Half Moon Cay Horse Swim Excursion review w/pics

[jc811]

What a nice island.

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Beautiful sand, plenty of chairs, and clear waters.

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Plenty of fish in the water. If you bring bread or something else to feed the fish, a whole school of them surround you and they frenzy to the surface to get at the food. Really cool.

At 12pm, we headed over to the free buffet where they had burgers, hotdogs, chicken, potato salad, fresh fruit and other side items.

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They have a picnic table pavilion setup. Plenty of seats.

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I don't know the percentage of people who even knew about the buffet. I went for a walk and kinda stumbled upon it.

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At 12:45 we had our Horse Walk and Swim excursion. A shuttle takes you to the other end of the beach to the “ranch”.

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Workers match you up with your horse and you get to practice riding the the horse in a pen.

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Once everyone is mounted and ready, we ride single file along the beach and then turn inland on a trail back to the ranch.

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We dismounted, and they changed the saddles to a water saddles. We then rode the horses into the sea.

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My family never rode horses before so this was a very unique and fun experience. Probably very tame for all you experienced folks. Caught the last tender to the ship at 2:50.

[IndigoFairy]

Beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing.

[luv2cruise777l]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing. We are doing this sailing in May!:) Can't wait!

[4FRCruising]

Hi

 

TY for posting the pictures and doing the review of the Horseback ride & swim:)

 

Who took the pictures? Are you able to take pics from horseback?

 

Was the Ocean part a walk ?

 

I'll be at HMC when I sail on the Zuiderdam next month.

[jc811]

Hi

 

TY for posting the pictures and doing the review of the Horseback ride & swim:)

 

Who took the pictures? Are you able to take pics from horseback?

 

Was the Ocean part a walk ?

 

I'll be at HMC when I sail on the Zuiderdam next month.

 

I took the pictures while riding the horse. The ocean and everything pictured was part of the excursion.

[teachergal29]

Thank you so much for posting the pictures at HMC. It gives a great visual of what it is like there..

I'd like to ask you few questions. Would you suggest using one of those disposable/water camera?? And where will we be leaving the clothes that we are wearing over our bathing suits once we start riding in the water??

Thanks again for the beautiful pictures.:D

 

BTW... How many ships were in HMC that day. It looks like a lot of people for one ship...:eek:

[winemistress45]

Thanks so much -- it really gave me an idea of what it will be like and has helped me so much in deciding what I will do that day we are there.

 

When was your cruise? Lordy, lordy -- people were sure white! I had anticpated seeing lots of tan bodies in your pics ---

 

We stop here the last day -- so hopefully we'll be browned up by then!:p

[jc811]

Thank you so much for posting the pictures at HMC. It gives a great visual of what it is like there..

I'd like to ask you few questions. Would you suggest using one of those disposable/water camera?? And where will we be leaving the clothes that we are wearing over our bathing suits once we start riding in the water??

Thanks again for the beautiful pictures.:D

 

BTW... How many ships were in HMC that day. It looks like a lot of people for one ship...:eek:

 

Before the trip, we heard that long pants/closed toe shoes are recommended for comfort while riding the "land" portion of the walk. Long pants not necessary. You will be fine with shorts. Just wear your bathing suit/cover-up ashore. When on the horse for the land portion, your feet will be in a "stirrup" so you may want to wear sneakers or water shoes. In the link below, in the pictures you can see people with their feet in "stirrups". When its time to switch to the "sea/swim" portion, you can leave your shorts off to the side. One guy did not wear shorts or a swimsuit and only wore long pants. He wound up skipping the water portion of the walk.

 

At the ranch there is a very small "locker" area. Its basically a 3-sided shack with benches and old lockers.There are no locks. There is no changing area either. There is a lady who looks after your stuff while you are on the horses. You are far away from anyone else from the ship. The only people at the ranch are the paying customers and the so the chance of your stuff "disappearing" is minimal.

