Harvest Cay vs. Great Srirrup Cay

We have sailed on NCL to Great Stirrup Cay at least a 1/2 dozen times, and have especially enjoyed the recent upgrades and use of the UBP at GSC. On a recent Jade cruise we stopped at Harvest Cay with great expectations. However, we were disappointed. Personally, my wife and I enjoy the beachy feel on GSC versus the resort feel on Harvest Cay. The only advantage we saw with Harvest Cay was the isolated and upgraded cabana area, but of course at a higher price for the enhanced experience.

I would be interested in others perspective and experiences between the two NCL islands!

I much preferred Harvest Caye.

Not a fan of "private islands."

What did you personally prefer regarding Harvest Cay?

Granted when we visited Harvest Cay it had only been open a couple of weeks, but we found the service in the restaurant there awful. I much preferred the rustic feel of GSC to the disneyfied feel of HC. We did have a great nature boat tour at HC however.

We've been to both and we greatly disliked GSC and it was a mutual decision between the three of us (all adults) that if we are ever on an sailing that includes it, we would just stay on the ship.

We had a cabana at GSC and a beach villa at Harvest Caye.

Our biggest gripes about GSC included the crowds (there were two ships using the island that day), the lack of non-sand walkways, the invisible bugs that ate us alive (even though we used bug spray), and the rough entry/exit into the water. Of course, the worst thing was the tendering situation. The last thing I want to do is wait 45+ minutes waiting to go back to the ship with the sun beating down on us. People on our tender were chanting and threatening a revolt.

It was nice to have the food and drink covered, but at Harvest Caye it is easy to walk back to the ship if you don't want to pay for lunch. I'd much rather do that than deal with the tenders.

I know we're in the minority with disliking GSC. Maybe I had built it up too much in my mind. It was a huge disappointment.

I have been to both. We booked a small cabana on GSC and booked a pool cabana on Harvest Caye.

All things being equal we much preferred Harvest Caye.

1. No tendering

2. Pool Cabana easily $150 less than the small cabana on GSC which covered the food and drinks we bought

so it brought the costs to equal

3. The pool-it was beautiful, there is no pool on GSC

The only thing I can say is that food and drinks are included on GSC so if not wanting to spend money on a cabana it would be cheaper

The sand is so much nicer. The sand on Harvest Caye is like little rocks which are almost impossible to get out

of sneakers/water shoes causing friction and pain when walking

I didn't care a lot for either.

Harvest Caye- I did like the ability to walk (although it was a DARN long walk with a 2 year old and a 6 year old. Even longer on the way back.) The splash pad was really nice for our little one. Beach was easier entry/less rocky but sand was coarse and not as pretty- a very manufactured look. We were back on the ship by lunch and did not purchase anything on the beach. Our nanny had the day off and enjoyed herself, it seemed.

GSC- prettier more natural appearing beaches but OH too crowded. (Two ship day one of them being Escape.) It was almost unbearable. We were waiting and waiting and waiting for the first tender back (they did not start until 130.) I was ready to go after an hour. We ate sandwiches (too far of a walk with tiny legs to go to the main restaurant) and tried to have fun in the water. No loungers available in any shade, anywhere.

Harvest Caye is best for us:cool:

We finally got to GSC on our last cruise and were very excited to visit as we love the private islands. We ended up being disappointed. We weren't on the very first tender but did make an early one with our priority tendering status but still couldn't find a decent lounger with some shade. Ended up dragging a couple of loungers to a very rocky & steep area along with many others looking for shade. The line for a drink was super long so felt the UBP wasn't really that good of a deal for the island. Food was OK, but not as good if we had gone back to the boat for lunch.

We have been to Harvest Caye twice and enjoyed each time immensely....even the day that was rainy! Nice paths to walk around and lots of lounger choices with good shade close to pool or beach. Easy to carry off any drinks you wanted to if you brought your own tumbler. Very easy to go back to the ship if you wanted to for lunch & drinks.

Much prefer Harvest Caye. Fresh, new, clean. The only downside is the pricing of everything from soups to nuts is pretty high.