Dawn cruisers.... How was Harvest Caye ?

So curious if the first Harvest Caye visitors had a great day today.

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Can't wait to hear either!

Darn it, ship backed into port!!!!!

https://www.ncl.com/shipcams/dawncam/Fullsize.jpg?browser_popup=320x240

Turn that ship around! [emoji50] I'm really looking forward to this port next month on the Getaway.

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Can't wait to hear from some folks who have enjoyed Harvest Caye.

Darn it, ship backed into port!!!!!

 

https://www.ncl.com/shipcams/dawncam/Fullsize.jpg?browser_popup=320x240

Why is this a bad thing?

Why is this a bad thing?

I think because viewers of the webcam were probably hoping for a view of the island. Just my 2c.

I am shocked we have not gotten any feedback yet! I thought for sure there would be a full report on the good, bad and ugly. Hopefully the folks sailing the Dawn are having such a good time they do not have the time to be on the internet.

Harvest Caye was very disappointing. While it was a beautiful island they were nowhere near ready for visitors. My husband waited in line for over an hour for the zip line, there was one group already up in the tower waiting to go down. A couple people went down but they couldn't get the elevator taking you up to the tower to work so they shut it down. They told those in line to come back and they would be the first ones to go once they got the elevator to work. After about 45 minutes the elevator was working my husband stood in line for another hour, in that time only maybe two people went down it. He finally made it up to the tower, one woman sat there with her harness on and in the laying position for probably 15 minutes and then they said they had to shut it down again for safety reasons. They would not elaborate on it.

Some of the buildings didn't even have electricity yet and they could not swipe your card, they said they weren't ready for that

It has the potential to be a very beautiful place to visit once it's finished but they never should've let a ship dock there yet.

Harvest Caye was very disappointing. While it was a beautiful island they were nowhere near ready for visitors. My husband waited in line for over an hour for the zip line, there was one group already up in the tower waiting to go down. A couple people went down but they couldn't get the elevator taking you up to the tower to work so they shut it down. They told those in line to come back and they would be the first ones to go once they got the elevator to work. After about 45 minutes the elevator was working my husband stood in line for another hour, in that time only maybe two people went down it. He finally made it up to the tower, one woman sat there with her harness on and in the laying position for probably 15 minutes and then they said they had to shut it down again for safety reasons. They would not elaborate on it.

Some of the buildings didn't even have electricity yet and they could not swipe your card, they said they weren't ready for that

It has the potential to be a very beautiful place to visit once it's finished but they never should've let a ship dock there yet.

Can you use cash instead of your card?

Can you use cash instead of your card?

Yes....you can use cash

Harvest Caye was very disappointing. While it was a beautiful island they were nowhere near ready for visitors.

Some of the buildings didn't even have electricity yet and they could not swipe your card, they said they weren't ready for that

It has the potential to be a very beautiful place to visit once it's finished but they never should've let a ship dock there yet.

That is sad, sorry your experience there was not what it could have been. No electric = No docking ships.

Check out this thread, I uploaded some pics. We were there on the Jade right before the Dawn. Anything new on Harvest Caye? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2289499

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Can you swim in the pool, go on the beach, swim in the ocean and use the loungers free of charge? Also, if you have the Ultimate Beverage Plan, do you still have to pay for drinks on the resort?

I am curious about these things too!

Can you swim in the pool, go on the beach, swim in the ocean and use the loungers free of charge? Also, if you have the Ultimate Beverage Plan, do you still have to pay for drinks on the resort?

Yes, all free! It's all in the other thread. No UBP doesn't work at HC.

