they have my $219:o ) and they have ASSURED me that it's just a glitch in the system. So we shall see. I'll be interested to see what happened with yours when you get back!

And thanks for checking on "my" turquoise! You're a doll:)

[localady]

Sail, you were on vacation so its okay....I called HAL today and they told me my cabana was still okay, but would not give me a confirmation on it.

Localady - I will let you know if we do not hear different if the BIG ORANGE CABANA is still okay:o

Thanks again Sail for all the info that you have provided to us;)
Debi_D-
Thanks for keeping me in mind,it is lovely of you to offer.:) I feel pretty sure that they will have all of the cabanas up and running by then! Was glad to hear that HMC had sustained that little damage. Hope the water settles down for all of you who are scheduled to go to HMC soon!:cool:

[Peggy Sue]

S7S .. Thank you for your report on half moon cay. We've all been wondering how the island fared. I hadn't head about Disney's island being so badly damaged..so sad to hear that as we've enjoyed relaxing days there..It is a beautiful spot that I hope Disney finds the way to rebuild and reopen..I know it's always been a favorite stop on every cruise!

So happy to hear HMC fared so well. Our one and only visit was on a overcast day with numerous showers..but we ventured onto the island, swam in the beautiful water and enjoyed the experience despite the weather. We are really looking forward to visiting the island again on 11/15

Perhaps by then the cabanas will be repaired. We've reserved the pink cabana..but, if it's not available it certainly will not detract from our enjoyment of the island. We were just looking forward to having a place we could use to get out of the sun and continue to enjoy being on the beach for the day!

Happy to read that your cruise was enjoyable! Time passes so quickly doesn't it? Welcome home...at least we've got some beautiful fall weather, colors etc. as your welcome home!!

Peggy Sue

[Brandis]

Peggy Sue,

We will be on HMC on 11/19 and also have the Pink Cabana... Please take care of it. :-)

Sail,

did you take pictures on HMC?

Marc

[brigittetom]

Hi, Thank you for the great review. Does anyone have a picture of the cabanas? We were at HMC a few years ago but our weather was bad so I guess I didn't pay attention as I should have.

With all of you raving about them I would love some more information. Thank you, Brigitte

[Brandis]

Brigitte,

You can use the search feature of the forum. If you type in "Cabana Location", you should find a thread which has pictures of all the cabanas...

Marc

[Debi_D]

Peggy Sue - we will be on HMC on the same day. So it looks as if there will be 2 ships at HMC on the 15th....Maybe we will wave from our cabana over to yours;)

Deb

[jcike1980]

S7S : thanks for the post. Great news about HMC. We will be there on our volendam cruise Starting Sunday. Best Wishes, jcike

[jima53]

As usual another to the point informative posting that I always enjoy to read from you. We might just have to get off the Zaandam next cruise and see this beautiful island.

Jim

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your nice words. I hope this thread was useful and answered questions anyone had about HMC.

[RevNeal]

I was on HMC on Friday, October 15. It was painful, but I was also very thankful that so much survived. I took a lot of photos, and I should have them up for people to view in about a week. Maybe sooner. :)

I compared what we saw Friday with what I saw when I was there last in Jan 2002, including comparisons with pictures. The largest hit was taken by the vegetation ... trees, bushes, flowers ... all stripped, damaged, destroyed, pulled up, gone. That was painful to see. The cabanas are closed ... even those that were not destroyed lack power. Another few weeks until they get them open again. One of the things that I noticed right off the bat, once we got onto the beach, was that it was narrower than it used to be -- significant beach erosion. I compared specific photos from precise locations and it looks like the beach has lost about 1/3 - 1/2 of its Jan 02 width.

As for the water ... Sail noticed that one couldn't see one's feet on the bottom. Well ... we could. The water was amazing ... and clear clear CLEAR all the way to the bottom. So ... an extra few days was enough to settle it down. It was still smooth -- for the most part.

Yes, the chapel survived. Though the vegetation around it took a hit ... it's not longer as attractive as it was before.

And one of the best pieces of news .... the "I could Stay Here Forever" Bar Survived!!!! YIPPIE!!!!!!!

[Sierrachik]

We were at HMC on 10/10 and the fish were there, in good numbers, I was able to get several shots of them with an underwater camera.

[sail7seas]

I'm so happy to hear the fish are back and that the roiling of the water has cleared and we can again see our feet through the water. That is sooo good to hear. How fast nature is able to 'mend itself'.


As to the vegetation, that's a matter of new plantings. Bushes, shrubs, flowers grow so very fast in that climate, I am sure we'll be seeing new plantings very soon. We Saw alot of new growth on the plants they pruned back. It was already inches long so I know it will fill in quickly.

[mattR]

I wonder if they will still have the new activitys ready for the end of Nov?

[sail7seas]

I think they will probably have things ready for the three day Westerdam HMC cruise with Mr. Stein Kruse. (December 3)