Harvest Caye

If you google Harvest Caye you'll also find that many locals are upset because of the environmental impact. However, it looks like NCL is paying close attention to the environment and want to make this one of their flagship ports for eco tourism. So I'm optimistic that it will be nice. I believe it's not scheduled to open until October so I'm hoping that people on some of the first cruises write reviews and share lots of pictures.

It appears they are doing damage to the environment from this interview.

Google maps shows a dock and some progress in construction - http://google.com

Okay. I have one of those, "What If," questions that no one likes. I just booked a Star cruise at the beginning of November. I did not realize that Harvest Caye will only be a few weeks into usage by NCL by then. What if the development gets behind and the facilities are not ready for those first ships at the end of October or the beginning of November? :eek: I would guess there are contingency plans? I wonder if the port would be missed all together or if NCL would go to the main port in Belize, if there is space available? What does everyone think? What is the first ship that is due to go to Harvest Caye and on what date?

Okay. I have one of those, "What If," questions that no one likes. I just booked a Star cruise at the beginning of November. I did not realize that Harvest Caye will only be a few weeks into usage by NCL by then. What if the development gets behind and the facilities are not ready for those first ships at the end of October or the beginning of November? :eek: I would guess there are contingency plans? I wonder if the port would be missed all together or if NCL would go to the main port in Belize, if there is space available? What does everyone think? What is the first ship that is due to go to Harvest Caye and on what date?

I thought of that too as our cruise is early Novemeber as well. From what I can tell the first cruise to go there is the Star from Tampa on October 25 (cruise leaves October 25 from Tampa). Hopefully it will be open when we cruise there, but for us, our plan is to just use it as another sea day if it is not ready yet. The cruise is very port intensive so another sea day is welcomed for us. :)

Okay. I have one of those, "What If," questions that no one likes. I just booked a Star cruise at the beginning of November. I did not realize that Harvest Caye will only be a few weeks into usage by NCL by then. What if the development gets behind and the facilities are not ready for those first ships at the end of October or the beginning of November? :eek: I would guess there are contingency plans? I wonder if the port would be missed all together or if NCL would go to the main port in Belize, if there is space available? What does everyone think? What is the first ship that is due to go to Harvest Caye and on what date?

First NCL will know well in advance of your cruise if the facilities at HC are operational or will be operational at the time of your cruise. If they are not, NCL will most likely look to provide a changed itinerary well in advance and notify all passengers book of that change. So you will know where you will be going before you get on board.

Most likely, you will be moved to Belize City. But it would depend on how many other ships are slated to be in port that day. You might look out on cruisett and see which ships are porting in Belize City on the day the Star is scheduled for Belize. You might even find the Star mentioned there since schedules for ports are published well in advance on the site and are subject to change.

And if for some reason, after leaving the embarkation port, the STAR cannot dock in HC, you'll probably have a day at sea.

We do not zip line, snorkel, drink and an hour on the beach is plenty for us. We do like photography and exploring and sightseeing. We like Europe cruises and Alaska and Canada, but an hour in the Bahamas was enough for us. I think the tubing or jungle cruise may be okay, but I cannot swim so I feel nervous in the water. I like shopping in quaint stores. Is Harvest Caye for us? Thank you

Too early to know what the island will look like by the time you get there.

Have you been to or enjoyed other private islands? They are a more controlled environment, which some people love and others dislike.

I thought of that too as our cruise is early Novemeber as well. From what I can tell the first cruise to go there is the Star from Tampa on October 25 (cruise leaves October 25 from Tampa). Hopefully it will be open when we cruise there, but for us, our plan is to just use it as another sea day if it is not ready yet. The cruise is very port intensive so another sea day is welcomed for us. :)

Michelle, thanks for the information. Hopefully it will be ready for our cruises. It will be fun to get a chance to be some of the first passengers to explore the area. They certainly have some great sounding shore excursions available. :)

First NCL will know well in advance of your cruise if the facilities at HC are operational or will be operational at the time of your cruise. If they are not, NCL will most likely look to provide a changed itinerary well in advance and notify all passengers book of that change. So you will know where you will be going before you get on board.

 

Most likely, you will be moved to Belize City. But it would depend on how many other ships are slated to be in port that day. You might look out on cruisett and see which ships are porting in Belize City on the day the Star is scheduled for Belize. You might even find the Star mentioned there since schedules for ports are published well in advance on the site and are subject to change.

 

And if for some reason, after leaving the embarkation port, the STAR cannot dock in HC, you'll probably have a day at sea.

Thanks for the information. I am hoping it will be ready to explore at the scheduled opening date. It sounds wonderful based on the shore excursions available. :)

Thanks for the information. I am hoping it will be ready to explore at the scheduled opening date. It sounds wonderful based on the shore excursions available. :)

"That was supposed to start happening in October - but construction delays have forced that date to sometime in 2016. Still, it's going to happen"

Found this here:http://ambergriscaye.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/504253/barrow-meets-with-royal-caribbean-norwegian-cruis.html#Post504253

Oops... posted on wrong thread and don't know how to delete. Have a great day!!

