Harvest Caye

Thank you for the comments back in regards to NCL and Belize. I certainly am extremely disappointed that you can't go mainland unless through NCL. Nor was I happy with the discontent from the news crew that were uninvited to report the first ship coming in. I feel they should all be working together to make Belize a "want to go" place with NCL I may not be the most knowledgeable in regards to cruising; however, it certainly is not making this stop top of my list to which it really was when first booked just my own opinion :cool:

First off, not quite sure why Belize City would be on the top of your list. The reason for building Harvest Caye was because of all the trouble happening in Belize - violence, crime, issues with the City and locals. 4 years ago we did the same circuit on the Dawn for our honeymoon. We did the Altun Ha Mayan Ruin tour. It was nice, but it was 1½ hours away from port each way, and we only had 1 hour at the ruins. When we were on the Star in Jan this year, we had no desire to even take the tender to the city.

Second, there is construction going on the "mainland" that looks like it could become a dock and eventually a road on the mainland where the HC tender could ferry from the island across to the dock so people could potentially do more tours. I can't say for sure, but the way it looked, that would be my first guess.

Lastly, according to this cc article:

1) Most cruise line private islands don't offer mainland excursions - only private island ones like horseback on the beach, ziplining, kayaking, snorkeling, etc... many of the same things HC offers. So for NCL to offer Belize excursions right now is something positive that could lead to others both NCL and private. NCL spent $50 million dollars on the island... they really don't want you to go anywhere else.

2) Most of the other private islands have tenders you have to wait for to get to them. I don't mind walking 1/4 mile from a docked ship to the island. The need to work out something better for those that NEED to be carted to the gate. But I keep hearing everyone say "It's a LONG walk" - All the other ports on this cruise have longer dock walks to get to taxis and out to the cities - the longest being Costa Maya at nearly 3/4 of a mile!

3) Yes, many of the other private islands offer free drinks and food which HC does not. But the point of a private island is to enjoy some beach and fun activities without having to spend half the day getting to an excursion. Since part of the agreement with Belize was to employ Belizians, I wouldn't mind paying for a drink if it means we have this private excursion.

As with all private islands (and all ports for that matter), they are weather permitting. I remember missing several private islands because the water was too rough to tender.

And with anything, it's always a personal like or dislike. Don't let others discourage your possible enjoyment. Many people were happy and truly enjoying relaxing on the beach and in the pool. Sure it's not 100% complete and there will be snafus at first. They opened the island which is a good thing considering all the hurdles they had to go through.

My 2 cents ;)

Regarding manatees: it was rather difficult to see past the surface of the water in the lagoon. That being said, you can get glimpses of the top of their bodies and see movement through the water even though you can't specifically see them.

In terms of ship return: its business as usual and you can come off and on as much as you'd like whenever you'd like. Depending on if your using the goldf cart or not passage to and from will take 10-15 minutes each way just from ship to entrance (doesn't include time to your room and waiting for those dang elevators).

On other responses: while mainland Belize might not be the paradise that other locations are you cannot beat the Atolls, Cayes and other water activities offered in the region. If that is something your interested in or a highlight of yours, you will definitely be disappointed in your options at Harvest Caye. It can be a great time if your looking to relax and enjoy the pool. Certainly, things will get better.

Happy cruising!

The thing is that everyone has different reasons for going to Belize. We've cruised in the Caribbean a lot--especially the Eastern and Southern routes. Although we've been to Cozumel several times, the other three ports on this itinerary we've only been to once. One reason we booked this cruise was to visit these three ports again.

As far as Belize goes, we really enjoyed cave tubing the first time and were looking forward to either going to one of the ruins or to the reef for snorkeling. Yes, I knew we stopped at Harvest Caye, but like many, didn't realize that it was really a 'private island' stop due to not much known about it until recently.

So, we are disappointed to miss more of a Belizean adventure. Private islands are ok, but not our preference usually, since they are really just another beach day--and this time food isn't even included.

Also, disappointed in the excursions available (and their price) and that we seemingly can't do any private excursions; we usually don't like and rarely take cruise lines tours.

Yes, we'll adjust and enjoy a beach day, but it wasn't what we were hoping for.

The thing is that everyone has different reasons for going to Belize. We've cruised in the Caribbean a lot--especially the Eastern and Southern routes. Although we've been to Cozumel several times, the other three ports on this itinerary we've only been to once. One reason we booked this cruise was to visit these three ports again.