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I was on the Jade on 11/13-11/20 and have posted my

I'm sorry to hear that dem1958 had a bad time. I guess every port is what you make of it and what you want out of it. They announced several times on the Jade that Harvest Caye was not 100% and there would probably be some snafu's. I don't know any theme park that ever opened without any. One disappointment we had was that there was no free drinks with UBP or free buffet (the island employs the local Belizians and they do have to get paid somehow), but the walk (or golf cart ride) back to the ship isn't too bad to hit the Atrium on Deck 7 and get a few drinks. It does take away time from the island... which is the other issue we had on the Jade docking from only 7am-1pm (on board at 12:30pm) which made it a short(er) port day. NCL knows the distance back to Tampa and just somehow couldn't coordinate the itinerary to make Harvest Caye it's premier port on the cruise (at least for the first year) and put it somewhere in the middle (or first) to make it a full day. As far as electricity, we had no issues where we were at, and all stores we went into had it. So it must have just been one area or spotty as construction crews worked on fixing any immediate issues.

Other than these 2 issues, we had a wonderful day walking around (I took over 100 pictures for the slideshow), exploring the island, hanging in the pool, and enjoying the beach with some new friends. We will be returning in April so we weren't in "OMG we have to do everything NOW" mode. Also, there were 3 other stops before Harvest Caye, so we already had our fill of snorkeling (Cozumel and Costa Maya), ziplining (Roatan), and other activities the island offered. It was nice to just relax on the last port day. About 10:30 we decided to go back to the ship, grab our 32oz tumbler, and fill that up with 3 Rebellious Fish drinks, then get 2 more to carry in hand back to the island. We returned about 11:15 and got back in the pool having enough drinks that made the next hour and 15 minutes more fun. If you plan ahead, bring a tumbler and fill it up with drinks (no or little ice) and take it with you - then later get some cups with ice from the bar and pour your own drinks! Saved us about $40 right there!

We are looking forward to returning in April after the Jade is out of Dry Dock!

About 10:30 we decided to go back to the ship, grab our 32oz tumbler, and fill that up with 3 Rebellious Fish drinks, then get 2 more to carry in hand back to the island. We returned about 11:15 and got back in the pool having enough drinks that made the next hour and 15 minutes more fun. If you plan ahead, bring a tumbler and fill it up with drinks (no or little ice) and take it with you - then later get some cups with ice from the bar and pour your own drinks! Saved us about $40 right there!

Can you really walk off the ship with drinks in hand, or was this something you managed on the down low?

Your slide show was great, thank you. I think it looks like a beautiful place and I would have expected a few problems as it had just opened. Glad you had a good time. Oh and I like the idea of bringing my drinks off the ship ;) My Yeti will come in handy....

Can you really walk off the ship with drinks in hand, or was this something you managed on the down low?

We didn't hide anything. We stopped at the Atrium and got 3 Rebels in glasses with little ice, went to the room and poured them into the tumbler removing more of the ice as we transferred it. On our way back down, we stopped again and grabbed 2 more and told them "in plastic cups please" and walked off with those 2 in our hands and the Tervis tumbler in my other hand. As long as it's not in a glass or a NCL reusable cup (champagne glass for instance) there should be no problem.

Coming off the ship first thing you notice is the completely covered walkway from ship to entrance, it's a long walk or you can wait on the vehicle to drive back and forth. The beaches: all regular lounge chairs are free, and there's a lot of them. The sunshades mini cabanas are for rent but no one needed them the day we went (mostly cloudy). The private cabanas were running about 450.00 to rent and they are air conditioned and have a bathroom inside and are pretty close to the beach. In the ocean here you can find starfish, live conch, sea cucumbers and... jellyfish!! (My son was the first visitor to be stung at harvest caye) so bring snorkel gear and just go around the beach to find sealife.

Food and drink: nothing here is free except the samples.

Small water bottle or sofa was 3.00 alcohol was from 8-12.00

Most food items were 10.00 and up

Can only use visa/MasterCard or cash on anything onsite.

Zip line and free fall:

We had ordered the adrenaline package which was 79.00 per person at 9am

So we went straight there by staff giving us a ride on the cart. When arriving we found out the free fall wasn't completed and only one of the three zip lines was completely ready(the super man one) but good news was the zip line was completely free since they weren't completed (never got charged for anything) the first guy to go down the zip line skimmed the water, my kids were the next three and they loved it, since you lay flat facing the ocean and go over the small bay.

