Harvest Caye (pronounced “Key”) is open! The NCL Dawn out of New Orleans was the first to arrive on 11/17/2016 and beat us on the Jade out of Tampa by 1 day. The Dawn also had a longer itinerary (8am-5pm) than the Jade (7am-1pm). But we were happy to be there to christen the island. It is truly a marvelous transformation of an island into a $50 million dollar resort. I took over 100 pictures, but did not get back around to do a video... so please enjoy the slideshow! Any questions feel free to ask.
Harvest Caye Menus and Maps:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bx2uAjHxV3p4LVd6TVExYTBWSjA?usp=sharing
Harvest Caye thread in CC Private Island Forum:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=51599372#post51599372
Music:
- NCL’s Harvest Caye Video Music
- Derek & Brandon Fiechter - Tropical, Caribbean, and Hawaiian Music
- Pitbull - Free
To answer some questions:
1) Food is a la carte and is not provided by NCL. There is no free lunch buffet that some other lines provide on their private islands. Same goes for drinks - UBP Package holders do not get free drinks on the island. All drinks at the bars and bar & grills are the price you see on the menus in the slideshow. You could walk back to the ship (about 15 minutes each way) and go up to Deck 7 Atrium bar, grab a few drinks, and walk back. Or go to Deck 12 buffet and grab a bite to eat. If you don't want to pay $8-$12 for a drink, I would recommend bringing a thermos/large cup of some type and get a few of the same drink you like from the ship with little ice and pour them into the thermos/sealable cup and carry that to the island.
2) Locker rental is $5.00 and you can only put your stuff in and close it. Once you open it, it will cost you another $5.00 to close it again.
3) Private Villas cost $499 and hold up to 6 people. They are air conditioned inside with a private bathroom. A porch with beach chairs and tables along with "private" access to your own 20 foot wide of beach down to the water. It is $499 no matter how long your ship is docked. The first ship there was the Dawn on her 11/13/2016 sailing arriving at Harvest Caye on Thursday 11/17/2016 and was docked from 8:00am to 5:00pm (back on board by 4:30pm). The Jade's 11/13/2016 sailing arrived on Friday 11/18/2016 and was only docked from 7:00am to 1:00pm (back on board by 12:30pm). So, 8½ hours vs 5½ hours and you pay the same price.
Some information from another CC member: When you rent a cabana they have a 6 person golf cart that takes you from the main gate right to the door. You also have a private butler, waiter & driver. The cabana itself has an air conditioned indoor area with fridge, a beachfront deck with four very comfy loungers, beachside chairs with umbrellas & that area of the beach is just for the cabanas (they have security posted & the private beach is roped off). Free wifi, fridge was stocked with cold water, and a platter of fruit and cheese plate were complimentary. The service was impeccable! The whole place is beautiful & clean and the Belizeans are wonderful, friendly people. As it was explained to us; Harvest Caye is a joint venture between NCL & Belize and they view it as a resort destination exclusive to NCL but still being partnered with Belize. I think without that agreement in place Harvest Caye would not exist.
4) Walking distance from the ship to the end of the dock is between 2½-3½ football fields (800-1100 feet). In comparison, the north dock in Cozumel from ship to escalator/tour meet point is 1,450 feet, then they make you walk through all the shops which is another 800-1000 feet before you can get a taxi or walk the town markets. In Costa Maya, the dock is 2,150 feet to the welcoming dancers… then another 1,300 feet through the shops to the opening of the taxis and tour meet point. If you have to continue out the port to get an in-town taxi, add another 550 feet – That’s 4,000 feet for Costa Maya!
