Harvest Caye Caye (Key Key)... Do You Love Me?
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Harvest Caye (Pronounced Key), Belize
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Hello from Harvest Caye!
We are counting our blessings and naming them one by one. We are so blessed to have been able to take this extravagant cruise with our kids and we are going to enjoy every minute. This day was full of gorgeous scenery and two turkeys took flight along this private island!
Morning
I woke up at 5:30AM and decided to look at the cabin telephone to check the ship’s time. Good thing since it was actually 6:30AM and we had an excursion booked for 8AM. For whatever reason, we did not do well with all of the time changes this cruise. I woke up the rest of the crew and we made our way to the Garden Cafe for our breakfast. We ate and then quickly got off the ship and made our way to the FlightHouse there on the island for our Zip Lining excursion.
Our very 1st view of the island at 6:30M.
This was taken around 7AM. It takes a WHILE to get into the island pier area.
Our view during breakfast. This was taken around 7:30AM.
Our view from our balcony. The ship backed in so we saw the outlaying islands nearby.
They loved the pier and walking to the beach.
A view of the Breakaway from the actual entrance to the island.
A time-lapse video of the ride from the ship to the official entrance of the island.
Hello from Harvest Caye.
This was taken around 7AM. It takes a WHILE to get into the island pier area.
Our view during breakfast. This was taken around 7:30AM.
Our view from our balcony. The ship backed in so we saw the outlaying islands nearby.
Mr. Turtle was available for pictures on the pier!
They loved the pier and walking to the beach.
A view of the Breakaway from the actual entrance to the island.
Hello from Harvest Caye.
Natalie and I use the $50 per port shore excursion credit given to us by NCL at the time of booking, on a Zipline tour of Harvest Caye. This was a great way to use the credit as it ended up costing us only $109 for BOTH OF US!
TIP- NCL typically offers "FREE AT SEA" perks when you book your cruise. The options for "Free at Sea" are: 1- 3 Night Specialty Dining, 2- Ultimate Beverage Package (Guest 1 and 2 in cabin only), 3- 250 Minutes of WiFi or 4- $50 credit per port for shore excursions. Typically NCL gives you 1 perk choice when booking an inside, 2 with an oceanview booking, 3 with a balcony booking and then ALL of them with a suite. When we booked this cruise on Black Friday 2017, our travel agent, CRUCON CRUISE OUTLET, offered ALL of them PLUS FREE GRATUITIES if you booked an Oceanview or higher. This meant we got ALL of these perks and $200 in gratuities at the time of booking. Furthermore, CRUCON CRUISE OUTLET also gave us $100 On Board Credit at the Black Friday sale and then and additional $50 loyalty OBC. We got a REALLY, REALLY good deal on this cruise!
We met at the FlightHouse (lighthouse) in the center of the island and signed a bunch of documents and waivers before getting suited for our harnesses. We watched a video and were debriefed before riding the elevator 90 feet above the island to our first traverse. Natalie met the height and weight requirement but they still gave her a “driver” to help her not get stuck on the zip lines. This driver basically rode with her on all of the traverses, except for the last one, where she rode by herself.
After our 1st traverse it began to rain and even pour. This made the course even more fun, although Natalie did not think so! There were 4 total traverses and a rope ladder to climb. On the last traverse, you had to lie down and fly over the ocean in a “Superman” pose. It was one of the most invigorating experiences of my life and I HIGHLY recommend it!
Chris and Luke spent the morning on the beach hoping to watch Natalie and I soar over the ocean, but Mother Nature had other plans. The temperature was in the high 70s but the rain and wind made it feel much cooler. Luke got a little cold in the hour they waited for us so Chris and him waited in the restaurant until the rain passed. Unfortunately, this meant they missed us flying over the ocean but that is OK! Natalie and I will NEVER forget those moments!
The area Chris and Luke waited during the rain.
Once Natalie and I got done with our zip lining adventure, we all spent time on the beach and in the ocean. The water was cold due to the morning rain but that did not stop us from having a great time.
A view of the beach area. Lots and LOTS of chairs.
TIP- You have to pay for the clam-shells. They are $39 for the DAY and can be booked via the Shore Excursion desk.
The water and weather were COLD!
TIP- You have to pay for the clam-shells. They are $39 for the DAY and can be booked via the Shore Excursion desk.
We spent the rest of the morning between the pool, Splash Pad and ocean. It rained on and off throughout the morning and the temperature never got any higher than 80*. After about 3 hours, Luke was very cold and asked to go back to the ship.
We all really enjoyed the MASSIVE pool.
Natalie took this crazy Slow-Motion video!
A time-lapse of our time spent in the pool!
The splash-pad area is really nice for kids 10 and younger. My kids LOVED it!
This is how Chris spent most of the morning... LUCKY DOG!
TIP- Harvest Caye offers a variety of activities for guests of all ages and especially for families of young children. Lounge chairs are available, free of charge, and umbrellas are there for shade. The island offers a kids Splash Pad area featuring a large bucket, slide and water sprayers. In addition, there is a GIANT pool in the center of the island that features a swim-up bar and various depths throughout the pool. We LOVE this island and it meets our needs perfectly. Plus it is all FREE!
Afternoon
We made our way back to the ship to get a bite to eat at O’Sheehans and change into dry clothes before making our way back off the ship to the private island. We enjoyed watching Thanksgiving football at O’Sheehans and enjoyed some Thanksgiving wings. TIP- The mid-day service at O’Sheehans was consistently the best.
Thanksgiving WINGS and Football in O'Sheehans!
