WEDNESDAY DAY 4: BELIZE: HARVEST CAYE 

One of the main reasons decided to go ahead and book this cruise was that it was going to a new place for us and I always like to experience new places.

Here is a little about Harvest Caye (pronounced Key) that I took off the internet and says it better than I ever could remember.

Harvest Caye sits at the southern end of Belize, about 50 miles north of the border between Guatemala and Honduras. And while it is an island, it sits only about a mile from the mainland and roughly five miles from the town of Placencia.

The island itself measures just about a mile long and only about 400 feet wide at most points. In other words, it’s easy for most people to walk anywhere on the island in just a few minutes.

The most distinguishable landmark on the island is the lighthouse, which towers over the landscape. The lighthouse is actually the signature of the zipline course that runs across the island. If you decide to do this adventure, you’ll get to ride from the lighthouse across the beach. Other points of interest include the city/shopping area, the wildlife reserve, and the marina.

Swimming Pool (Free)Located just as you walk off the ship’s pier and in the heart of the island, there is the swimming pool. It’s a large resort-style pool with lots of bends and turns, a bridge with waterfall, swim-up bar, a gently-sloping shallow kids area, and hundreds of chairs/umbrellas for you to lounge. The pool is the heartbeat of Harvest Caye and you’ll find the most cruise passengers spending their time here. Private pool cabanas are are available for rent for $249, but other than that, it’s free to use. I want to say the pool is saltwater

Beach (free)

Across from the pool is a scalloped cove of the beach that runs for hundreds of feet. There are ample lounges and umbrellas, as well as shaded “clamshell” covers that you can rent for $39 for the day. Along the beach there are lifeguards posted, and there are a number of beach games like volleyball and soccer. One more thing, the water isn’t the best. Visibility can be iffy, and don’t expect the electric blue color you might find elsewhere in the Caribbean.

Zipline (Paid)If there’s a signature of Harvest Caye, it has to be the zipline. The most exciting run goes from the lighthouse, over the beach, and across the water. The zipline costs between $29 to $89, depending on the route you want to take and adult versus child pricing.

Paddleboarding/Kayaking (Paid)On the backside of the island is a calm area of water that features a number of bends and turns for guests to use stand-up paddleboard or kayaks. The area is roped off from the surrounding water (so you don’t have to worry about taking a wrong turn into the open water). It’s also a bit out of the way so you can feel like you’re out on your own without going far. The cost for renting a kayak or paddleboard is $29.

Ropes Course (Paid)If you have an older kid or teen, they might be interested in the ropes course. It’s basically a multi-story jungle gym. You strap in and climb around different obstacles that are dangling up to 20 feet above the ground. It’s also affordable at only $19 per person.

Beach Villa (Paid)Sometimes you just want to relax… in style. There is a section of Harvest Caye’s beach that is roped off and available only to guests staying in the handful of private beach villas. Here you have everything you could want, including your own cabana with air conditioning, loungers, daybeds, facilities, and more. The cost is steep — $599 for up to six people. Extra persons are $49 each. Still, if you want to ensure you have your own comfortable spot away from all the other cruise passengers, this is your ticket.

ShoppingIf you’ve never been on a cruise, then you might be surprised at how much shopping is promoted and encouraged on the ship and on shore. Harvest Caye is no different. In the “town” section of the island there are a number of souvenir stands and shops selling everything from small trinkets to bamboo bed sheets. There is even a Harley-Davidson-branded store.

Wildlife Experience (Free)On Harvest Caye is a small “Wildlife Experience” for guests. Inside there is a butterfly exhibit, a boa constrictor, and two aviaries with a toucan and scarlet macaw. The entire area is free but only takes about five minutes to walk through. If you’re looking for a calm shady spot to sit down, it’s a great idea to get away from the buzz of the rest of the island.

Kids Splash Area (Free)If you have smaller kids, check out the splash area. With tons of contraptions spraying water in every direction, it is one of the most impressive splash pads we’ve seen. Kids are sure to get wet and have a blast without having to worry about the depth of the pool or the ocean’s waves at the beach. Best of all, it’s free to play.