Other things to do:

They have a butterfly enclosure to walk thru, a couple of toucans and macaws to look at and a jaguar(I didn't see it.. must've been hidden), the pool is very nice and is deepest at 4.4 ft they keep an average of 6 lifeguards on the pool and about 12-14 on the ocean beach. There's a swim up bar in the pool and lots of seating around pool. The liquor store here has some good local rum, make sure to sample the run punch. One of the nicest things here was becaus this is private, you are comfortable the whole time, never get any pushy local salesman. All in all, it'll be a relaxing stop for cruisers.

One of the nicest things here was because this is private, you are comfortable the whole time, never get any pushy local salesman.

+1 THIS! While we enjoyed Cozumel and Costa Maya beaches, and Roatan Tour (private), being bombarded with beach-combing locals with every trinket to sell you can sometimes get frustrating. While we do like and buy some of the stuff, the attack is excessive at times! Any my wife does not want to be serenaded on the beach when trying to relax, take in the sun, and listen to the birds and the surf.

I attached menus and the island map to my Google Drive.

I loved your video! Thank you so much.

I see they have Belikin beer on tap for $5. That works for me as I drink local beer at all of my stops and I am happy to contribute a wee bit to the locals :)

The beach looks lovely and hopefully won't feel too crowded. We also have the 7-1pm timeframe, so I imagine it will be quiet for awhile if we can drag our butts out of bed early that morning.

It does look like a bit of a walk from the ship!

Wow! Awesome video! Can't wait to visit! Especially after the 8" of snow we got over night, and it's still snowing!

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I loved your video! Thank you so much.

 

I see they have Belikin beer on tap for $5. That works for me as I drink local beer at all of my stops and I am happy to contribute a wee bit to the locals :)

 

The beach looks lovely and hopefully won't feel too crowded. We also have the 7-1pm timeframe, so I imagine it will be quiet for awhile if we can drag our butts out of bed early that morning.

 

It does look like a bit of a walk from the ship!

Thank you. I love doing things like this after our cruise.

I guess depending on the time of year will depend on the crowd getting off the ship. We couldn't have asked for better weather all week at every port. The sea days were cloudy with a little rain. They cleared us at about 6:45am. We went to the Garden Cafe for breakfast and disembarked around 7:45am. Since it is mainly an early to noon visit, unless you just want to be smashed on the beach I would think drinking would be to a minimum for most people - for the Jade, we have from 1pm Friday until 3am Sunday morning at sea to continue drinking!

The island is big, and only 1 ship in port on any given day, so unless you're coming in on the Getaway or a 4000+ passenger ship, it shouldn't feel crowded at all. On the Jade there were 2,400 passengers and probably half went to the island. The beaches are spread out and LOTS of free blue chairs and umbrellas, with a long back-lining of the pay-for yellow half-cover cabanas. Note: the swim area buoys will look close to shore, but the bottom drops down quickly - from ankle on shore to neck about 15 feet out (I'm 5'10").

The pool was the most crowded and had to walk around to find an open chair that didn't have someone's towel or "hold" item on it, but there are a lot of loungers. You can enter the pool from the south side that is like a beach shore where many people sit in the shallows, or any of the many stairs entrances around the pool. Max depth is 4.4 feet under the waterfall bridge, with most being around 3-4 feet. People either sit up on wall of the islands in the middle or in the pool benches around them. The pool itself didn't seem crowded at all unless you were over at the bar service area where many were crowded around the in-pool tables.

As I said above, the walk is about 500-700 feet, and there are 2 or 3 golf carts that can seat 8, although they looked to be mainly used by older folks and those with canes/walkers. If there is room though you can jump on.

Harvest Caye Menus and Maps