 

As far as Belize goes, we really enjoyed cave tubing the first time and were looking forward to either going to one of the ruins or to the reef for snorkeling. Yes, I knew we stopped at Harvest Caye, but like many, didn't realize that it was really a 'private island' stop due to not much known about it until recently.

 

So, we are disappointed to miss more of a Belizean adventure. Private islands are ok, but not our preference usually, since they are really just another beach day--and this time food isn't even included.

 

Also, disappointed in the excursions available (and their price) and that we seemingly can't do any private excursions; we usually don't like and rarely take cruise lines tours.

 

Yes, we'll adjust and enjoy a beach day, but it wasn't what we were hoping for.

I'm sorry that you didn't realize that Harvest Caye was a "private island", unfortunately it has been marketed as such for at least the past two years, it just took a tiny amount of research to find that out.

Yep, should have researched more, but we booked kind of late--well, two months out, and kind of quickly due to a really good price we wanted to catch, so it's not a big deal for us. We have been to mainland Belize before. We'll have a nice relaxing day.

I just wish it was a little closer to some of the other attractions and doable for private tours But, it is what it is. I'm sure it is really nice. We would have still booked this cruise anyway, private island or no.

I am booked on the Pearl Dec 29, the shore excursions for Harvest Cay are rapidly dissapearing from NCL site. I managed to get one reservation for the electric boat but there are six of us. Do they have additional opportunities to sign up while on board at the shore excursion desk?

I'm sorry that you didn't realize that Harvest Caye was a "private island", unfortunately it has been marketed as such for at least the past two years, it just took a tiny amount of research to find that out.

I enjoy visiting private islands and I am happy that we don't have to tender to this one. That said, all of the other cruise ships private islands I have been to include food (as though you are on the ship). Additionally, when we were on CocoCay two weeks ago, you were able to use your ultimate beverage package on the island and charge things to your cruise account. I hope that NCL employs the same features in the very near future to Harvest Caye.

Just returned from a stop here on the Getaway. Typically I enjoy the private islands as a nice beach day with some local shopping. That is not Harvest Cay. It is like visiting a standard port but being trapped to just what they offer. No food or beverages provided as part of your cruise. No wandering to explore the culture or interact with the locals. No picking a restaurant to sample local foods and flavors. It is a private island where everything has to be paid for. Kind of like a cruise where the only dining is specialty restaurants.

They talk of an eco friendly place but the water was so murky you couldn't see the bottom. In other ports I can look down and see the bottom from my balcony and watch fish swimming around. Here I saw chocolate milk colored water that stayed all day long and never cleared. We heard nothing but complaints about the murky beach water and the quality of the beach sand.

We used to enjoy Belize City stops but if you want a taste of Belize this is not the place. Closest thing you can get to local culture is the Belikin beer from Jimmy Buffett's Land Shark. Not my idea of Belize. More like a $50 million NCL mistake.

We just returned from visiting HC on the Jade. We booked several months ago and almost specifically for the private island experience as we enjoyed GSC with our children and extended family on previous trips. The private island experience (as NCL has previously billed it and is slowly back stepping and altering messaging to remedy their change in business plan) was a huge draw for us as ferrying 12 people including five children to a beach is usually a huge and sometimes expensive task. We enjoyed HC very much and there were ample chairs/loungers everywhere including new clamshells (with who knows how much of a rental fee??), the super overpriced cabanas (did not walk that far) and pool side cabanas (only one was rented while we were there). We bounced between the beach, kids splash pad and pool and a trip through the wildlife center which is still being stocked. The butterfly garden was amazing and I love the price (free!).

So was it the perfect beach? No, but for the convenience and time allotted (we had to be onboard by 12:30) it was fine. The pool was BEAUTIFUL! And here's the funny part. All the cups used to serve drinks at the Landshark Bar are Norwegian Cruise line cups. I honestly could not believe how any people were drinking and how many drinks they were consuming. I hope they were not confused that their UBP worked there! We did what most people were doing which was sticking a box or two of fruit loops in their bag and filling up water bottles to bring from the ship. We had a short beach day and even with a longer one I would return to the ship although the food prices were ok, the drink prices were almost ship prices.

Everyone will have their opinions on HC and the "Norwegian Owned now Norwegian Invested" story and I'm sure the real story will take years to surface. I will say that I will look for GSC itineraries more than HC itineraries for a better beach and hospitality, but if the right cruise stopped at HC again we would enjoy it. It's just a shame that it isn't the initial exclusive private island experience they initially marketed.