Places to Eat & Drink in Harvest Caye (Paid)

Of course, a big part of cruise life is the food. Unlike other private islands run by cruise lines, Norwegian doesn’t supply food on Harvest Caye. You’ll need to bring money and purchase anything you want to eat. You can also head back to the ship for lunch if you don’t want to pay.

*LandShark Bar & GrillIf you eat on the island, it’s a good chance it will be at LandShark. Sitting poolside (there is even a bar that serves you in the pool), the multi-story restaurant is right in the heart of everything. It offers all your favorite drinks, and the food is traditional American fare. There are burgers and baskets, sandwiches, salads, wings, and more. As with all food on the island, the prices are a little high (about $12-18 for an entree), and made higher by a 12.5% tax and a 15% service charge that’s tacked onto your bill.

*Laughing Bird Bar & GrillDown the beach from LandShark, the Laughing Bird was another popular spot to sit and have a drink and a bite to eat. It features all your favorite beach drinks (pina coladas, margaritas, etc.) As for food, it’s tropical bar eats with some BBQ options, ceviche, burgers, nachos, and chicken baskets.

*Horse Eye Jack’sThe smallest bar and restaurant on the island, Horse Eye Jack’s is also the least busy in our experience. It sits near the end of the island by the private villas. Here you can sit at the bar looking out over the water or even dine with your feet in the sand. The drink menu is as you would expect with everything from soda to beer (including local brews) to rum drinks and more. The food is a mix of burgers and salads, with local snacks like plantains and ceviche.

*Manatee BarAway from most of the buzz of the pool and beach, the Manatee Bar is a large complex sitting near the marina on the other side of the island. You can find your favorites here, including Belize’s own Lighthouse Lager if you want to sample the local brew.

Lockers Are For RentAround the island you’ll see several locker stands that have a couple of dozen spots for people to rent. The cost is $5 and you can actually put it on your ship’s card (no cash is accepted). For the price you get the use of the locker all day and are given a key to let you access it when you need to do so.

Rides Are Available Up and Down the PierTo get to Harvest Caye, there’s a lengthy walk from the ship down a long pier. If you have mobility issues, don’t fret. There are carts that run the length of the pier, picking up and dropping off passengers between the ship and the shore. If you walk the pier, just be sure you stay on your side of the walkway to let the carts pass.

There’s No Wi-Fi

Coke is Served on Harvest Caye. It may sound silly, but loyal Coca-Cola drinkers don’t want Pepsi and vice versa. Pepsi products are served on Norwegian, and if you’re a Coke drinker you are out of luck. But on Harvest Caye, Coca-Cola is served in the restaurants. If you’re a Coke lover, it’s an oasis in a desert of Pepsi. 

So that gives a run down of the place itself. You also can't use your ship card for any purchases. You must bring cash or credit card to use there.

Our time at Harvest Caye would be from 8-5pm. Since this was a "free" port day with no excursions planned, I decided to get up when I got up. It was still early, but I didn't set an alarm or anything.

We headed for breakfast and once again I wasn't very hungry. But, I know in the past everyone has complained about the biscuits on NCL. They have always been as hard as hockey pucks and inedible. I knew I wanted to give it another shot and see if this was still the case. They were finally not hard anymore and edible, but very dry. Why can't NCL get this right? I love biscuits and they just ruin it for me.

Once we were done eating, we were free to walk off the ship. It's time to experience the new Harvest Caye. Click the following link to take you there:

After we returned to the ship, we were all a little hungry. Even though we had ate at Harvest Caye, we had ate early that day and it was now almost 5pm.

We headed to the buffet and I found some egg salad and grabbed a roll and decided to make a sandwich. It was a nice change in offerings. We didn't want to get too full because that morning, prior to getting off the ship, a spot become available to book one of our specialty dinings and we would be eating again later that evening.

Of course Sakari never gets enough water time so after eating, we headed to the kid pool and she hung out with her friends while we sat around and.......

