Holland America’s Private Island

By 8:30am this morning, guests began tendering to Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, (also known as Little San Salvador Island). As the first guests were boarding the tender to the island, I was enjoying a late breakfast in The Dining Room, the ship’s main dining venue. Breakfast is not a meal of which I normally partake, but today, I was in the mood. The breakfast menu is extensive. I ordered the Ham and Cheese Skillet, consisting of two poached eggs on top of potatoes, bell pepper, onion and ham, served in a skillet. It was good, although the eggs were a little overcooked. I was tempted by the Belgian Waffle and Banana Bread French Toast, but held to my low-carb commitment (and no, I did not eat the potatoes).

After breakfast, I went back to the stateroom where I shot a cruise vlog about yesterday’s activities. After some rudimentary editing, it was time to head down to Deck A midship to get on a tender to the island. Holland America uses larger, double-decker tender boats (as opposed to the ship’s lifeboats) which remain docked at the island to shuttle guests back and forth.

The tender ride takes about 10 minutes. Soon, guests in swimsuits and coverups are piling off the tender, racing to the beach, or the Island BBQ.

While I am not a “beach person”, nor really even a "sun person”, I wanted to capture some of the images for those of you who are. As private cruise line beaches go, Half Moon Cay is a little smaller than some others, but then again, Holland America ships are smaller than many of the mega ships sailing the Caribbean. This island is more intimate and much easier to navigate than some of the larger ones.

By the time I arrived at the island, it was 12:20, so the Island BBQ was already in full swing. The walk to the BBQ venue takes about five minutes and a paved sidewalk provides a nice walking path.

As you can see from the sign above, there is also a Lobster Shack serving grilled lobster tails, but those tails come with an additional cost. It is a beautiful day today, about 80° F (27° C). You could not ask for better weather. I arrived at the Island Barbeque and long lines have already formed for the burgers and hot dogs being served here. There are four serving lines, each beginning with a stop for a variety of salads, or what I like to refer to as “excess weight on the drag strip.” When you arrive at the grill area, you have a choice of burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken sandwiches, and tacos.

I decided to try the Jamaican Island Spice Burger and a plain burger (just bread and meat), or so I thought. Without asking me if I wanted it, the server piled on some grilled onions and there was some sort of mayo-like spread already on the bun. The reason I ordered two burgers was to compare the two, I was not that hungry (don’t want you to think I am a pig). The Island Spice Burger is so loaded up with condiments, I wanted to make sure they weren’t just hiding flavorless meat.

Not being too hungry, I ended up eating about a quarter of each burger. The Island Spice Burger was probably the better of the two. The lettuce, tomato and mango do breathe some life into an otherwise bland burger. The meat on my Island Spice Burger was way undercooked— I would say rare to medium rare. The bun was fresh, but is very dense and “chewy.” I was careful not to eat too much because I have an early reservation for dinner this evening.

After my burger test, I decided to visit the beach to get some photos and video. The white sand beach is beautiful with plenty of loungers for guests to enjoy a day of sun and sea. There are also private cabanas on the beach available for rent

In case you get thirsty during your sun-worshiping, not-to-worry, a bar is never far away. Just look for an abandoned pirate ship, and you will find a full-service bar inside!

Half Moon Cay is every beach lover’s dream spot and a highlight of Holland America’s Caribbean sailings.

After returning to the ship, I took a shower and relaxed in my stateroom. I read in the ship’s daily newsletter that Ocean Bar on Deck 2 has a Happy Hour at 4:00pm. Even though a little early for me, I decided to head down to see what “Happy Hour” means. When I arrived, there was a very long line at the bar and the bartenders were making drinks as fast as they could. There was no sign saying what “Happy Hour” meant but, as it turns out, it is a “buy one drink and get the second for only $2”.

I ordered a double Crown Royal “neat” and the price was $8.50 + $2 + gratuity for a total of $12.08. The Ocean Bar was very crowded, so I took my drink to the Rolling Stone Rock Room where there was plenty of open seating.

At 6:00pm, I arrived at Rudi’s Sel De Mer on Deck 2 for my dinner reservation. This is Nieuw Statendam’s French seafood specialty restaurant. While I am not really into seafood, I wanted to try Rudi’s. This is a small, intimate dining room with a warm and inviting decor.

As soon as I was seated, I was greeted by my waitress who presented me with the menu. As expected, the menu is heavily weighted toward seafood; however, they do have some other alternatives in the beef, lamb and vegetarian categories. I decided to start with French Onion Soup followed by the daily special, Duck Cassoulet. For some reason, it just sounded interesting.

My meal started with a complimentary specialty cocktail presented by the wine stewardess: a glass of sparkling wine with Grand Marnier. Shortly thereafter, the waitress presented me with a mini baguette and a selection of dips, including butter. The bread was amazing!

Soon, the waitress arrived with an amuse bouche consisting of a smoked salmon spread in a puff pastry shaped like a fish. Cute, and delicious.

The French Onion soup was a beautiful bowl of rich beef broth filled with sweet onions, topped with a crouton and covered in baked Gruyère cheese. It was very good.

As I was enjoying my soup, I could overhear the gentlemen at the next table complaining to the Restaurant Manager about his entree, the Duck Cassoulet. Oh my, and that’s what I ordered. He was quite disappointed in his meal. I think he might have been expecting Duck Confit. The Manager did the right thing by offering to remove the item from his bill, and offered him another choice. That was the most important takeaway from the experience: excellent customer service.

When my Duck Cassoulet arrived, it was a mixture of shredded duck confit, sausage and cannellini beans in a sort of baked casserole.

I can see why the other gentleman was disappointed if he were expecting duck confit. While there was some shredded duck confit in the casserole, the main component was sausage. And, of course, the cannellini beans. The dish was VERY rich, to the point of being heavy. It was like the richest stew you have ever eaten. Good for a cold winter’s night, not so much for a warm-weather Caribbean cruise. My only complaint was that some of the beans were undercooked and crunchy, which I mentioned to the Manager when he stopped by to check on my meal. I assume he knew I overheard the other gentleman’s complaint and was interested in my reaction to the Cassoulet.

All-in-all, it was a very good meal at Rudi’s, and the service was excellent. I would definitely dine here again, but probably would order something different next time.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and I am supposed to have lunch at Pinnacle Grill. I think I might open that bottle of champagne in my room, too.