Lovely shots and yes, I agree... better without the moon!
A couple of thoughts why the moon doesn't work in that shot:
- The lighting is wrong... sand is lit from the right but the moon is lit from the above left.
- The moon is too close to the edge and spoils the balance of the shot. I think if the moon had really been there you might've framed the shot with more sky to balance it with the moon in frame.
It's not as easy as it might seem to do a good job of merging different images. Direction of lighting is the first hurdle.
Al.