Tell me about Harvest Caye

[mitsugirly]

This will be our first time at Harvest Caye. We don't plan on doing any excursions and just enjoying our day there.

 

I realize this is a "NCL port" but not their private island so we will have to buy our own food and drink there. Anyone have any menus or know the costs of your basic food (burgers and fries) and pop there?

 

I assume that all the "extra" activities probably cost extra correct? What all is there? I think I read zip lining and kayaking? Anyone done these activities and can say it's worth whatever the cost is?

 

Although I'm sure I'm probably reaching here...is there ANY snorkeling in the area at all? I know that NCL's private island HMC has a snorkeling "trail" that you can follow in the little bay area. So, just wondering if they put anything like this here as well.

 

Anything else you can share to help me plan would be appreciated.

[crewsweeper]

May I recommend taking the ferry to Placenia.  Great beaches there. 16 miles worth Off shore snorkeling, though.  Serenity Beach now has Hobbs Brewery out of NH Hampshire on their beach giving an alternative to Belikin. From reviews I've seen  Harvest Caye leaves a lot to be desired. 

[davy jones]

I just view it as a beach day.  It is a bit of a tourist trap, but you can have a pleasant day there.

 

I was there in December.  There is a beach with thousands of loungers.  The sand is a bit coarse, so I believe that the beach is man made.  There is also a large pool that is very nice.  We chose a lounger in a relatively shady area between the pool and the beach.

 

There are excursions, including snorkeling, that are available through the cruise line.  Most are the typical excursions that are available on most private islands.  There are also the usual clamshells and cabanas available for rent.

 

The restaurant is a Landshark restaurant.  We found it to be expensive.  They charged $9 for a Belikin beer that I purchased for $2 the day before in the Belize City port.  We found that the soda carts on the beach charged $2 for a bottled Coke, which is very fair price.  You can walk back to the ship for your meals though.

 

There is a small nature walk that is free.  We did not snorkel, so I don't know about the snorkeling in the lagoon.  There is a snorkel equipment rental though.

 

We will be there again next month.  As I said earlier, we view it as a beach day.  We go to the beach early, stay for 4 to 6 hours and return to the ship for a late lunch.

[crewsweeper]

"They charged $9 for a Belikin beer that I purchased for $2 the day before in the Belize City port. "

 

That's utterly outrageous.

[mitsugirly]

On 6/6/2019 at 8:07 AM, crewsweeper said:

May I recommend taking the ferry to Placenia.  Great beaches there. 16 miles worth Off shore snorkeling, though.  Serenity Beach now has Hobbs Brewery out of NH Hampshire on their beach giving an alternative to Belikin. From reviews I've seen  Harvest Caye leaves a lot to be desired. 

 

We really don't want to leave and this will be the first time we are going to Harvest Caye, so wanted to experience what is there.

 

On 6/6/2019 at 9:09 AM, davy jones said:

I just view it as a beach day.  It is a bit of a tourist trap, but you can have a pleasant day there.

 

I was there in December.  There is a beach with thousands of loungers.  The sand is a bit coarse, so I believe that the beach is man made.  There is also a large pool that is very nice.  We chose a lounger in a relatively shady area between the pool and the beach.

 

There are excursions, including snorkeling, that are available through the cruise line.  Most are the typical excursions that are available on most private islands.  There are also the usual clamshells and cabanas available for rent.

 

The restaurant is a Landshark restaurant.  We found it to be expensive.  They charged $9 for a Belikin beer that I purchased for $2 the day before in the Belize City port.  We found that the soda carts on the beach charged $2 for a bottled Coke, which is very fair price.  You can walk back to the ship for your meals though.

 

There is a small nature walk that is free.  We did not snorkel, so I don't know about the snorkeling in the lagoon.  There is a snorkel equipment rental though.

 

We will be there again next month.  As I said earlier, we view it as a beach day.  We go to the beach early, stay for 4 to 6 hours and return to the ship for a late lunch.

 

I'm seeing it as similar to visiting a place like Half Moon Cay or  Great Stirrup Cay or even going to Grand Turk (especially since they have the pool at the port). 

