Great Stirrup Cay Basics

Great Stirrup Cay is the northernmost island in the Berry Island chain. It really is a deserted island; the locals who sell arts, crafts, souvenirs and knick-knacks in the straw market reside on nearby Great Harbor Island, and commute to Great Stirrup Cay whenever a ship comes into port.

Great Stirrup Cay is adjacent to Little Stirrup Cay, the locale of Royal Caribbean's CocoCay. From your ship, you'll be able to see the Royal Caribbean vessels anchored off the smaller island. If you take the parasailing excursion, you'll get a good lay of the land of the two islands.

Great Stirrup Cay has a tropical marine climate, with year-round daytime temperatures ranging from the low to high 80s F. The dry season begins in November and lasts through April, while the rainy season commences in May and extends through October, with the heaviest rains taking place from June through August.

Great Stirrup Cay enjoys a warm, agreeable climate that varies little year-round. Cooled by the trade winds that blow almost continually throughout the islands, winter temperatures (November through April) range from lows of mid-60° F at night to afternoon highs in the low- to mid-70s° F. Summer high temperatures (May through October) average between the mid-80s to low-90s F.

It's humid in Great Stirrup Cay, especially in the summer months. Wind speeds are, on average, below 10 knots. In winter months, periods of a day to two of north and northeast winds of about 25 knots may occur.

Rain showers can occur any time of the year, but the rainiest months are May to October. In Great Stirrup Cay, rainfall averages a little more than one inch a month from November to April, and three and a half inches a month from May to October. Rainfall comes mainly in the form of heavy showers or thundershowers, which clear quickly.

Sea surface temperatures normally vary between 74° F in February to 83° F in August.

Hurricane season lasts from June through November, although most hurricanes track south and west of Great Stirrup Cay. The peak months for hurricanes are August and September. The Bahamas have about a one-in-five annual risk of being affected by a hurricane.

Look for the following local festivals, holidays and events taking place in Great Stirrup Cay in 2012:

Since this is NCL's own island, and they set the rules, there's no guarantee that any of the following holidays will be celebrated on Great Stirrup Cay during your visit. If they're not, you may want to personally organize a toast to the holiday and create your own celebrations.

• New Year's Day, January 1. National holiday celebrated with dances and festivals.


• Good Friday, April 6. A public holiday.


• Easter Monday, April 9. A public holiday.


• Whit Monday, May 28. This holiday is celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar.


• Labour Day, June 1. A public holiday that celebrates the contributions of workers.


• Independence Day, July 10. A national public holiday that commemorates the independence of the Bahamas from the British that took place on July 10, 1973.


• Emancipation Day/August Monday, August 6. A national public holiday that commemorates the official abolition of slavery in 1838.


• Discovery Day/ National Heroes Day/ Columbus Day, October 12. A national holiday that commemorates the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.


• Christmas, December 25. A public and religious holiday celebrating the birth of Christ.


• Boxing Day, December 26. A public holiday.


• Junkanoo, December 26. The Bahamas' Christmas celebration, with party-goers dressed in masquerade costumes parading in the streets in celebration of their West African and slave heritage.