 

Disposable camera - I guess that depends on how much you value your everyday camera. For the water portion, only your feet are in the water but I guess people fall off the horses from time to time. No one fell on our trip.

 

There are a few more pictures from the trip that I did not include in the original review at http://s183.photobucket.com/albums/x120/ocaruso/?action=view&current=Cruise214.jpg

In the upper right you can advance forward.

[EricaLovesCats]

Great pics! I know what I want to do now while at HMC!

[Sailor Gal]

Thanks so much for posting these pictures. We planned to do this excursion and now we're even more excited. So nice of you to share your photos and descriptions. Great info for those who've never been to HMC.

[dnice1979]

I have never been near or on a horse before and boy I am I terrified. Is there a weigh restriction. I am going to bite the bullet and try this excursion any more tips that you can provide.

[NCTribeFan]

I've done the Horseback Ride & Swim 3 consecutive cruises in Grand Turk and absolutely LOVE it.

 

There, the guides will take your camera and take pics of you. Got a great photo of DD & I in the water. We had HUGE smiles on our faces.

 

I highly recommend wearing long pants and shoes. Riding in shorts and flipflops is not comfortable. Just take a tote bag (you'll probably have one anyway because you'll have your beach towels, etc. for your beach time). After you've done the horseback riding, just put on a swimsuit coverup/shorts.

 

Changed my cruise plans for this year specifically so I could go back to HMC. I love it there.

 

So far, no excursions are showing up for our 12/13 sailing. They better have the horseback riding available!

 

Normally, HMC if the one and only place where I chose to do nothing but sit on the beach under a clamshell. I also prefer to be further down the beach away from the crowd. It also happens to be closer to the buffet.

 

:D

 

I cannot wait to get back!

[sklja]

If you never road a horse before, would this excursion be difficult to do? Is your body sore afterwards.

Love the pictures...

sklja

[As You Wish]

I didn't do the horseback ride/swim in Half Moon Cay, but I did take some pictures while I was there. It looked like a great excursion.

 

 

 

 

[Sailor Gal]

I have little to no experience riding horses but I think they are beautiful animals. Will I have a difficult time? I have riden horses a couple of times on escorted trips and although a little scarry I absolutely loved it.

[NCTribeFan]

No, it isn't difficult. You do have to hang on when you're in the water. They half run, half swim (these are my experiences in Grand Turk at least). Since you're on a swim pad with no stirrups, just a handle, I simply grab a handful of mane in one hand and the reins in the other.

 

It is so much fun!

 

Still no excursions - at all - showing up for my December stop in HMC.

 

Oh, and LOVE the photo with the ship in the background!

[dnice1979]

No, it isn't difficult. You do have to hang on when you're in the water. They half run, half swim (these are my experiences in Grand Turk at least). Since you're on a swim pad with no stirrups, just a handle, I simply grab a handful of mane in one hand and the reins in the other.

 

It is so much fun!

 

Still no excursions - at all - showing up for my December stop in HMC.

 

Oh, and LOVE the photo with the ship in the background!

 

I want to do this excursion but I am a little scared due to the fact that I have never been on a horse and that I don't know how two swim.

 

Are people in your party allowed to got to the area with you if they are not taking part in the excursion. I am curious because mt godmother id crusing with me but she is not going to do the excursion because she says it's to expensive but I want some pics on my own camera I know they are going to have ones to purchase which I will probably purchase theirs also but I want my own .

 

any advice will be greatly appreciated

[NCTribeFan]

In Grand Turk, the guides would take your camera from you and take pics of you. They weren't trying to sell photos.

 

I was appalled at how many people didn't tip the guides at all, though. :mad:

 

Don't know about going on the excursion as a "visitor" only. Since it's through the cruiseline, maybe contacting them would be useful. I suppose it would depend on whether there was room on the bus. The ones I've done, they've always been full.

