All Things HALF MOON CAY !

[CruiserBruce]

[quote name='wr813']How often does it occur that the ship has to cancel HMC because of water conditions?[/quote]

There has not been a scientific study, but if you read other people's reports, and see this question get asked occaisionally, you will about 20% failures, most commonly in the November-Jan time frame. Of course, this will produce a string of people giving their success rate getting into HMC- we are 6 for 6, going in Dec (3), Mar (1) and April (2). Edited February 8, 2012 by CruiserBruce

[cathyoo]

[quote name='ardnassac79']Hi All!!! We got back from our first trip to HMC on 10/2 and while we were there, took this video (a little over 6 mins) that starts at cabana 15 and goes down to the end.

Please feel free to check it out! I know when we were planning our trip, I loved watching [/QUOTE]

Loved the video... your fiancee is beautiful. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience.

[reno3]

[quote name='teletubbymom']Thanks for your suggestions. I am definately booking this now.[/quote]
Hi, come on over and join the roll call for our cruise :D
[url]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1407110[/url] Edited February 10, 2012 by reno3

[mzspyc1]

Thanks to all of the contributors of this thread! You all are responsible for me reserving a cabana! I knew nothing about a cabana until I began to read this thread. I just know that we will have a blast, and I have you to thank.
:D:D:D:D:D

[SANJOSEGAL]

[quote name='cathyoo']Loved the video... your fiancee is beautiful. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience.[/quote]

Here is the link to the video you were mentioning.

[URL]http://youtu.be/F0FiuE60CVY?hd=1[/URL]


Yvonne

[tnebell]

I'm kind of thinking about renting a cabana and I see people on both sides of the debate here at HMC. It'll be myself, hubby and son (6yrs old) for the day.
Are these really good value for the day? We'll be on the Liberty, May 26th sailing.

[mzspyc1]

[quote name='tnebell']I'm kind of thinking about renting a cabana and I see people on both sides of the debate here at HMC. It'll be myself, hubby and son (6yrs old) for the day.
Are these really good value for the day? We'll be on the Liberty, May 26th sailing.[/quote]

I wondered the same thing. After thinking about snorkel gear rental and rental for the mats, it made more sense to have a cabana as a base for us during the day. Also having sodas and snacks available to us as we go about the day seemed to justify the cost for us 3. I do not think it is for everyone, but we do not spend a lot of time in the sun so having the cabana will be our own little private spot on HMC. We can't wait!

[tnebell]

[QUOTE]We can't wait![/QUOTE]

Yeah, we're the same mzspyc1!!!

I'm trying to talk hubby into it because otherwise I can see us going to HMC, hanging out for an hour before our son starts the "I'm hot, I'm tired, I don't wanna be in the sun anymore" whining bit. LOL

[gmros]

I'm sorry I'm late, but I wanna share my opinions of the cabana from our cruise in Nov 2011, mostly to help people answer the question:
[SIZE="4"][B]IS IT WORTH IT?[/B][/SIZE]

We got cabana (#9) for $219.95. It included:

4 snorkel gear ($19/adult, $10/child)
4 beach mats, we only got 3 tho ($11.95 ea)
8 soda cans of your choice ($2.25 ea)
2 big bottles of water ($4 ea)
fruits, vegetables and dip (free)
TOTAL = [B]$149.80[/B]

That leaves [B]$70.15[/B] for any other purposes you need the cabana for (e.g. shade, shower, fan, convenience).
It's up to you if you think these other purposes are worth $70.15.

For us...
we got the cabana for shade. Unfortunately, in the afternoon [B]we barely got any shade since the cabana was open[/B]. With barely, I mean the counter in the back of the cabana was the only area the sun rays didn't reach. I was wishing I had a clamshell then ($19.95 for 2 people). There were 5 of us and logistically, the cabana was barely worth it for our purposes.

I could have just gotten everything included in the cabana separately for a total of $149.80 and 2 clamshells (for 4 ppl) for a total of $189.70, and would have gotten more shade in the afternoon.