 

We are just going to make it a beach day (especially since we are "beach freaks" lol). 

 

I'm thinking maybe the snorkeling "excursions" would be going out on a boat and snorkeling, which I do not care for. I was wondering if there was anything to be seen within the beach area. Hopefully someone will know. 

 

$2 for a Coke is a decent price, so we will have to stick with those drinks. 

 

I hadn't heard about a nature walk, so I'll have to look into that. Thanks. 

[davy jones]

18 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

 

We really don't want to leave and this will be the first time we are going to Harvest Caye, so wanted to experience what is there.

 

 

I'm seeing it as similar to visiting a place like Half Moon Cay or  Great Stirrup Cay or even going to Grand Turk (especially since they have the pool at the port). 

 

We are just going to make it a beach day (especially since we are "beach freaks" lol). 

 

I'm thinking maybe the snorkeling "excursions" would be going out on a boat and snorkeling, which I do not care for. I was wondering if there was anything to be seen within the beach area. Hopefully someone will know. 

 

$2 for a Coke is a decent price, so we will have to stick with those drinks. 

 

I hadn't heard about a nature walk, so I'll have to look into that. Thanks. 

I am a fan of simple beach days, so while HC is not perfect, we enjoy it.  

 

We like HC better than Grand Turk.  It is larger and there is more to do.  

When are you going?  We will be there again in a few weeks, I'll try to give an update when we return.

[mitsugirly]

6 hours ago, davy jones said:

I am a fan of simple beach days, so while HC is not perfect, we enjoy it.  

 

We like HC better than Grand Turk.  It is larger and there is more to do.  

When are you going?  We will be there again in a few weeks, I'll try to give an update when we return.

 

I am too and I love HMC and GSC. 

 

We are going in August. Yes, please give an update when you return. :)

 

[mitsugirly]

Can anyone tell me if they charge extra for the ziplines? (I assume they do but they are not listed under the excursions on my cruise on NCL, which is weird). 

 

I seen a map of HC and it looked like there might actually be 2 separate zip lines? One above the lagoon area and one above the ocean/beach area? Do you do both or do you have to pick and choose? 

[ggTexasGal]

2 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

Can anyone tell me if they charge extra for the ziplines? (I assume they do but they are not listed under the excursions on my cruise on NCL, which is weird). 

 

I seen a map of HC and it looked like there might actually be 2 separate zip lines? One above the lagoon area and one above the ocean/beach area? Do you do both or do you have to pick and choose? 

I have an older Shore Excursion Order Form (from Dec 2017), so my apologies, but as nobody else had posted yet, I figured "old pricing" would at least answer your questions (IF they haven't changed everything)!

Listed:

Flighthouse Zipline (includes Sky Trail line) = 1.5 hours, Level 2 Activity ...$89 Adult/ $69 Child

Sky Trail Ropes Course  = .5 hour, Level 3 Activity ...$19 pp

Food items were in the $10+(+) range, frozen adult drinks were about $12-$16, if I recall correctly.  I do hope that this helps you some.

It seems that excursions are "likely" to start appearing sometime around 7/11 or so...

Edited June 29, 2019 by ggTexasGal
additional info

[mitsugirly]

On 6/29/2019 at 5:55 PM, ggTexasGal said:

I have an older Shore Excursion Order Form (from Dec 2017), so my apologies, but as nobody else had posted yet, I figured "old pricing" would at least answer your questions (IF they haven't changed everything)!

Listed:

Flighthouse Zipline (includes Sky Trail line) = 1.5 hours, Level 2 Activity ...$89 Adult/ $69 Child

Sky Trail Ropes Course  = .5 hour, Level 3 Activity ...$19 pp

Food items were in the $10+(+) range, frozen adult drinks were about $12-$16, if I recall correctly.  I do hope that this helps you some.

It seems that excursions are "likely" to start appearing sometime around 7/11 or so...