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We were just at Harvest Caye last week. My husband got heat stroke there. No water fountains. They had very few places to get water in blistering hot heat. First place we tried ran out of cups, second ran out of water. Very high priced souvenirs where prices are not marked. It is pretty but sand is coarse so we opted for pool instead which we liked. An ambulance helped someone who collapsed due to heat stroke. My husband had to go back to the ship to recover. I went back to explore but it was just okay

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Thanks for the warning, we will bring bottle of water.

We wished we brought water!

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I am confused. This is ncl's private island but you have to pay for food and chairs?

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You don't have to pay for chairs. There are plenty of them. You have to pay for food unless you go back to the ship to eat and then go back. You can easily go back and forth by walking or taking a free shuttle as the walk is about a 1/4 mile same as the other ports. I ate in the ship and went back. Pool was very nice. You can rent cabanas as well.

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Make sure you bring water from the ship as there are no water fountains and stations where they have free water are very very sparse with only water for about 10 guests and then they went back to the ship to get more which took them 45 minutes

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We were just at Harvest Caye last week. My husband got heat stroke there. No water fountains. They had very few places to get water in blistering hot heat. First place we tried ran out of cups, second ran out of water. Very high priced souvenirs where prices are not marked. It is pretty but sand is coarse so we opted for pool instead which we liked. An ambulance helped someone who collapsed due to heat stroke. My husband had to go back to the ship to recover. I went back to explore but it was just okay

 

 

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How long was he in the hospital from his heat stroke? Did they evacuate him immediately or was he able to remain in the infirmary on the ship to recover from his life threatening illness?

The way to avoid issues of this nature is to be hydrated before you leave the ship.

Any Caribbean stop is going to be hot and humid, it is always advisable to take water with you, but becoming hot and thirsty does not equal heat stroke, which is a true medical emergency requiring intervention.

This exaggeration makes everything else you say suspect.

We went to ship personnel who told us he had heat stroke when we got him back to the ship. They told him to keep drinking and rest but didn't say to do anything else. This person said they could tell by the look of him. If you don't believe what I say, that is your problem

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He was nauseated and lethargic. He was dizzy so it was more than just hot and thirsty. He had a weird color to him. Heat stroke was a term that the ship person used. I have no idea what it means

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Anyone out there can tell me if they have additional "slots, spots or room" for reservingthe limited Number of shore excursions available on NCL. com. All they have left is the zip lines, beach cabana and pool cabana. Will the shore excusion desk have any activities available for Harest Caye when we are on board?

I'm so frustrated that we just got this email.

Thank you for contacting us.

I'm sorry, NCL Is not allowing independent tour operators to pic up guests at Harvest Caye.

Regards,

Yhony

This is not what I was expecting for Belize. :(

Basically sounds like Grand Turk there with no chance of visiting ma and pa local establishments.

I'm so frustrated that we just got this email.

 

Thank you for contacting us.

I'm sorry, NCL Is not allowing independent tour operators to pic up guests at Harvest Caye.

 

Regards,

Yhony

 

This is not what I was expecting for Belize. :(

 

Basically sounds like Grand Turk there with no chance of visiting ma and pa local establishments.

There are no ma and pa local establishments anywhere near HC.

You need to think of it like a private island, not as a stop in Belize.

It is a pretty island. Just make sure you bring water

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It is a pretty island. Just make sure you bring water

 

 

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Thanks for the advice on bringing water. We'll be arriving on Oceania's Marina and they are very generous in handing out the complimentary water at the gangway.

After reading about the limited services on HC I was rather hoping this port would have been dropped when our itinerary was changed to include an overnight in Havana. No such luck but we will make the best of it.

Thanks for the advice on bringing water. We'll be arriving on Oceania's Marina and they are very generous in handing out the complimentary water at the gangway.

After reading about the limited services on HC I was rather hoping this port would have been dropped when our itinerary was changed to include an overnight in Havana. No such luck but we will make the best of it.

Unless you hate the beach, you will love this stop.

When we were there, we only saw 2 water stations having 2-3 gallons of water for 1000s of people. They ran out after about 15-20 people and then it took them about a half hour to come back with more. No water fountains. If you wanted water, you had to buy water from the bars. Water is a necessary life sustaining fluid in 90 degree humid weather. To me, it was offensive to not provide water or if you don't have the setup on the island for water, then hand out bottles as people leave the ship or inform passengers that they need to bring water. I was okay with not being able to go to the mainland, but not providing enough water can be dangerous

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