Half Moon Cay

Our first port on the Eastern Caribbean Carnival Cruise was Half Moon Cay. Also known as Little San Salvador Island, this private island is one of 700 islands in the Bahamas. The only way to get to the island is to take a tender boat from the ship to the island.

Popular excursions include horseback riding by land & sea, tropical kayak adventure, aquatrax watercraft adventure, snorkel by boat, and stingray adventure. I’ve always wanted to swim with the stingrays so we went on the stingray adventure!

Shop in the Fort San Salvador Welcome Center, play in the water park, and grab a cocktail and head to the beach.

Lunch is served on the island barbecue style with grilled chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, German potato salad, chili fried rice, fresh fruit, and dessert. The chili fried rice and banana rum cake were so good!

We took a short tram ride to Stingray Cove for the stingray adventure to learn about the stingrays’ behaviors, habitat, feeding, and breeding. There were three southern stingrays that made their home in the Stingray Cove. Everyone was suited up with a safety vest, scuba mask, aqua shoes, and snorkel before heading into the water. We snorkeled alongside the stingrays, touched their silky wings, and swam with the fish in the cove. The instructor gave each of us a raw squid to feed the stingrays too!

You only have half a day at Half Moon Cay so make sure to see the beach during the port visit. Loved swimming and running along the crystal clear blue waters and white sand beach. The island is built on 45 acres along the crescent-shaped beach with more than a mile in length that fronts on a protected bay leading west to Exuma Sound.

Dinner that evening was inspired by Half Moon Cay – mai tai (tropical tradition with rum) and fried conch fritters (minced conch with diced vegetables and local spices served with a tropical fruit salsa). We also ordered lobster tail, spaghetti carbonara, and steamed bass!