 

 

Thanks so much for the info. It sounds like you get to do both ziplines to me. I sure hope so for $89 each. I guess we'll play it by ear. I'll look out for the excursions to pop up around 7/11

 

 

[davy jones]

On 6/13/2019 at 3:01 PM, mitsugirly said:

 

I am too and I love HMC and GSC. 

 

We are going in August. Yes, please give an update when you return. :)

 

We were at Harvest Caye last week on the Breakaway.  Overall, it was a good day.  We got off early and got shady loungers between the pool and the beach, so we had easy access to both.  

 

The ocean was okay.  The water was cloudy to some other Caribbean beaches and the sand a bit grainy.  I didn't see anyone snorkeling off the beach.   As previously said, there are thousands of beach loungers in long rows.  Many have umbrellas.  If you are willing to walk a bit further, you will find a lot less people and more solitude.  The cruise was packed and there was still plenty of room for everyone.

 

The zip lines did not appear to be operating.  I did not even see any zip line cables over the water.

 

The bad news is that the drink carts on the beach were not there.  You had to go to the restaurant or area by the pool to get a cold drink.  A 20oz bottle of Coke was $4.00, which is about what I pay at the ballpark and still better than the $3.00 cup of ice that you get onboard.  

 

My DD and SIL decided to try paddle boarding in the lagoon.  It was $30 pp and it was charged to your ship card.  They were happily surprised when they received both the Latitudes discount and $50 per cabin shore excursion credit.  

 

I will answer try to answer questions that you may have.

[LeesaB]

We were there last March.  Overall I was a bit bummed by the day but that was at least partially my fault.  I'm the planner in the family so I always research what excursions to do and decide based on everything what we'll do at each port.  I decided to just let this be a beach day and didn't plan anything.  Only my husband and I are decidedly NOT the kind of people who can lay in a lounger for hours on end, go plop in the ocean or pool, and then lounge some more.  We have to move and do stuff (and then lounge and plop).

 

The kids loved it (12 yo boys) as they most definitely can go play in the pool or ocean for hours at a time and still want more.  For the most part we let them do their thing as long as we knew where they were - which for them was either the pool or the ocean.

 

My husband and I wandered around, but it can get rather stuffy on the interior part of the island and since David is hot natured, he immediately began sweating, then pouring sweat, then said he couldn't take it anymore and needed a breeze.  Basically we got around to see what most of the shops are and started going through the nature area, but he was dying in the butterfly exhibit so we had to retreat to an ocean-front bar so he could cool off and beer up, lol.  Which was nice but again, I can't do that for a very long time or I get antsy.

 

We didn't go inside Margaritaville but I gather it's a typical one.  The bars on the island appeared to be identical in what they served for food or drinks.  The food was very Americanized - hamburgers and what not.  I saw a hand drawn sign that indicated there might be (very few) food specials at one or more of these bars, but I didn't ever get to see or taste it. 

 

We ended up going back to the ship for lunch, then came back out and lounged at the beach for a while.

 

I learned my lesson - plan something for at least part of the day!  I definitely failed by not reserving a paddle boat or SOMETHING.  It's not a horrible place, it's just not somewhere that I want to just wander around all day.

 

Oh, and the chocolate store has some really tasty chocolate.

[mitsugirly]

On 7/9/2019 at 9:54 AM, davy jones said:

We were at Harvest Caye last week on the Breakaway.  Overall, it was a good day.  We got off early and got shady loungers between the pool and the beach, so we had easy access to both.  

 

The ocean was okay.  The water was cloudy to some other Caribbean beaches and the sand a bit grainy.  I didn't see anyone snorkeling off the beach.   As previously said, there are thousands of beach loungers in long rows.  Many have umbrellas.  If you are willing to walk a bit further, you will find a lot less people and more solitude.  The cruise was packed and there was still plenty of room for everyone.

 

The zip lines did not appear to be operating.  I did not even see any zip line cables over the water.

 

The bad news is that the drink carts on the beach were not there.  You had to go to the restaurant or area by the pool to get a cold drink.  A 20oz bottle of Coke was $4.00, which is about what I pay at the ballpark and still better than the $3.00 cup of ice that you get onboard.  

