Belize port

[Sea Legs]

We are on a November cruise and I am wondering if there is more than one port in Belize.  Our itinerary is for Harvest Caye, Belize.  I was looking at tours and some said they could not pick up at Harvest Caye port due to the distance to the city.

[YankeesFan4Life]

Harvest Cay is NCL's private island.  You need to pay for EVERYTHING there!  There are ferry's to other places for other excursions. I looked into it, but didn't make much sense, because the timing didn't work out.  Check out the Belize forum in the Ports section for more info/questions maybe?

[Tapi]

Harvest Caye is a “private island” concept, not the Belize mainland. If you wish to explore deeper into Belize, look for itineraries that stop in Belize City, from where you can then go deeper into the country. 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Sea Legs said:

We are on a November cruise and I am wondering if there is more than one port in Belize.  Our itinerary is for Harvest Caye, Belize.  I was looking at tours and some said they could not pick up at Harvest Caye port due to the distance to the city.

Harvest Caye is a NCL owned private island and the port call is intended to be a beach day. Because of the variables of getting to/from the mainland, consider an NCL ShoreEx to minimize the chance of getting left behind. 

[Sea Legs]

Thanks so much for this feedback!!  Is the beach there walking distance from the pier?

[GA Dave]

Yes.  See attached.  The beach is free.  There is also a wonderful pool which is free too.  The only thing you really pay for is food & drink, which is the same as any other port.

 

Edited October 14, 2019 by GA Dave

[ColeThornton]

8 minutes ago, Sea Legs said:

Thanks so much for this feedback!!  Is the beach there walking distance from the pier?

 

 

https://www.ncl.com/harvest-caye

[salty dingo]

Once several years ago we did a self-guided tour to Caye Caulker. This was very inexpensive compared to a ship excursion, and it goes to a nice bohemian beach town where the streets are made of sand. We had a bite in a seaside restaurant and walked the town before catching the ferry back to the port.

 

The ferry terminal is right next to the port but you need to walk outside the gates and down a few yards to the left to get to the ferry building to buy tickets. They were pretty cheap and the ride took about 45 minutes and was very interesting.

 

Be sure and know the return ferry time and be there on time when it arrives in Caye Caulker - we knew if we missed that we would miss the last tender to the ship so we showed up about 30 minutes early and waited for it.

 

This is probably not a trip for everyone but a fantastic way to have a great excursion for very little $$ for those willing to do the research.

 

[ggTexasGal]

14 minutes ago, salty dingo said:

Once several years ago we did a self-guided tour to Caye Caulker. This was very inexpensive compared to a ship excursion, and it goes to a nice bohemian beach town where the streets are made of sand. We had a bite in a seaside restaurant and walked the town before catching the ferry back to the port.

 

The ferry terminal is right next to the port but you need to walk outside the gates and down a few yards to the left to get to the ferry building to buy tickets. They were pretty cheap and the ride took about 45 minutes and was very interesting.

 

Be sure and know the return ferry time and be there on time when it arrives in Caye Caulker - we knew if we missed that we would miss the last tender to the ship so we showed up about 30 minutes early and waited for it.

 

This is probably not a trip for everyone but a fantastic way to have a great excursion for very little $$ for those willing to do the research.

 

Caye Caulker is fine "IF" NCL ship goes to Belize City!  It is NOT an option, due to distance, from Harvest Caye.

 

For those going to Harvest Caye:

Your walk off the ship would be similar to that of some other ports.  There is a covered walkway for part of the trip.  There are "misters" in parts of the island.  You may come and go, as you please. So, while food and beverage are NOT provided free of charge on the island, you could eat/drink on the ship and still enjoy "time at the beach/pool!"
You might want to read this:  https://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=8216

[salty dingo]

3 minutes ago, ggTexasGal said:

Caye Caulker is fine "IF" NCL ship goes to Belize City!  It is NOT an option, due to distance, from Harvest Caye.

Yes, the ferry terminal is in Belize City. I've never been on a cruise which stopped in Belize and did not tender into Belize City.

[roger001]

Actually, a port stop at Harvest Caye should not be advertised as a stop in Belize.  Confuses folks.  

[GA Dave]

9 minutes ago, roger001 said:

Actually, a port stop at Harvest Caye should not be advertised as a stop in Belize.  Confuses folks.  

I think the reason they do that is per the agreement they have with the government of Belize.  Although NCL technically owns the island, it is still legally a part of Belize and virtually all of the employees working the island are citizens of Belize.  We had a wonderful server taking care of us at our pool cabana during our stop there and she told us that the revenue the people in her small village earn working at Harvest Caye has greatly improved their village.

[kren250]

1 hour ago, salty dingo said:

Yes, the ferry terminal is in Belize City. I've never been on a cruise which stopped in Belize and did not tender into Belize City.

 

The OP, however, is going to Harvest Caye, so it’s irrelevant what is available in Belize City. It would be like if someone asked about Cozumel, and I gave them options for Costa Maya instead. Two totally different ports. 

[salty dingo]

11 minutes ago, kren250 said:

 

The OP, however, is going to Harvest Caye, so it’s irrelevant what is available in Belize City. It would be like if someone asked about Cozumel, and I gave them options for Costa Maya instead. Two totally different ports. 

Yeah, I get it. I was not paying attention and thought Harvest Caye was an excursion from Belize City, so my info was irrelevant, unless someone is actually on a cruise which calls on Belize City.

[smithop]

I hope you get to stop there!  We went last October and it was too windy to dock there, the ship could literally not get close enough to the dock to tie off.  We could hear the engines rev up and see clouds of sand in the water from the side thrusters but the wind was pushing harder.  We ended up with an extra sea day and got to Costa Maya early.

 

I can recommend a tour in Costa Maya, we went to one of the Mayan ruins then had lunch with a local indigenous family.  Thenativechoice dot com.

[tccloutier]

I'm Glad this was posted. There are 9 of us friends going and we would like to do 1 beach day together. Sounds like this is the port we will most likely do it at since the excursions are so limited.

[dbrown84]

If you're interested in going to mainland Belize, there is a shuttle that will take you from Harvest Caye.  I think it's about $40 round trip.  As others have said, you can go to the Belize board here on CC to read about it.  I've been to Harvest Caye a few times and usually use it as a nice beach day.  My next cruise, we're in Harvest Caye for 12 hours, so I'm going to take the ferry over to the mainland for a few hours.  I have the $50 shore excursion credit, which will cover the cost of the ferry.

[smplybcause]

5 hours ago, GA Dave said:

Yes.  See attached.  The beach is free.  There is also a wonderful pool which is free too.  The only thing you really pay for is food & drink, which is the same as any other port.

 

 

 

Wow! The pier has a cover! That's a nice touch. I wish more weren't a long walk uncovered. 

[GA Dave]

12 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

 

Wow! The pier has a cover! That's a nice touch. I wish more weren't a long walk uncovered. 

And there are large golf cart type vehicles (see left side of photo) to carry people who do not want to walk.

Edited October 14, 2019 by GA Dave

[Diane67B]

I absolutely loved my stop in Belize. It was very relaxing and a very beautiful place to spend the day. We spent the day between the beach and pool.

[roger001]

It's a nice place, well done.  However, beware  that the food and drink prices are like really high.  Last time thought I'd just stop in  one of the lounges and have a cool one.  One cup of Belikin beer...$9.   Was good....but not that good.   

 

Edited October 14, 2019 by roger001