At dawn, I crept onto my balcony as the MSC Seascape approached Ocean Cay, MSC Cruises‘ private island and marine reserve in the Bahamas.
It seemed impossible that the white-sand island, buzzing with activity as employees readied for a day of beachgoers, was once the site of industrial sand extraction.
The sun rose, scarlet, and I savored a crystalline moment of stillness, the Caribbean air still soft, not yet scorching. We’d enjoyed a busy seven-day itinerary and now, on the last day before we disembarked in Miami, we yearned to relax.
“Clients like that the experience of the ship is reinvented on the island for an easy land experience,” said Lainey Melnick, a luxury travel professional with Lainey Melnick & Associates in Austin, Texas. “It’s a safe feeling for those people who feel uneasy in foreign countries. They know that the staff of the ship is there, the food from the ship is there and a variety of activities are available for adults and for children.”
An iguana basks in the sun on the private island. Photo Credit: Amanda Eyre Ward
Many lines are working hard to offer private island destinations, Melnick noted. “The Royal Caribbean/Celebrity brands, the Carnival/Princess/Holland America brands and, of course, Disney have done a great job with their private islands for families. Virgin Voyages has mixed it up a little with their private adults-only beach club on Bimini,” she said.
So what’s different about the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve?
A focus on nature
My three kids and I disembarked easily and were whisked by golf cart to our bookable MSC Yacht Club Beachfront Cabana. Although it seemed every passenger was headed off the ship in sun hats and tropical resort wear, the island has a peaceful, rustic vibe that feels markedly different from the wild waterparks and blaring music on other private islands I’ve visited. It feels peaceful, with pastel-colored, cottage-style structures, swaying palm trees and seabirds.
Ocean Cay is a pristine, 103-acre island within a flourishing 64-square-mile marine reserve, home to over 88 species of fish, lobsters, rays and now even loggerhead turtles.
Activities and excursions run the gamut from personal watercraft to sunset cruises, but passengers expecting a waterpark should just stay on the ship.
Excursions and activities at Ocean Cay include kayaks and stand-up paddleboard tours or rentals for personal adventures. Photo Credit: Courtesy of MSC Cruises
Cocktails and coral
I took a golf cart ride around the island, checking out the eight beaches, the Spa at Ocean Cay, shops selling artisan crafts, bars, food trucks and the main food hall. I wandered with my daughter Nora — a 12-year-old animal rights activist — toward the much-anticipated MSC Foundation Marine Conservation Center.
Conservation biologist Owen O’Shea, left, who leads the MSC Foundation Marine Conservation Center, and graduate student Kyle Moss. Photo Credit: Amanda Eyre Ward
We were thrilled to see a young scientist at work. Kyle Moss introduced himself as a master’s student in marine biology at the University of Miami who hails from Nassau. Kyle was assembling a “reef star,” a steel structure upon which he would affix young coral to monitor their growth and vulnerability to predation.
Conservation biologist Owen O’Shea, who leads the center, showed us around the construction site. “This building is going to be a lab and a pump room,” O’Shea said. “It will include a theater, welcome center and an onshore coral nursery growing and propagating thousands and thousands of tiny baby corals.”
He looked around proudly. “This is what it’s all about,” he said.
My daughter was utterly transfixed. MSC Cruises has won a customer for life: Nora has talked about O’Shea, Moss and coral restoration since we returned home to Texas.
Ocean Cay is in the midst of a $100 million facilities upgrade, adding a second food hall, larger bars and expanded swimming at Ocean Cay Lagoon and the Kids’ Lagoon and readying for visits from the new MSC World America. Work on the island is expected to be completed in late March or early April.
Ocean Cay’s signature Lighthouse Show dazzles. Photo Credit: Amanda Eyre Ward
Waving goodbye
Because of Ocean Cay’s proximity to Florida, MSC’s itineraries offer long calls. The sky was dark as we sailed away, a bright moon visible in the night sky.
Ocean Cay’s signature Lighthouse Show soon began. From the Yacht Club deck, I watched the dazzling show. I spied some new friends we’d made on the cruise, a mother and daughter.
Ocean Cay staff waved goodbye with their phone flashlights as if they were at a Taylor Swift concert. Passengers waved phone lights back. It was unexpectedly moving; a hush fell over my friends and my children. “Grandma would have loved this,” said one of my new friends.
“Yes,” her mother agreed. “Yes, she would love this.”
I smiled at my kids. I loved it, too.