My review of this day is at [url]http://www.ayleebits.com/2012/01/30/eastern-caribbean-cruise-2011-day-5/[/url] which includes FunTimes and prices for the rentals at HMC. Edited February 12, 2012 by gmros
Added info.

[cathyoo]

[quote name='gmros']
For us...
we got the cabana for shade. Unfortunately, in the afternoon [B]we barely got any shade since the cabana was open[/B]. With barely, I mean the counter in the back of the cabana was the only area the sun rays didn't reach. I was wishing I had a clamshell then ($19.95 for 2 people). There were 5 of us and logistically, the cabana was barely worth it for our purposes.

I could have just gotten everything included in the cabana separately for a total of $149.80 and 2 clamshells (for 4 ppl) for a total of $189.70, and would have gotten more shade in the afternoon.[/QUOTE]

I booked a cabana for one reason only... SHADE. I do not do well in the sun and mom is elderly and would have a hard time sitting down in the sand. Now I am worried.

[mzspyc1]

[quote name='cathyoo']I booked a cabana for one reason only... SHADE. I do not do well in the sun and mom is elderly and would have a hard time sitting down in the sand. Now I am worried.[/quote]

Please go on youtube and watch the HMC cabanas to see if it's for you and your family before you decide. Not trying to sway you one way or another. Like I said earlier, it is not for everyone.

[gmros]

[quote name='cathyoo']I booked a cabana for one reason only... SHADE. I do not do well in the sun and mom is elderly and would have a hard time sitting down in the sand. Now I am worried.[/QUOTE]

The chairs and loungers will be great for your mom, we love them. As for the sun, I tried to find a photo that will show our cabana with the sun rays in the afternoon. I'm sorry I didn't get a better picture, the picture was obviously to take a pic of Mickey and Snoopy :o

We moved one of the loungers into the cabana to get some shade (see right of photo). But that's all the shade we got, just a little bit on the right of the lounger. I just realized I was wrong with my previous statement of the counter getting some shade. Looking at the photo, only a very small area was shaded.

Click on image to enlarge
[URL="http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e12/gmros/IMG_0376.jpg"][IMG]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e12/gmros/th_IMG_0376.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Edited February 12, 2012 by gmros

[mzspyc1]

[quote name='gmros']The chairs and loungers will be great for your mom, we love them. As for the sun, I tried to find a photo that will show our cabana with the sun rays in the afternoon. I'm sorry I didn't get a better picture, the picture was obviously to take a pic of Mickey and Snoopy :o

We moved one of the loungers into the cabana to get some shade (see right of photo). But that's all the shade we got, just a little bit on the right of the lounger. I just realized I was wrong with my previous statement of the counter getting some shade. Looking at the photo, only a very small area was shaded.

Click on image to enlarge
[URL="http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e12/gmros/IMG_0376.jpg"][IMG]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e12/gmros/th_IMG_0376.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/quote]
After seeing this and the videos on youtube, I realized that we would do a little rearranging of our own.

[cathyoo]

[quote name='gmros']Click on image to enlarge
[URL="http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e12/gmros/IMG_0376.jpg"][IMG]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e12/gmros/th_IMG_0376.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/QUOTE]

Thank you so much for the information. Was it cooler in the cabana? Did you find the air conditiong and the fans of any value?

Loved Mickey and Snoopy.

[gmros]

[quote name='cathyoo']Thank you so much for the information. Was it cooler in the cabana? Did you find the air conditiong and the fans of any value?

Loved Mickey and Snoopy.[/QUOTE]

They used the cooler to transport the food that needs to be chilled. There's a fridge in the cabana as well. The AC and ceiling fan didn't make much of a difference. The misting fan was helpful when we needed a blast of air on our faces. The mist didn't work well though.

[Anthomaniac]

There are three of us going on a girls only cruise in may...we booked the cabana for the shade and the first tender...if you look at photos of the cabanas, some have closer growing trees to provide more shade than others.

[WinnipegCruiser]

Thought I would add to this wonderful thread. A few pictures.

