Posted by: Editor on Feb 17, 2005 – 07:56 PM
outislands Several cruise lines are in the real estate business, having bought or developed uninhabited bits of the Bahamas and other Caribbean islands to offer passengers seclusion and a sybaritic day at a beautiful beach.
Think Gilligan’s Island, minus the shipwreck. You won’t feel like a castaway. Most of these pristine islets are replete with lush lagoons, sugar-sand shorelines and water sports aplenty. A spokeswoman described Princess Cruises’ private island, for instance, as a resort without the hotel rooms.
Indeed, many cruisers say private islands provide one of their more memorable ports of call. A leisurely day on any of them garners an outdoor feast under thatched-roof pavilions, plenty of playtime and a semblance of privacy and safety not necessarily found on the regular roster of tropical ports.
Paradise doesn’t come free, though. Expect to spring for sports equipment – from Banana Boats to floats – and other activities where available.
In addition to Holland America’s Half Moon Cay, cruise line islands include the following:
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Great Stirrup Cay is a 4-square-mile isle in the Bahamas’ Berry chain, about 120 nautical miles east of South Florida.
Princess Cruises’ Princess Cays offers a 40-acre site on the southwest coast of Eleuthera in the Bahamas that includes a mile and a half of talcum powder beach.
Royal Caribbean International has two private islands, Labadee, a 260-acre wooded hideaway (really a pensinsula with multiple beaches) cradled by towering peaks, located on the north coast of Hispaniola; and CocoCay, a 140-acre island in the Berry chain between Freeport and Nassau (Celebrity Cruises ships also visit here).
Costa Cruise Lines visits Catalina Island, a private beach off the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic.
Disney Cruise Line’s Castaway Cay is a 1,000-acre playground in the Bahamas’ Abacos that gets a creative boost thanks to Disney’s Imagineers. Imagine, they even deliver snow in winter!
Radisson Seven Seas Cruises entertains passengers on Motu Mahana, a spit of land off Tahiti that was formed by the sinking of a volcano. Here, as you luxuriate on shore, the luxury line’s staff sets up bar service in the water.
By Arline and Sam Bleecker