Now I have been talking about the lack of service on the ship this time around. However, there was a lady server that covered the pool and bar area and she was always checking on us and she was very friendly. We always spoke and she always joked around with us and everyone else in the area. While we were on the island, she was there with her husband and was walking by and said hello to us and then pulled down her sunglasses and said "you didn't recognize me when I'm not in my uniform huh" (she had her bikini on). She introduced us to her husband...which the conversation carried over onto the ship later that day. She told us about her hours, her contract, her husband working with her and so on. She's in a 7 month contract and this would be her second contract. Her first was on the Pearl to Alaska and she enjoyed it very much. Her hours are from 7am-11am and then they get 4 hours off and have to be back at 3pm to work. Most of the workers spend that 4 hours sleeping because they don't get to do a lot of that she says. Then they work 3-11pm. So, a total of 12 hour days each day. She's been working on the pool deck for a few months and she said they switch her location every so many months. She lucked out when she got to work with her husband, who is the bar tender at the adult pool area. For the most part, she said she loves her job and seems to make decent money. She did say there are some cruises that she runs across the obnoxious and mean cruiser that ruins her day but other cruisers make up for it and are nice. I can't imagine anyone being mean to her...she just had that very outgoing personality and so friendly. She did mention how crowded this ship was compared to the Pearl and it was a possibility that she would seek to work for another cruise line after this contract. She made me the above drink and put a heart in it. So sweet. 

Sakari was in the pool playing with Brayden...I mean Hector and a few of the other "normal" kids and dad she was hanging out with this cruise.

We let her play for several hours and then it was time to drag her out of the pool to go get showers and get ready for dinner that night. We had given her the option to go with us (and get food from the kids meal) or go to the buffet or O'Sheehans before or after our dinner. She opted to go with us. She likes to dress up and go places.

She brought her graduation dress and heals with her and strutted her stuff like she was an adult that night. LOL

We had a little bit of time to kill before our reservation time and decided to check out the buffet to see the decorations for the night.

It must have been fruit and vegetable night....

Just kidding...it was Caribbean night.

And this is how I knew it was Caribbean night....

We headed off to dinner at Moderno. I'm not a meat person, but read they had meats other than red meat and figured I'd do the chicken and still have a great time. Hubby likes red meat sometimes and Sakari loves it. So, I figured why not try it out for the experience.

We were instantly seated and Sakari was handed the kids meal and a crayon. She looked at me like "I'm not a child". LOL

The waitress photo bombed our picture and I just laughed because the hubby had no idea.

So Moderno is a Brazilian steakhouse. It comes with quite the salad bar and I could (and basically did) fill up on just that alone. There's a wide selection of freshly prepared salads, tuna, French beans, potato, shrimp and roasted garlic, hearts of palm, ceviche, European cured meats and artisan cheeses. Meat comes to the table on skewers and is sliced off  and you put it on your plate. It is one price and as much as you can eat. They give you little cards: one side is green that means bring more meat and the other side is red which means hold all meat for the moment.

Everything comes around, so you don't order anything off the menu, but they give you one anyhow.

We started off with the salad bar

Everything was excellent.

They brought out side dishes to go with the meats.

Sakari is a big soup lover. So, she went with the soup.

Now remember....this place was booked to capacity and we hadn't been able to get in all week until now. I had checked several times a day and an opening popped up for this day and I booked. After booking, there were no more available seats. But here's what it looked like in the restaurant.

Then the meats started to come out. I was happy to see they had sausages.

I also tried the bacon covered chicken. I have to say I didn't really like it too much. The consistency of the chicken was weird.

Then they brought out some red meat. I said I'd try it, but all I could see was the red uncooked portion and I thought I would vomit at that point. I know a lot of people eat their meat this way but I just can't stomach it. Knowing it's not cooked...yak

However, I ended up giving mine to Sakari and she loved it. 

They then brought out this pineapple OH EM GEE! It was heaven! Roasted in cinnamon and brown sugar. I absolutely loved it! I let Sakari try a bite and she fell in love and said it was the best thing she had ever tasted. LOL

I loved it so much I had them bring out more because that would be my dinner. LOL 

I had tried lamb before and I don't like the taste at all. The hubby had tried it as well (back on Epic in 2010) and didn't care for it either. But, it's been years and he thought he'd try it. Nope, he immediately spit it out. He let Sakari try it....

She had a weird look on her face and said she really didn't care for it but it was "ok". She said she'd much rather have the pineapple. LOL

After dinner we headed back to the room for the night.