Half Moon Cay, Bahamas vs. Florida Keys. Help me make a decision...?

Question

I am looking for people with personal experience at either (or both) or the following vacation destinations: Half Moon Cay, Bahamas and/or the Florida Keys. My husband and I are 34 yr old, and we have a 7 yr old daughter. My Mom and step father will most likely be going on a cruise with us this winter. I am leaning toward going on the one that stops at "Half Moon Cay" in the Bahamas. My Mom is pushing hard to go to the Keys.

I have always kind of thought of the Keys as a more appropriate vacation stop for the elderly than a middle-aged family with young kid(s). Maybe I am wrong. From her desciption, there is shopping, shopping, and more shopping --- which really isn't what my daughter, husband or I want to do.

However, my Mom insists that Half Moon Cay is a private island that is there just to suck money from tourists, and the island is mosquito-riden. Can anyone gove some personal experiences/feedback?

Answer 1

Keys on a cruise ship means Key West. Ship docks and you can just walk off. Shopping, lots of bars, Hemmingway House, Southernmost Point, KW Light House, Mel Fisher Museum,  Little White House, Fort Zachary Taylor, Conch Train, interesting cemetery, many restaurants. g*y friendly. The beaches are not great, many have shipped-in sand from the Bahamas. You'll miss the sunset celebration and the night life because the ship leaves too soon, bummer... IMO, KW is more suited to the 20-somethings, although you'll see all ages there.

HMC is Carnival/HAL's private island. No big-ship dock; you have to tender in from the ship. Basically, a nice relaxing day at the beach. No shopping to amount to anything. Nice long beach, clear water. BBQ lunch and beach chairs are free. Alcohol, beach cabanas, and many activities are at extra cost. One of the more interesting excursions is horseback riding on the beach. Visited twice (October both times), didn't notice many mosquitos but there's not much shade either.  It's a different day than you would have in KW, not bad, just different.

Check out the "ports of call" boards on Cruise Critic and you'll find a lot of discussion about both places.