Once we got off the ship, we met the Manager of the island as we were riding back to the entrance of the island. He and his wife live 5 minutes off shore and commute by boat every day. He spoke to us about the threat of hurricanes and he even mentioned that Hurricane Harvey, before it became a major storm, threatened the island and they had to evacuate everyone. It was a highly educational conversation and we loved getting to meet him.
This ship is SO BEAUTIFUL!
A view of the Breakaway from the pier area.
The kids and I explored the island while Chris sat at the entrance to avoid his foot swelling more than it already was. We went through the butterfly exhibit, looked at the toucan birds and visited the few gift shops on the island. After an hour or so, we made our way back on board to enjoy the ship before Thanksgiving dinner.
We love Harvest Caye! It is such a beautiful island!
Evening
We had reservations at The Manhattan Room (Elegant MDR) at 5:30PM and we got ready early to enjoy pre-dinner drinks and trivia in the atrium. This was trivia about ports of call and we all enjoyed learning about the cruises NCL offers.
Pre-Dinner Selfie!
The Manhattan Room is the "formal" dining room on the Breakaway.
It has a dress code of no shorts after 5PM.
It has a dress code of no shorts after 5PM.
We made our way to the Manhattan Room around 5:15PM hoping to get there early but about half the ship thought the same way and there were over 100 people in line ahead of us. We moved to the reservation line but still encountered a wait. I had requested an aft table to view the wake on the 1st day but our table had been given away, despite being EARLY to our reservation. This entrance was a MAD HOUSE and total chaos. After talking to other cruisers we met on this cruise, they all agree this was one of the biggest frustrations of their sailing. That is didn't bother us to much but it was a complaint we frequently heard. The Maitre’D found us a table and we sat down for Thanksgiving dinner.
Cheers to us and Happy Thanksgiving!
There were many traffic jams this evening. I was HIGHLY impressed with the waiters!
My Thanksgiving dinner! It was delicious!
A cake from the Chefs on board the Breakaway!
My Thanksgiving dinner! It was delicious!
A cake from the Chefs on board the Breakaway!
The service was sub par to say the very least and they were SWAMPED. There were large groups needing tables for 18-30 people and getting upset with the hostesses and waiters for slow service. We recognized their hard work and enjoyed our slow dinner. Luke ate 2 heaping helpings of “Green Bean Casserole” or their version of green beans and bacon and Natalie and I enjoyed splurging on Pumpkin flavored everything.
It was a great Thanksgiving and the best part… NO COOKING or CLEANING! I swear, after 2 cruises over this holiday, I want this to be my traditional Thanksgiving routine. It is just amazing and in my opinion, the perfect way to enjoy this holiday.
After dinner we quickly made our way to the Family Comedy show at the Headliner’s Comedy Club. Unfortunately, this was the same comedian that Chris and I saw on SeaDay 1 but the kids laughed and laughed at his corny jokes. This comedian was a substitute teacher by day and his jokes hit a little too close to home for these 2 teachers. It’s always funny to laugh at yourself!
We FINALLY ran into Armon, the cruise director, after the Comedy Show!
After the show we took the kids back to the room to change clothes and get ready for the Pirate Party at the Splash Academy. We had reserved tickets to the Broadway show “Rock of Ages” at 9:30PM which was for adults only so we knew we had to put the kids into the Kids Club. Chris took them to the Kids Club at 8PM and it was full. TIP- This is where NCL might have lost me as a MOM CUSTOMER. The limit for each group of the Kids Club (3-5, 6-9 and 10-12) was only 60 kids or less and each group had 8 or more workers. Now, I am a teacher and I literally teach 55 kids per class each and every day for 6 class periods a day. ARE YOU KIDDING ME NCL? The Splash Academy in general is TINY for the amount of passengers on the ship. We learned that on this voyage there were 4,687 passengers and 1,289 were under the age of 12. Yet NCL only had room for 120 of these 1,200. TEN PERCENT? TEN PERCENT!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Needless to say, I was a little upset and quite frankly IRATE. I called Guest Services and eventually spoke to the Kids Club manager who more or less told me to check back later. Around 8:45PM I took the kids back and was greeted by “Starfish”, the Splash Academy manager “Hello Mrs. Davis. Right this way. Let’s get Natalie and David checked in”. This was a little awkward but I didn’t hesitate and got them into the kids club just in time for our 9:30PM show. TIP- Again, NCL has a limited number of spots available for kids in the Splash Academy at any given time and is only open certain hours. On port days, the Splash Academy is closed from 5-7PM which is during prime-time dinner hours. Then once they open at 7PM, the adults have missed the 7PM entertainment. If the adults choose to see the later show at 9:30PM, they are forced to pay for “after hours care” which starts at 10:30PM. We have never seen anything like this with Carnival or Royal Caribbean and again, I believe NCL lost me as a cruising MOM. I will definitely still cruise NCL, but not with my kids! It is just not worth it!
The “Rock of Ages” show was #Fantastic and easily one of the Top 5 shows we’ve ever seen at sea. It IS, however, very much intended for mature audiences ONLY. Seriously… It was a little raunchy but the singers, dancers and actors were phenomenal.
The Finale of Rock of Ages!
It is worth standing in line for tickets! GO SEE IT!
It is worth standing in line for tickets! GO SEE IT!
After the show, Chris and I enjoyed more live entertainment at the Shakers Martini Bar and a few drinks before getting the kids after midnight.
This was an #OUTSTANDING way to spend the Thanksgiving holiday and if I had my way, I would do this EVERY year! Harvest Caye was GORGEOUS and the kids loved it and our time spent on board was just as good!
Here is our Day 5 Recap video!
Happy Thanksgiving Y’all!
Thanks again for following along!
Up Next… Costa Maya!
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