NCL Cruise/Beach Question

[cruisekitty22]

On my bucket list is to walk on a white sandy soft sand beach in the carribbean.  We would do this on a NCL cruise. What locations has this type of beach? Bermuda? A separate island? We are booked on the Encore for February 24, 2021-March 1, 2021 going to Harvest Caye, Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico.  Do any of these 2 destinations have a white soft sandy beach?

[ggTexasGal]

1 hour ago, cruisekitty22 said:

On my bucket list is to walk on a white sandy soft sand beach in the carribbean.  We would do this on a NCL cruise. What locations has this type of beach? Bermuda? A separate island? We are booked on the Encore for February 24, 2021-March 1, 2021 going to Harvest Caye, Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico.  Do any of these 2 destinations have a white soft sandy beach?

Harvest Caye is not exactly well-loved for its' beach area, yet it might be good if you have perfect weather.

Costa Maya has plenty of white sand beach areas.

So, with those statements made, have you checked-out the following two CC Q&A links?

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/65-belize/

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/102-costa-maya/

[cruisekitty22]

Thank you for the links. Very helpful. 

[Summerstravel]

IMO Bermuda has much better beaches than Harvest Caye and Mexico. The sand is very soft in Bermuda. 

 

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, cruisekitty22 said:

On my bucket list is to walk on a white sandy soft sand beach in the carribbean.  We would do this on a NCL cruise. What locations has this type of beach? Bermuda? A separate island? We are booked on the Encore for February 24, 2021-March 1, 2021 going to Harvest Caye, Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico.  Do any of these 2 destinations have a white soft sandy beach?

Harvest Caye private island is a beach day port call. You get both a pool and beach to move back and forth between. The beach is man made, so it is not the best soft sand. But a fun place to get some sun and relax. 

[sanger727]

There are plenty of soft and sandy beaches in the Caribbean. In my experience Eastern Caribbean islands usually have better beaches than Western Caribbean locations. Never been to Bermuda so can't comment on that.

[rjm11]

I thought the beach at Harvest Caye was nicer than those we visited in Costa Maya.... I do agree that those in the Eastern Caribbean are a little "softer" white sand, but the one at Harvest Caye was really quite nice- and the sandy bottom extended into the water and made for a really nice place to swim. This was my experience last January 2020.

[Laszlo]

21 hours ago, cruisekitty22 said:

On my bucket list is to walk on a white sandy soft sand beach in the carribbean.  We would do this on a NCL cruise. What locations has this type of beach? Bermuda? A separate island? We are booked on the Encore for February 24, 2021-March 1, 2021 going to Harvest Caye, Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico.  Do any of these 2 destinations have a white soft sandy beach?

 

In Belize, CM etc.... you will find at times lots of sea grass. The best beach I found it Mexico on a cruise was here (see link) https://www.google.com/maps/@20.5479092,-86.8640694,469m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

May Chan Beach (Day Pass) in Costa Maya is a really nice private resort. A pass includes transportation, food and drink. We have been there three times. Twice they did their best to keep sea grass off the beach, once their was none.  https://costamayabeachresort.com

 

Bar far the nicest beaches I think are in Bermuda. Plenty of large and small beaches to go to. I would cruise to Bermuda in a heart beat every year over the Western Caribbean

 

 

Other options are place like Magens Bay Beach in St Thomas

 

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by Laszlo

[vswan]

I know that there are different beaches in Costa Maya, but the downtown area is one long beach across the road from downtown businesses is not the best beach. I'm not sure if the excursions all use portions of this beach, but know that some do. Bars/restaurants/hotels on the main street have spaces on the beach sectioned off with roping and you need to walk around in a lot of areas. Lawn chairs are pretty close to the water there and can also "mess up" the walk along the shore. There can be a lot of sea grass and it's just not a great swimming area. Can't comment on Harvest Caye, was supposed to make my first trip there last March.

[vswan]

Agree that the Eastern itinerary is better for beaching. Would suggest you go to the CC section on destinations. Lot of good info there about the beaches. Don't think that just because you go to a specific island that said they have good beaches that ALL of the beaches are good. I've had good and bad beaches on a lot of different islands. Also keep in mind that hurricanes can also change beaches from year to year. I remember going to an area prior to a hurricane and after. Beaches I remembered as gorgeous no longer were. On the western side I thought that Roatan was pretty good beach.

