Half Moon Cay, Holland America Line's private island in the Bahamas, has a fresh reason to get you off the ship: a new Beach Club at RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, now officially open for the season. The first guests arrived aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam on October 19, with Captain Eric van der Wal and Cruise Director Zaid Barrera Abuassi raising a toast to mark the occasion.
The club runs $125 per person for the day, and for that you get priority tendering (no queueing for the boat ashore), a dedicated waiter, unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, beach gear and a specialty food menu. In effect it's an all-inclusive day within your cruise day — likely to appeal most to anyone planning a full beach day who doesn't want to think about bar tabs or loungers.
The Beach Club is only part of the work. The island has also gained a new food pavilion, upgraded cabanas, extra daybeds and beach seating, renovated bars and, a little unexpectedly, four pickleball courts. All of this is gearing up towards a bigger milestone: the island marks its 30th anniversary in 2027, and Holland America is clearly polishing it up ahead of the celebrations.
Timing-wise, the refreshed island features on more than two dozen Caribbean itineraries running from October 2026 through April 2027 — the classic Caribbean dry-season cruise window. If Half Moon Cay is on your itinerary this winter or early spring, you'll see the upgraded version rather than the older set-up.
Why it matters: private islands have become the centrepiece of many Caribbean cruises, and the competition between cruise lines to outdo each other ashore is intense. Half Moon Cay has long been considered one of the more naturally beautiful of the lot — a proper horseshoe bay rather than a concrete pier complex — and Holland America's investment suggests it intends to keep that reputation while adding the sort of premium, pay-once extras (like the Beach Club) that other lines have been rolling out at their own outposts.
Who's it for? Anyone booked or considering a Holland America Caribbean sailing this season should factor the Beach Club into their budget if a quiet, serviced stretch of sand sounds appealing. And if you prefer to keep costs down, the island's general upgrades — food pavilion, bars and seating — benefit every guest, not just those paying the club fee.