 

My DD and SIL decided to try paddle boarding in the lagoon.  It was $30 pp and it was charged to your ship card.  They were happily surprised when they received both the Latitudes discount and $50 per cabin shore excursion credit.  

 

I will answer try to answer questions that you may have.

 

Thanks so much for your input. I appreciate it.

 

I'll keep in mind about traveling a little ways down to get more solitude chairs. I'm always so excited that I usually just grab a chair and run for the water. LOL Good to know it was a packed cruise and still a lot of loungers. 

 

Hmm, I wonder why the ziplines weren't working (or it sounds like they weren't even up the day you were there). I don't even see it available on the list of excursions on NCL for my cruise. 😕

 

I guess $4 for a 20 ounce isn't too bad. 

[mitsugirly]

On 7/9/2019 at 5:05 PM, LeesaB said:

We were there last March.  Overall I was a bit bummed by the day but that was at least partially my fault.  I'm the planner in the family so I always research what excursions to do and decide based on everything what we'll do at each port.  I decided to just let this be a beach day and didn't plan anything.  Only my husband and I are decidedly NOT the kind of people who can lay in a lounger for hours on end, go plop in the ocean or pool, and then lounge some more.  We have to move and do stuff (and then lounge and plop).

 

The kids loved it (12 yo boys) as they most definitely can go play in the pool or ocean for hours at a time and still want more.  For the most part we let them do their thing as long as we knew where they were - which for them was either the pool or the ocean.

 

My husband and I wandered around, but it can get rather stuffy on the interior part of the island and since David is hot natured, he immediately began sweating, then pouring sweat, then said he couldn't take it anymore and needed a breeze.  Basically we got around to see what most of the shops are and started going through the nature area, but he was dying in the butterfly exhibit so we had to retreat to an ocean-front bar so he could cool off and beer up, lol.  Which was nice but again, I can't do that for a very long time or I get antsy.

 

We didn't go inside Margaritaville but I gather it's a typical one.  The bars on the island appeared to be identical in what they served for food or drinks.  The food was very Americanized - hamburgers and what not.  I saw a hand drawn sign that indicated there might be (very few) food specials at one or more of these bars, but I didn't ever get to see or taste it. 

 

We ended up going back to the ship for lunch, then came back out and lounged at the beach for a while.

 

I learned my lesson - plan something for at least part of the day!  I definitely failed by not reserving a paddle boat or SOMETHING.  It's not a horrible place, it's just not somewhere that I want to just wander around all day.

 

Oh, and the chocolate store has some really tasty chocolate.

You sound a lot like me...the planner of the family, can't stay still long, always have to be doing something. Yep, that about wraps it up for me. 😄

 

Thanks for mentioning the butterfly exhibit, I don't think I have heard about it. Is that part of the nature trail area? We did a butterfly exhibit when we were staying in Aruba and I thought I was going to die that day...I guess it will be about the same and I'll prepare myself for it. lol

 

Is it a very long walk back to the ship? (Since you mentioned going back for lunch and coming back to the beach). Do they have any of the open air buses or anything taking people back and forth for a tip? Maybe that's what we'll do that day if we get hungry. We are there from 8-5pm. It should be plenty of time to go back and forth if needed. 

[LeesaB]

Yes, the butterflies are part of the nature exhibit.  I don't know what else was in that area since we had to retreat.  We did get to see the snake they found on the island, though.  So that was neat.  (Since it was in a glass cage.  I don't care for snakes on the loose.)

 

I'd say it's about normal distance. I felt like it was similar the Costa Maya pier, but that one felt longer since you have to walk out and then turn (and keep walking) at Costa Maya.  Whereas the HC pier is covered and had several benches built in, and the mangrove was next to it so there was stuff to look at while you were strolling along.  If I remember right they even had a few misters set up along the way too.  They did have a few of those transports like they have at the airport for people who didn't want/couldn't walk the entire distance.  Maybe if I had bought a bunch of sheets at the store (seriously.  there was a sheet store on the island.) then I would have appreciated a ride, but I found it very easy to walk.