The golden ticket:
[IMG]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AA8rZHJXTHA/Tz2Lzqx4s_I/AAAAAAAAKIs/IO6NN_zSuPk/s400/IMG_0745.JPG[/IMG]

The tender coming to pick up the staff to take them to set up early
[IMG]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ez3VsUep9bw/Tz2LReehRTI/AAAAAAAAKIk/up58uOlo0zQ/s400/IMG_0742.JPG[/IMG]

Cabana #10 - For me that was the best one. Close to the bathrooms, but not next to the path to the bathrooms.
[IMG]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-gAYLHM6rVd4/Tz2MO9JlGXI/AAAAAAAAKI8/YlazxAaWHZU/s640/IMG_0753.JPG[/IMG]

They used to fill the fridge, now you get your drinks packed in ice in the chest. This is much better.
[IMG]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CFAsA8e8Cx0/Tz2pNObXNzI/AAAAAAAAKKk/_e-9fmsVYd4/s400/IMG_0790.JPG[/IMG]

The map that greets you
[IMG]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JdroSpzy_no/T1rYys81WXI/AAAAAAAAKPg/6Bwaf6ICw1k/s640/IMG_0751.JPG[/IMG]

[WinnipegCruiser]

A satellite view. Note there were two ships that day.

[IMG]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NNFiuRuM8bY/T1rezoF7FAI/AAAAAAAAKQE/u_RCCFPdvaM/s400/Fullscreen%2520capture%252009032012%2520105323%2520PM.bmp.jpg[/IMG]

[Typhoon1]

[quote name='WinnipegCruiser']
They used to fill the fridge, now you get your drinks packed in ice in the chest. This is much better.
[IMG]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CFAsA8e8Cx0/Tz2pNObXNzI/AAAAAAAAKKk/_e-9fmsVYd4/s400/IMG_0790.JPG[/IMG]
[/QUOTE]

HAL still stocks the fridge and leaves a separate ice bucket.

[hawaiikat]

Does anyone have a list of the HMC excursions and their prices (for Carnival)? I am not yet booked so I can't look at it online. Thanks in advance.

Aloha,
Kat

[Armedaneian]

Wow, this is a long thread! :eek: I did it though... I read every post and here's my conclusion: the same information has been repeated over and over and over again! ;) Although some information, such as price and the ability to reserve cabanas online, has changed, most of the posted information is redundant.

 

Here's an idea: if you have a question about HMC, try searching this thread before making it longer! :( It's simple: use the "Search This Thread" option, which is located on the toolbar above the top post. It will save you time by providing instant answers to all of your questions... and if you want to know which cabana is best... (all together now)... "Any cabana is better than no cabana at all!" ;)

 

Honestly though, the necessity of a cabana is debatable, but if you want one,

by Chris and Cassandra should help you choose. They always provide such great information here on CC... that's why we love them! :cool:

 

Does anyone have a list of the HMC excursions and their prices (for Carnival)? I am not yet booked so I can't look at it online. Thanks in advance.

 

Whether you are booked or not, anyone can view the excursions on Carnival's website. Just click this link and use the drop down "Port of Call" window on the left of the page. Choose "Half Moon Cay" and... voila, there's your list of excursions and their prices! :)

[yamaharis]

I've been doing some looking but does anyone know does Carnival do a cruise just to HMC and then back to home port, like maybe a 2-3 nighter? We are looking at taking our boys on a cruise next year for a graduation gift for one of them and don't care if we go to Nassau or not but a day at HMC and a couple days on the ship would be perfect. thanks in advance.

[CruiserBruce]

I've been doing some looking but does anyone know does Carnival do a cruise just to HMC and then back to home port, like maybe a 2-3 nighter? We are looking at taking our boys on a cruise next year for a graduation gift for one of them and don't care if we go to Nassau or not but a day at HMC and a couple days on the ship would be perfect. thanks in advance.

 

No.

[flirtingwith50]

Hope someone can clarify something for me, I did search but found conflicting answers. Do you use cash or sign and sail card for the shops at HMC?

[CruiserBruce]

You use your sign and sail card.