I'm curious to see how this all plays out. We're on the Norwegian Dawn in Jan. 2016 and supposed to port in Harvest Caye. I'm not very excited about the excursion options being offered for Belize so far. Looks like that will change if we port in a different location. :confused:

I just noticed that all the excursions for Harvest Caye have been removed from the options for my cruise. Last week on my MyNCL account there were 11possible excursions that could be booked. Today, all gone. I am really hoping we Port by Belize City.:)

I just noticed that all the excursions for Harvest Caye have been removed from the options for my cruise. Last week on my MyNCL account there were 11possible excursions that could be booked. Today, all gone. I am really hoping we Port by Belize City.:)

I'm on the Star in November and I just went to myNCL to check if it was the same for me and there are now only 2 to choose from. Maybe it's because it won't be finished yet. There is still time. We shall see.

Following this thread as well. We will be on the Star November 8th and going to Harvest Caye. I really hope it will be open for our stop as I was really looking forward to this new port. This will be our first time traveling with our daughter who will be 18 months old at the time so we are hoping it will be similar to the Carnival port in Roatan. We did not want to have to travel much with her and just hit the beach. The tendering to Belize City was always the worst as it was such a long trip and can be really bad in rough weather. I do hope they still offer an option for travelers to get to the mainland to book private excursions though as there are so many great things to see in Belize once you get away from the port area.

I checked with one of the companies that we had used in Belize and they said at this time they didn't have any excursions planned for Harvest Caye...I also called NCL and asked the excursion desk about them being gone...he said to wait 30 days and they should be back plus a few more...he said it is supposed to open on schedule but also told me that there are no tenders aval to get to the mainland...sooooooo....looks like its going to be more like the private island in the eastern.....but you know how it goes, its on a need to know basis like all of the other changes made lately and NCL doesn't think we need to know...lol...:rolleyes:

Update on status of Harvest Caye:

We are cruising in November, we were scheduled to call at Harvest Caye, just got an email from NCL that we will be calling on Belize City instead. Harvest Caye won't be ready till Feb 2016

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Forums mobile app

Update on status of Harvest Caye:

Thanks for the update. Based on what I've been able to find online, the locals are not happy with what NCL is doing and there has been a temporary halt put on the construction due to damage to the coral reef. At least they can port in Belize City.

It makes me wonder if it will even be open by the time we are supposed to be there in April.

I just got an email from NCL saying that Harvest Caye won't be ready unil Feb. 2016:

Norwegian is further enhancing the current plans for the destination, to offer even more exciting amenities and services for our guests. To accommodate these additional investments, calls to Harvest Caye will now begin on February 15, 2016. As a result, Norwegian Dawn will now call in Belize City, Belize arriving at 8am and departing at 5pm on sailings from November 15, 2015 to February 7, 2016. Please review the revised itinerary information below.

I'm very pleased with this change. However, when I log into MyNCL, it still lists Harvest Caye as a port and there are no excursions yet for Belize at all. I have checked the main NCL website and no excursions for Belize City. I'll keep checking!:)

Thanks for the update. Based on what I've been able to find online, the locals are not happy with what NCL is doing and there has been a temporary halt put on the construction due to damage to the coral reef. At least they can port in Belize City.

 

It makes me wonder if it will even be open by the time we are supposed to be there in April.

http://ambergriscaye.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/497138/2.html

http://www.sanpedroscoop.com/2013/08/ncl-cruise-ship-harvest-caye-placencia-belize.html

http://southernbelizecruise.org/

http://ambergriscaye.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/497138/2.html

 

http://www.sanpedroscoop.com/2013/08/ncl-cruise-ship-harvest-caye-placencia-belize.html

 

http://southernbelizecruise.org/

 

Yes that is where I've been finding information as well.

Update on status of Harvest Caye:

Thank goodness...I'm glad we will be missing the "beach party" and can do some of the really cool stuff available in Belize! Yayyy

We are booked on the Jade in mid March. With Harvest Caye now scheduled to open February 15, we will be some of the early visitors. I am having a hard time figuring out excursions, and am trying to come up with a "fallback" plan in case the opening is delayed. We want to see Mayan ruins, try snorkeling, and my husband has always wanted to swim with dolphins. Originally I planned on Dolphins in Cozumel, Ruins in Belize, and snorkeling/beach day at Little French Caye while in Roatan (this is our first Caribbean cruise and when I booked I thought we would be closer to Lamani or Altun Ha). Now I'm thinking Cozumel=Tulum ruins, and no Dolphins for hubby :( Roatan will stay the same and Harvest Caye will be an extra beach day. I am worried that Harvest Caye will be so new that they will still be "working out the kinks" and not that great. If NCL does delay the opening and they substitute Belize City I will go with my original plans. Does anyone have experience scheduling/changing excursions last minute? I usually prefer private vendors vs ship excursions, but think that we will need to book the ship excursions for the ruins due to time. I normally have everything planned and paid for in advance so my OCD nature is struggling :rolleyes: Any feedback on factors I might be missing? TIA

Most reputable private vendors have refund/cancelation policies/practices for patrons on ships that miss ports. Believe me, they all know if a ship is going to arrive or not, and probably before you do. You can check with each vendor on refund policies. Many have a simply reservation deposit and rest due on arrival or even just have you sign up and pay in full on arrival.

Are there any updates? We travel at the end of May and as of yet there are still no excursions posted. I would like to start making plans.