I ran up to the buffet on the 16th floor because it has an outdoor seating area which I figured would be perfect for peeking over the ledge to see what was happening. Sure enough, as the sliding door opened, there it was, Ocean Cay, MSC’s private island. The ship had turned itself around to get pulled into the island’s dock. The sight was completely surreal. Imagine seeing a tiny island paradise surrounded by nothing but an endless ocean in all directions. It didn’t even feel real.
Ocean Cay, technically speaking, is a “fake” island. It was created from decades of corporations dredging and mining the seafloor for lucrative aragonite sand. When MSC bought the island earlier in the decade, it was littered with pipes, scrap metal, and even sunken mining equipment. An underwater canal had been dug to allow large cargo ships to come in and out of the island to collect the sand. That canal is what our ship was now being tugged through to dock on the island.
MSC Seashore Cabin
Photo: Ivan Sarfatti
Ocean Cay is also what most excited me about this trip and why I’m so honored to have MSC be the first cruise line I’ve ever traveled with. After cleaning up the island, MSC partnered with scientists to help build an ecosystem that would be beneficial to the Bahamas. Thousands of native plants and palm trees were planted throughout the island, whose roots help stop erosion from happening. The plants also unexpectedly brought animals to the island, including numerous native bird species. Now, Ocean Cay has a family of owls, a resident hawk, and numerous sand plovers that race across the pristine beaches.
Most importantly, however, Ocean Cay is going to play a pivotal role in saving the world’s coral reefs. A team of marine biologists and interns will work in the island’s laboratory to find, examine, and plant “Super Coral.” Super Corals are species of coral that have been found to survive better in the ocean’s changing climates. As everyone probably now knows, warming oceans and increased levels of CO2 in the water are leading to ocean acidification and coral bleaching. Once the coral dies, the animal species living in the reefs also disappear, and even nearby ecosystems, like beds of seagrass, become less healthy.
The island is going to become the Caribbean hub of coral research and planting. To achieve this, Ocean Cay has been designated as a marine reserve, banning all commercial activity from taking place in the waters around the island. With this protected status, scientists will be able to plant coral in the reefs around the island and watch them grow while studying them to discover which breeds and species outperform the others. The coolest part is that MSC guests will also be able to get in on the action. Visits and tours of the laboratory will be offered, guided snorkeling tours of the new reefs will be available, and for those who really want to make a difference, some guests will even be able to join the coral planting excursions, getting a firsthand glimpse of ocean restoration.
For those who are looking for more traditional beach activities, the island also offers paddleboard, kayak, and jet ski tours, as well as snorkel equipment. For land-lovers, cabanas are available, as are hundreds of umbrella-covered lounge chairs on the beach. For adventure-seekers, there’s also the lighthouse climb. Ocean Cay’s lighthouse stands 115-feet tall and is one of the tallest lighthouses in the Bahamas. At night, it lights up with thousands of LED bulbs, creating stunning light shows that also serve as a fun way to let ships know they’re near land.
During the day, visitors can take tours to the top of the lighthouse (it’s the equivalent of climbing to the top of an 11-story building). At the top of the lighthouse, visitors get beautiful 365-degree views of the island, the cruise ship, and the glistening, aqua-colored sea. Throughout the climb, the tour guide tells stories of the island’s history and facts about the Bahamas.
Yatch Club Restaurant
That morning we had the option to eat in the dining rooms or up at the buffet. Personally, I’m never a fan of buffets, except for breakfast. I am obsessed with breakfast buffets. It’s one of my absolute favorite parts of staying in hotels. There’s nothing better than waking up to fresh fruit, a chef making omelets to order, an array of juices just waiting to be poured into your glass, and of course, the selection of pancakes, French toast, and waffles. Plus, the buffet had outdoor seating that offered front-row views of Ocean Cay.
I sat out on the patio with a cup of Darjeeling tea, an omelet, pancakes, and a bowl of fruit. I figured that since I was going to be swimming and running around an island all day, I’d need as many calories as I could get. And trust me, I had no problem chowing my way through that entire buffet in eager anticipation for disembarking onto the island.
Following breakfast, I joined some of my new friends I met at dinner the previous night to explore Ocean Cay. After getting off the ship, the vibe completely changed. The bright, sparkly neon of the cruise ship’s interiors faded away and was replaced with swaying palms, the smell of salt in the air, and a delightful sea breeze that kept the island at the absolute perfect temperature. Hot enough to feel warm, but breezy enough to feel refreshing, not muggy.
