In order for you to see the next port of call just click on the specific vessel. All cruise ships are linked to their complete itinerary. The cruise timetable shows when cruise ships are in Half Moon Cay based on the cruise itineraries. In a saltwater lagoon far removed from the main beach, guides lead guests along Half Moon's shoreline, past reef formations, inlets and sand spits ($59).Half Moon Cay, Bahamas Cruise Ship Calendar 2017 enables you to find out schedules of cruise ships arriving in this port, including arrival and departure times. There is no age minimum if accompanied by an adult.Ī new one-hour personal watercraft (aka jet ski) tour offers a faster paced island encounter. Guides assist guests in touching and feeding the animals. The wearing of flotation devices is mandatory and you're encouraged to float above the creatures and not to stand. There, some 26 Southern and Roughtale stingrays are corralled in a 150- by 75-square-foot pen for groups of only 38 guests at a time. Unlike the free-for-all vibe of Grand Cayman's popular Stingray City, where hundreds of cruise passengers swim, snorkel and splash a few miles offshore with what seems to be zillions of the creatures, Half Moon offers a more controlled encounter ($39 per person). Both animal and man seemed to thoroughly enjoy the bath.Īnother new excursion invites guests to swim and snorkel with stingrays in a secluded cove. Last week I watched as a rider went into the turquoise sea all the way up to the horse's tethers. The open-air lunch buffet includes food kids like, from grilled chicken to burgers, hot dogs, pasta salad and brownies. Just don't dawdle when reserving one ($9 a day), they're in limited supply.

Other family-friendly features include giant sunshades called clamshells that fit over two chaise lounges. Currently, there is no charge to use the water park. My boys loved playing here and since Holland America doesn't attract hordes of kids, we had the area virtually to ourselves. Not only is the water shallow and calm, the drop-off is gradual and the seafloor ultra soft and virtually shell-free - inviting to delicate little feet. Just off shore in the shallow, brilliant teal waters, float a family of giant plastic animals - including a crocodile, shark and octopus - which are tethered to the seafloor and perfect for little kids as well as adults to climb on. Called Half Moon Lagoon, there are three water slides on the beach geared to young children (with three more for teens to be added in spring of 2005). In November, a new water park was added to the main beach, near the tender pier. Part of this push includes enhancing amenities for children aboard ship - most recently, four new kids' areas were created on the Ryndam as part of the line's $225 million 'Signature of Excellence' upgrades - and ashore on Half Moon Cay. Though Holland America is hardly the first line that comes to mind when you think family cruising, the one-time seniors magnet has been broadening its horizons, making an effort to cater to all ages, especially since the introduction of its new Vista class ships - the Zuiderdam (2002), Oosterdam (2003) and Westerdam (2004). I've become somewhat of a sand expert these days, as my two-year-old twin boys are prone to getting the stuff over just about every square inch of their little bodies. On a recent visit, conditions were among the best you'll find in the Bahamas. Though the beach is still being restored after the recent hurricanes last September, you wouldn't know it (it used to be wider). The line has developed only about 50 acres of Half Moon, with a band of powdery fine white sand stretching for some two and a half miles. Lauderdale, on most of Caribbean and Panama Canal itineraries out of Ft. Holland America includes calls to the island, some 11 nautical miles from Eleuthera and 280 miles from Ft. The island, purchased by Holland America Cruise Line in January 1997, is. The line owns the 2,400-acre, 9.5-mile-long island, originally known as Little San Salvador, purchasing it for $6.5 million in 1996 and renaming it Half Moon Cay, after the shape of the white beach and the name of explorer Henry Hudson's ship. Half Moon Cay, Bahamas is located on 2,400-acre Little San Salvador Island, Bahamas.

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