David L. Gross

Whatever one might hope to find and enjoy in a day on a Caribbean beach, Half Moon Cay is better. The ship anchored about a half mile off shore and the passengers were tendered ashore in the lifeboats carried by the Zuiderdam. Half Moon Cay is an island owned by and used exclusively by Holland American Line. While there are ample beach chairs, fresh water showers, bars and food available, it was the long unspoiled beach and the hiking trails through the sand and vegetation that were the attraction for us. We began by walking about a mile along the beach to where we felt as if we were the only two people on the island. Swimming was wonderful. The beach sand perfect. After an hour or two in the water we had a drink at one of the island bars and then walked some of the trails. By 11:30 AM we had enough sun for one day so we selected a table in the shade to enjoy the barbeque lunch and calypso band provided by the ship. By 1 PM we tendered back to the ship in preparation for a 2 PM sailing. A vacation morning just does not get any better than this.

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