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Half Moon Cay Basics |
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Half Moon Cay is Holland America's own private island in the Bahamas; when it's not being used by Holland America, Carnival's ships make port here. Despite all appearances to the contrary, the cay really is a deserted island, save for a caretaker staff of 10 to 20 Holland America workers who live here year round. The locals who sell arts, crafts, souvenirs and knick-knacks in the straw market reside on nearby Eleuthera Island, and commute to Half Moon Cay whenever a ship comes into port.
For 10 years running, Half Moon Cay has offered cruise passengers "the best private island experience," according to the readers of Porthole Cruise Magazine. Only 50 of the island's 2,400 acres have been developed. The remaining acreage includes a 700-acre lagoon, a Wild Bird Preserve and a wildlife sanctuary.
Half Moon Cay enjoys a tropical marine climate, with year-round daytime temperatures ranging from the high 70s to the 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 September.
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Half Moon Cay is a 2,400 acre island that sits between Eleuthera Island and Cat Island, less than 100 miles southeast from Nassau. From your ship, it's hard to miss the 2 miles of white sand beach that faces nortwest along the Exuma Sound. For most of its existence, it's been known as Little San Salvador Island, but was renamed when Holland America bought the property in 1996. The marketing mavens at Holland America re-christened the island Half Moon Cay not only to refer to Henry Hudson's ship, the Half Moon, that is depicted in the Holland America logo, but also to refer to the island's beautiful crescent-shaped main swimming beach.
Your ship will lay anchor offshore Half Moon Cay, and the island's fleet of 4 ship's tenders will take you to the Half Moon Cay Tender Pier marina, which is a less than 1-minute walk to the island's Fort San Salvador Welcome Center. The double decked tenders take about 10 minutes to bring you from ship to shore.
The Fort San Salvador Welcome Center features an iconic welcoming arch that fronts the Bahamian village complex. Here you'll find a number of island facilities, including an authentic straw market and air-conditioned gift shops, an information booth, an ice cream shop, a shore excursion sales pavilion, the first aid station, a post office, restroom facilities and the Rum Runners bar.
As you proceed northwest along the beach, you'll see the Half Moon Lagoon Aqua Park (perfect for the little ones under your charge), one of three Water Sports Centers, the non-denominational Bahamian Chapel (where you can reaffirm your marriage vows, this time with sandy feet), the "I wish I could stay here forever" bar, a massage cabana, the Bell Bar, the Tropics Restaurant and the Dining Pavilions. A tram is available to shuttle guests between the Welcome Center and the Tropics Restaurant.
Half Moon Cay is notable for the number of private cabanas that are offered for rent during your day on the island. They are located at 150 foot intervals as you walk northwest along the beach. The 15 cabanas, each named for a different tropical hue, come complete with a refrigerator, ceiling fan, air conditioner, table and chairs inside, and deck chairs and a misting shower on the private terrace. Designed to serve 4 guests in each cabana, the cabana rentals also feature food and drinks packages.
If you're well heeled, and want to do Half Moon Cay in high style, you can rent the Private Oasis for the day. Designed for you and your posse of 11 friends, the Private Oasis is a bungalow that offers a total of 1,620 square feet and includes a large covered deck and comfortable sun deck with an eight-person hot tub. Features include an indoor teak dining table seating six people, outdoor teak lounges and bar stools accommodating 12, barbecue area, full wet bar and refrigerator, massage table, iPod music system, multi-colored Bahamian tapestries, men's and women's changing rooms, indoor and outdoor showers with heated fresh water, and a 100-foot walkway with misting stations and privacy gate.
The number of activities available on Half Moon Cay is great for a private "Out Island" getaway. The island's Pegasus Stables house a number of horses for horseback riding outings that will take you on land and in the surf. The 700-acre Bonefish Lagoon plays host to a stingray encounter tour as well as a tropical lagoon tour, a glass bottom boat tour, personal watercraft tours and kayaking outings. And of course there's parasailing, snorkeling, Hobie Cat rentals, bicycling, hiking and even deep sea fishing.
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Half Moon Cay is on Eastern Time, five hours earlier than Greenwich Mean Time during Standard Time, and six hours earlier than GMT during Daylight Savings Time.
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English is universally spoken in Half Moon Cay. Other languages are spoken by Carnival and Holland America staff members.
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Currency
The Bahamian Dollar is the Bahamas official currency, and uses the "$" sign to denote the dollar amount. The currency trades at par with the US dollar in the Bahamas, but the island's currency is significantly less valuable outside of the islands.
Banks and ATMs
Hey, you're on a desert island in the middle of nowhere. Banks or ATMs? Fuggedaboutit!
Just remember to bring your Sign & Sail Card (ie, your room key) (Carnival) or your Stateroom Key Card (Holland America) to pay for your drinks. And if you plan on shopping for some straw goods, bring your cash.
Using US Dollars in Half Moon Cay
US dollars are widely accepted at the straw market in Half Moon Cay.
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 © istockphoto.com/Tyrannosaur |
| Half Moon 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 Half Moon 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 Half Moon Cay, rainfall averages a little more than two inches a month from November to April, and almost seven 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 Half Moon
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. |
Half Moon Cay Average Temperatures |
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Jan |
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Feb |
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Mar |
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Apr |
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May |
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Jun |
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Jul |
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Aug |
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Sep |
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Oct |
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Nov |
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Dec |
| Avg High - F |
78 |
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78 |
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80 |
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82 |
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86 |
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88 |
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90 |
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90 |
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89 |
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86 |
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82 |
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79 |
| Avg High - C |
25 |
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26 |
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27 |
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28 |
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30 |
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31 |
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32 |
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32 |
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31 |
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30 |
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28 |
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26 |
| Avg Low - F |
63 |
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63 |
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64 |
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67 |
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71 |
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74 |
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75 |
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75 |
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75 |
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73 |
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70 |
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65 |
| Avg Low - C |
17 |
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17 |
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18 |
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20 |
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21 |
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23 |
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24 |
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24 |
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24 |
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23 |
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21 |
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18 |
Half Moon Cay Average Precipitation |
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Jan |
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Feb |
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Mar |
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Apr |
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May |
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Jun |
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Jul |
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Aug |
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Sep |
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Oct |
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Nov |
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Dec |
| Avg, Inches |
1.6 |
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1.9 |
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2.1 |
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2.7 |
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4.2 |
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8.6 |
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6.3 |
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9.3 |
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6.5 |
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6.4 |
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3.2 |
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2.0 |
| Avg, mm |
39 |
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50 |
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54 |
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69 |
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106 |
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218 |
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161 |
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236 |
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164 |
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162 |
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81 |
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50 |
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Local Holidays & Festivals |
Look for the following local festivals, holidays and events taking place in Half Moon Cay in 2012:
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Since this is Holland America's own island, and they set the rules, there's no guarantee that any of the following holidays will be celebrated on Half Moon Cay during your visit. If they're not, you may want to personally organize a toast to the holiday and create your own festival.
- 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.
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 © istockphoto.com/monkeybizimages |
Half Moon Cay is a very popular port for cruise ships making the 2-, and 3-, 4- and 7-day cruises to the Bahamas from Florida ports as well as Charleston, Baltimore and New York. In 2012, Half Moon Cay will host just over 500,000 cruise ship passengers sailing on 241 ships. If you'd like to see which cruise ships are scheduled to arrive in Half Moon Cay, check out our Half Moon Cay Cruise Ship Schedule - 2012.
The following cruise lines currently make port in Half Moon Cay:
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Carnival |
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Holland America |
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 © istockphoto.com/madisonwi |
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© 2008-2012 CruisePortInsider.com |
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