Harvest Caye

Has anyone found any decent excursions on from the Harvest Caye port? :confused:

Has anyone found any decent excursions on from the Harvest Caye port? :confused:

There's not much info at all on this new port. We are just hoping it has a decent beach with decent snorkeling. Looks like we may have to wait until Oct which I believe is the first cruise there.

DH and I will be sailing on the NCL Star in late November and have been to Belize before, but Harvest Caye was new to us. I Googled it and found some photos, but not much information except some people were upset with NCL for what they perceived to be "ruining the Caye." I wonder if NCL has developed it like Carnival developed Roatan with shops and beachfront activities and even a chair lift? We'll have to watch for more information as it gets closer to cruise time.

We're heading there in Mid November on the NCL Star. It will be interesting to see how it is. I'm wondering if it will be possible to get to Ambergris Caye from there.

We're heading there in Mid November on the NCL Star. It will be interesting to see how it is. I'm wondering if it will be possible to get to Ambergris Caye from there.

I doubt you could make it all the way there, Harvest is quite far south..

There is a snorkeling excursion that I'm interested in.

From the NCL website:

Tropical Island & Reef Snorkeling

Sail to a tiny tropical island on a large power catamaran to snorkel the reef that surrounds the island. It's a very live, vibrant reef with beautiful coral and colorful fish.

Board your large power catamaran right at the Harvest Caye marina and within a few minutes, you'll arrive at your snorkeling destination. This tiny tropical island is surrounded by a very live and vibrant reef system with beautiful coral and colorful fish. Upon arrival, your guide will give you a safety briefing. Here you'll be able to walk off the catamaran and start your snorkeling tour directly from the beach. Snorkel groups will be set into one of three different ability levels with a guide - beginner, intermediate and advanced.

You'll snorkel completely around the island if you're at the advanced or intermediate level. If you're a beginner, your guide will lead you to some of the beautiful coral formations close to the beach. After snorkeling, you can relax on the island and enjoy a drink or snack available for purchase at reasonable prices. On your return ride, enjoy a complimentary fruit or rum punch and listen to rhythmic Caribbean sounds. Another beautiful day in paradise!

Note: Participants must be at least 8 years of age and weigh less than 300 lbs. This tour is not recommended for guests who are pregnant and past their first trimester or have preexisting heart conditions. Wear a bath suit under your clothes and bring sunglasses, hat, sunscreen and towel. Beverages and snack are available for purchase on a cash only basis. You'll receive your snorkel gear (mask, snorkel, fins and vest) on the boat before reaching the island.

We are cruising on the DAWN in November and wondering if Harvest Caye will be set up like Great Stirrup Cay.

Following this thread!! Just booked NCL Getaway for 5/15/16 and looking at Monkey River excursion for my family. Our party is DH, me, six kids (3, 5, 10, 11, 13, 15), my senior mom and my sister. Hoping to here folks report back on this port.

Vacationdreamer <><

Looking at this too, as we are considering booking NCL Star.

Also wondering if it's gonna be like Carnival's Roatan private beach.

For us that would be just great!

Looking at this too, as we are considering booking NCL Star.

 

Also wondering if it's gonna be like Carnival's Roatan private beach.

 

For us that would be just great!

Might just be that.

Here's an article of someone not too fond of all this development, with a nice set of pictures and artists renderings.

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

Also this

http://southernbelizecruise.org/

And if you search youtube for Harvest Caye there's a video tour of what's happening thus far. Unfortunately fire wall won't let me link that.

I contacted Coral Breeze to see if they were offering anything from there and they said not at this time and it may be a while until they do....:(...I really dont want to book through the ship but may have to this time.....Im hoping the pharmacy in Belize City port will open one on Harvest

So what is Harvest Caye going to be exactly? Is it going to be another Private Island exclusively for NCL just like Great Stirrup Cay?

So what is Harvest Caye going to be exactly? Is it going to be another Private Island exclusively for NCL just like Great Stirrup Cay?

Looks that way and then more as they'll offer mainland excursions. The caye isn't that far from the mainland. But I'd say it'll be for NCL ships only, at first. NO date on the opening or first ship arrival from what I can tell.

Following as we are booked on NCL Jade 4/2/16 and will be stopping here. The Tropical Island & Reef Snorkeling excursion offered by the ship looks somewhat appealing.

Booked on Norwegian Getaway for 4/24/16 so I'll be following this as well.

From my research, this is going to be NCL private island. Will be here in November 2015 and will report back what is available. The first ship there will be in late October.

I will be anxiously following this thread - we booked NCL Star with a departure date of 3/6/16 and will be stopping here. I can't wait to hear directly from someone who's actually been.

We are on the Dawn November 15 with a day at Harvest Caye. I can't wait to check it out

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Since NCL is paying the Belize Government for the right to develop it exclusively for NCL ships, it is highly unlikely that other excursions will be allowed. Too bad since there are some good people running private excursions in Belize. On the plus side, they will likely develop a nice beach area similar to Roatan and the Bahamas private island.

But there's got to be a way to the mainland. Some ferry or tender for employees and for NCL excursions to ruins and other places, so surely there'll be away for private vendors to meet up with passengers on the mainland. I would doubt seriously that Belize based vendors will venture that far south to grab a few people from a single ship. So probably going to see southern Belize based excursion vendors out of Placencia.

But there's got to be a way to the mainland. Some ferry or tender for employees and for NCL excursions to ruins and other places, so surely there'll be away for private vendors to meet up with passengers on the mainland. I would doubt seriously that Belize based vendors will venture that far south to grab a few people from a single ship. So probably going to see southern Belize based excursion vendors out of Placencia.

This is from the river tubing excursion details

. This tour includes an approximate 30 minute boat transfer to Belize mainland and the transfer to Jungle Camp Outpost is approximately 30 minutes from tour starting point.*

Wow! But then map scales can be deceiving. I guess they have to go all the way up to Placencia to dock a tender. That's close to 9 miles. But even if they make a dock close to the road end near Big Creek, it's still over 3 miles, depending on exactly where the ship will dock.

We booked the Getaway in 05/2016.....will be curious to see how it plays out!

I just booked the NCL Jade departing from Houston on December 12, 2015. One of the stops is Harvest Caye.

There is a press release from a few years ago:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5487

And a drawing of what it may look like here:

https://www.ncl.com/next

Personally, I'm not very excited about "man made" ports or islands. I worry that the locals may not get enough of our tourism dollars. 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.

We are going to Harvest Caye in early November of this year. We booked the River Monkey tour, so I will be sure to post all about it, and all of the information about the port! I think our cruise may be the third one to go there, so I am hoping hat someone out there goes before us to give us a heads up! :)