While my Hoosier hometown was being battered by sleet and snow and near-zero temperatures, I used to be strolling on a sunny sandy seaside and having fun with the perfumed scent of blooming flowers.
All it took was a cruise aboard MSC Seascape with a cease on the cruise firm’s personal island, Ocean Cay. Hard to consider that this lovely spot was as soon as an industrial wasteland within the Bahamas, a man-made island constructed by dredging within the late Sixties.
The “island” was a former sand extraction web site suffering from rusting industrial junk. Coral reefs surrounding the island had been severely broken. But MSC noticed the potential and got here onboard.
MSC Cruises purchased the island and spent years remodeling it into the wonder it’s at the moment. To date, MSC has spent $400 million to create Ocean Cay Marine Reserve. It has eliminated 1,500 tons of scrap steel and waste. It additionally planted 75,000 native crops and shrubs and 4,600 timber to the 95-acres island.
More than 400 coral reefs have been relocated and the waters surrounding the island at the moment are a protected coral nursery spanning 64 miles.
To make it fully self-sufficient, Ocean Cay has a water therapy plant and photo voltaic panels. MSC calls it “A sustainable destination where guests can connect with nature.”
Just 65 miles south of Miami within the Bimini chain of islands, the island began welcoming guests in December 2019. MSC’s long-term aim is for the island to change into a base for marine biologists to conduct analysis into coral restoration.
Not a Tourist Trap
What I appreciated most is what Ocean Cay doesn’t have. No theme park. No pesky salespeople standing exterior retailers hassling cruisers to cease and purchase. No automobiles or vans on busy roadways. No one on the island besides MSC employees and Seascape passengers.
Just 2 miles of pristine seashores and budding magnificence. In reality, eight seashores are unfold out over the island.
Passengers are invited to spend the day snorkeling, paddle boarding, scuba diving, swimming, climbing the lighthouse and enjoyable on the seaside. Yoga classes and beachside massages by the Spa at Ocean Cay can be found.
Plus, it’s such a straightforward stroll from the ship to the island. The ship is docked on the Ocean Cay pier. No “tender” is required to get from ship to shore.
If you need to return to get one thing out of your ship cabin, that errand shouldn’t be tough or time consuming. Ocean Cay has food and drinks stands however if you wish to return to the ship and dine in one of many great Seascape eating places, it’s easy. Then you possibly can return to the island.
Ocean Cay a Good Reason to Book Cruise Again
On our cruise, the Seascape was at Ocean Cay solely from 8:30 a.m. to six p.m. however I used to be advised that some cruises keep till late at night time and even in a single day. That manner, passengers can take pleasure in sundown dinners on the seaside, a spectacular lighthouse gentle present, after-dark water actions and stargazing adventures.
Someday I want to return to see what these night time actions are like and the way the brand new landscaping has matured. From what I’ve heard from different passengers, the truth that Ocean Cay was on our weeklong itinerary was an vital cease.
Pamela and Tom Mitchell of Miami say that Ocean Cay was one of many important the explanation why the couple selected this explicit MSC Seascape cruise.
And they weren’t disillusioned. “It’s even more beautiful than we thought it would be,” Pamela says. “It is truly an island paradise.”
Photos by Jackie Sheckler Finch
See sailings right here: All MSC Cruises (cruisecompete.com)