Carnival Victory To Half Moon Cay

I always love going on cruises because it can be more relaxing than a sightseeing trip.  Cruise ships are very wheelchair accessible and contains everything needed from nice cabins to casual and fine dining, entertainment, pools and casinos.  It’s like a mini city floating on the water.  I like going on Carnival ships because it’s the fun ship, affordable and have great options for different length of cruises.  This Carnival Victory cruise was my 7th cruise overall and for the 4 day cruise to Bahamas, we had 2 stops including the first one at Half Moon Cay.

tender boat coming to take us to the island

Getting Off The Ship

Depending on the depth of the water and how the port is set up, cruise ships either dock right at the pier or anchor offshore and bring people to the pier in small boats called tenders.  With shallow water by the port, we had to get on the one accessible tenders of the 2 available.  After scanning our cruise card to exit, staff is always helpful and took over and pushed my wheelchair over the ramp onto the little boat.  The tender boat had 2 floors and seemed quite large, but the staff member pushed me down a long ramp onto the bottom level and positioned me in a spot that didn’t interfere with anyone.

going down the ramp on the accessible tender boat

Being in the smaller boat, I never thought it rocked more than the giant cruise ship.  I still felt safe and comfortable and enjoyed the views and the ride from it.  When we made it to the port, we just waited until most of the crowd got off until we got off too.  The whole process was not bad and not inconvenient at all.

on the bottom floor of the accessible tender boat

The Island

Half Moon Cay is also known as Little San Salvador Island is a tiny island in the Bahamas.  It is accessible by cruise ships and is known for it half moon crescent shape.  There are many things to do including stingray adventure, snorkeling, horseback riding, beaches and more.  There was an island barbecue from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm that is free and included in our cruise price.  Food items includes hot dogs, burgers, jerk chicken, fruits and desserts.

horse back riding on the beach excursion

Accessibility

Since this is a private island with only cruise passengers visiting, I can tell this place will be very wheelchair accessible.  They offer free beach wheelchairs to use and they also have an accessible golf cart with ramp to take passengers around the island.  There were paved pathways everywhere that made it easier to explore the island.

free beach wheelchair to use

accessible golf cart with ramp

Our Day

We didn’t book any excursions at Half Moon Cay as we wanted to explore the island ourselves at our own leisure.  We just followed the accessible pathway and explored as much of the island as we could get to.  Parts of the island had blocked access for staff and employees only.  We didn’t even bother with the accessible golf cart to take us from one side to the other.  We saw lots of different plants and fruits along our journey and just relaxed and took a break when needed.

accessible pathway around the island

We had great food at the island barbecue and then headed back to the ship.  We spent about 4 hours here at this island and it was a perfect little visit away from the cruise ship.  Since we wanted to leave the island just about an hour before the last tender boat was available for ship return, lines were a bit long.  The first tender that came was not the accessible one so we had to wait about 15 to 20 minutes for the next one.

island barbecue

If you ever decide to take a cruise and one of the port of calls happen to be Half Moon Cay, don’t let your wheelchair stop you from using the accessible tender boat from Carnival Victory.  I am sure other ships and cruise lines will be just accommodating as my experience.  Just make sure you ask a booking agent or check the cruise line’s website for more information.

sharing all this food at the island barbecue

so many different plants everywhere