[dnice1979]

In Grand Turk, the guides would take your camera from you and take pics of you. They weren't trying to sell photos.

 

I was appalled at how many people didn't tip the guides at all, though. :mad:

 

Don't know about going on the excursion as a "visitor" only. Since it's through the cruiseline, maybe contacting them would be useful. I suppose it would depend on whether there was room on the bus. The ones I've done, they've always been full.

 

Ok I will have to look into it. :)

[NCTribeFan]

http://community.webshots.com/user/NCTribeFan

 

We both have more photos in our Webshots album. Just bear in mind that we were in Grand Turk, not HMC.

 

Still ZERO excursions showing up for us on our December cruise. We had that problem last year. There were only about 6 excursions available online for Grand Turk, and the horses weren't one of them. But when we boarded, there were dozens to choose from, including the HR&S. I'm hoping that will be the case in December at HMC.

 

Can't wait to give it a try there and compare the two.

[chellencrette]

How much time are you riding the horse on land and then in the water? Are the horses actually "swimming" in the water? A couple of the pictures I've seen, it doesn't look like the horses could be very far into the water. Will the guides take pictures for you or do they make you buy from the cruiseline? Thanks!

[pe4all]

Just got back from HMC on the CCL Freedom (4/19 cruise). We did the horseback ride by land and sea, and had a blast. They use retired racehorses, and they are very well taken care of. (unlike other islands) There were 12 people on our excursion - took a 7 minute bus ride to the stable. They got us on the horses, took pictures, and then we walked (well - the guides warned us it was a walk, but we did quite a bit of trotting - yeah!!) on the beach - very nice! We then went back to the corral, (up and down some small but steep hills) where we dismounted. They split us into 2 groups, put water pads on the horses, and into the ocean we went!! I was the lead horse, on a halter, and got a great ride. Everyone else was off halter, and on their own, and followed my horse. We "galloped" thru water that was up to the water pad on the horse. Remember, we are a couple of feet high up on the horse, so it is pretty deep, considering. The water pad has a small loop you can hold onto, as well as the reins. We were surprised at the water pressure against our legs as the horses galloped - it really pushed our legs back. (not painfully) Had a nice gallop- about 10 minutes in the water, then dismounted, and the other group went. Got some great pictures in the water. I am so glad we did this - it is something I always wanted to try. (I am an experienced rider, but dh is not, and he loved it) I would do it again!

[NCTribeFan]

Excellent. Sounds exactly like what we did in Grand Turk (and is also run by Chukka I believe).

 

Unfortunately, I may have to cancel my Fascination cruise as it seem DD may be able to graduate in December after all and commencement is on the day we're supposed to sail.

 

So, I'm happy and sad at the same time! I asked her which she'd rather do - walk or go on a cruise and ride horses at HMC. She's still thinking it over.

[pe4all]

Chellencrete -

Sorry I didn't answer your initial question - Carnival photographers took pictures of us as we circled in the corral. Also took pictures (with the ship in the background) of us walking on the edge of the beach. Then took pictures - all individual- of us galloping/swimming in the water. Some people carried cameras with them, and took pictures of each other on horseback. We bought 3 of the Carnival pictures - they were really good. If I knew how to post them, I would, but I am computer-challenged!

NCtribefan- try to convince your daughter that she will get her diploma/degree whether she walks or not - LOL. See how that flies!!

[NCTribeFan]

I'm working on her!

 

We did have a Carnival videographer with us on our 2nd time at Grand Turk, but there have never been any Carnival photographers there. DD said she saw me on the tv that evening, but I refused to watch! :eek:

 

Personally, I'm tired of the non-stop photo ops. I just want to get on with my excursions.

 

So sorry if I gave misinformation above about no one trying to sell you photos. That wasn't the case in Grant Turk. It was strictly the guides taking photos with your own cameras. Trust me, I wouldn't consider paying for a photo of me on a horse!

 

We did tip the guides, which many, many people did not. :(