After taking off from Port Canaveral the day prior, we made a beeline for Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas. Ocean Cay, an artificial island, was originally built in the 1960s to mine Aragonite sand. It has since been repurposed as a private island for MSC Cruises.
Booking
I waited until two weeks prior to start searching for cabana rentals. This was obviously cutting it close, like really close. As I searched the Ocean Cay Cabana website both cabanas Ocean Cay Beach and Ocean Cay Yacht Club cabanas were sold out. 😬 for reference, here is the pricing info for the cabanas.
I checked the website again four days prior to the cruise. During this web trip, I found the first option of the Ocean Cay Beach Cabana, which I wanted to book for $249 since it was the cabana I experienced last year during a retirement cruise, was sold out.
I eventually booked an Ocean Cay Yacht Club Beachfront Cabana for ~$450 USD for the day.
The Yacht Club Cabana was supposed to be “private”, have towels, food and drinks provided. It sounded eerily similar to a normal cabana except for Yacht Club prices. Maybe I was trippin’.
Arrival
The night prior to arrival, I stopped by the 5th deck customer service to inquire about the “regular” beach cabana. To my surprise, there was one open but it was beach side…I took it! The overly lady told me that the $200 USD would not be refunded but credit to my Deluxe Balcony Room. This was not a big deal as it all would spend the same.
We exited the boat around 9am the next morning to get to the beach. The entire crew could not wait so I had to get motivated as well. We exited the ship on the 4th, at the aft exit. We made our way along the fence line and made a left towards the pink pavilion. The pavilion was where passengers were pointed in the general direction of their excursions and given options on how to get there.
Since my mom had knee surgery a few months prior, we hopped on the trolley to get to our beachside cabana. The ride lasted a little longer than five minutes. We were not the last ones to exit, as the driver had to take the final three guests to a Yacht Club cabana.
Check-In
I walked up to the cool, vibey stand to check in where I was greeted in Spanish by a guy from Venezuela. Although Spanish is not my first, second, or third language, I was able to get through the initial barrage of questions. We were offered towels, and floating mats.
I had to sign for the cabana which was #4. The guy then told me if there were any issues that I needed to come back to him or his colleague.
Cabana
Cabana #4 was a two minute walk from the stand. It came with covered seating for eight, four beach chairs, and a cooler.
Since it was on the beach side, it was so freaking windy. We tried to settle in but we’re not having it. Nicholas then wanted to get in the choppy water. I told him it was a Bad Idea Alert but I would take him out there. We lasted for three minutes before I walked back to see my bro from Venezuela.
He assigned us to cabana #16, lagoon side. The guests assigned to that cabana had not made it off the boat so he gave it to us. I appreciated this gesture.
We received a nice view of the ship as a consolation.
Activities
There was jet skiing, kayaking, sunset cruise, stargazing and a host of other activities available for guests. Most were adult focused so we could not participate. Nicholas and I took my pill speaker to the water, with the floating mat and had a blast.
Apparently, there were some lemon sharks in the lagoon but Nicholas nor I saw them. The lifeguard said they were harmless…rightttt.
We made regular trips to the cabana to visit with my mom and stepdad. While doing this, we took time to play in the sand and work on our sunburns. Nicholas LOVES being in/near the water.
Dining
The food trucks near us opened at 11am so we had about a 90 minute way to grab a bite to eat. The trucks pretty much served the same things: burgers, hot dogs, fries, and brownies. These were all included with our room, while the lobster roll could be had for ~$13 USD. There was a pavilion on the opposite side of the lagoon where buffet style food could be had.
None of us ate breakfast before leaving the ship. We were out there on Banana Boat, Coca Cola, Heineken, canned water and vibes. My mom and stepdad made their way to the truck about 15 minutes prior to opening. They grabbed a whole heap of burgers to hold us over.
Leaving
After a few hours, it was time to head back to the ship because we were beat. As Nicholas and I rinsed off, my mom and stepdad had apparently hopped a trolley from the stand near the cabana and left us to fend for ourselves. 😂 We decided to walk back to enjoy the weather. A lot of people recognized us from the ship so I stopped by the bar next to the pink pavilion for a drink. We were also able to snap a couple of photos.
Final Word
Ocean Cay was as dope as I had remembered. It was great to experience this with a few more of the people closest to me. We are already in talks about taking another cruise with MSC Cruises next year because of the stop in Ocean Cay.