[farmersfight]

4 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Bar far the nicest beaches I think are in Bermuda. Plenty of large and small beaches to go to. I would cruise to Bermuda in a heart beat every year over the Western Caribbean

 

 

 

Another great video @Laszlo and it's not even Friday! I was in Bermuda once (summer of 1979) as a cadet on our training ship, the TS Texas Clipper. I think we docked at King's Wharf - here's a near by beach:

 

 

No doubt, Bermuda was a fantastic port call and the beaches were fantastic, as well.

[Summerstravel]

Bermuda trip 2018 

[Red-Sol]

If you have the possibility of choosing Bermuda over the Western Caribbean...I would choose Bermuda every time. Not only are the beaches better IMHO but so is the entire Island. Many NCL cruises out of NYC to Bermuda are about a week long including being docked in Bermuda for about 3 days. So much to do and see in Bermuda that 3 days really isn't even enough....Bermuda is wonderful!

Edited October 20, 2020 by Red-Sol

[Laszlo]

36 minutes ago, Red-Sol said:

If you have the possibility of choosing Bermuda over the Western Caribbean...I would choose Bermuda every time. Not only are the beaches better IMHO but so is the entire Island. Many NCL cruises out of NYC to Bermuda are about a week long including being docked in Bermuda for about 3 days. So much to do and see in Bermuda that 3 days really isn't even enough....Bermuda is wonderful!

Ditto!

[CWMixer]

Having had the opportunity to visit over 14 Caribbean islands on past cruises, I couldn't agree more with Bermuda.

We went from Boston on the Dawn: spending 2 nights/3 days was very enjoyable, and much more relaxing with regard to getting around the island and back to the ship whenever we wanted to.

The beaches were great, everywhere we went was clean and safe and the area around the Dockyard was very nice to just walk around.

We'll be going back!

[GA Dave]

The best soft sand beaches there are are in AL and the panhandle of FL.  I was very fortunate to be housed in a condo on the beach for six weeks by my employer in Gulf Shores, AL when they moved me there in 1990.  It was spectacular.  The sand was like talcum powder.

 

Having said that, we did enjoy Harvest Caye, but spent most of the day in our pool cabana.

Edited October 20, 2020 by GA Dave

[david_sobe]

White sandy beaches are all over the Caribbean.  My favorites are eastern itineraries though.

Honeymoon Beach - St John

Long Bay Beach - Tortola

 

The western ones are good too though.

[HowardK]

I liked Magen's Bay (if I spelled it correctly) in St Thomas. My excursion went around 10am- it was that really nice, cool sand and there was both sun and shade. I am not a major beach person but really liked this one.

[Summerstravel]

6 hours ago, GA Dave said:

The best soft sand beaches there are are in AL and the panhandle of FL.  I was very fortunate to be housed in a condo on the beach for six weeks by my employer in Gulf Shores, AL when they moved me there in 1990.  It was spectacular.  The sand was like talcum powder.

 

Having said that, we did enjoy Harvest Caye, but spent most of the day in our pool cabana.

Can you give me more details about the pool cabana at harvest caye please?  I did the beach cabana last time but I am looking at a more affordable option. It's just me going but I hope to make a couple friends to invite with me. 

[GA Dave]

9 hours ago, Summerstravel said:

Can you give me more details about the pool cabana at harvest caye please?  I did the beach cabana last time but I am looking at a more affordable option. It's just me going but I hope to make a couple friends to invite with me. 

We really enjoyed it.  That was our favorite port day out of the four we had.  There was a good separation from the main activity of the pool area, but it was still just a few steps to the pool, there was a security guard to watch over our stuff, there was a server dedicated to the area, and a nice table to sit and eat the lunch we ordered from the Landshark.  The cost for our cruise was about 25% of the cost of the beach cabanas.

Edited October 21, 2020 by GA Dave

[Summerstravel]

1 hour ago, GA Dave said:

We really enjoyed it.  That was our favorite port day out of the four we had.  There was a good separation from the main activity of the pool area, but it was still just a few steps to the pool, there was a security guard to watch over our stuff, there was a server dedicated to the area, and a nice table to sit and eat the lunch we ordered from the Landshark.  The cost for our cruise was about 25% of the cost of the beach cabanas.

Wow that sounds amazing I am going to book one thank you so much for sharing. Love your pictures it makes the decision so much easier with your help. 

[disneylover89]

The beaches in Bermuda are nice.  Not memorable though. My favorite beach will always be Carnival's private Island, Half Moon Cay. Just perfect