HARVEST CAYE BACKGROUND INFO
Harvest Caye is a private island owned by Norwegian Cruise Line. NCL Holding also owns Regent and Oceania cruise lines as well as NCL. The 75 acre island lies off southern Belize operations as a cruise destination began in November 2016. The island has a beach, swimming pool, saltwater lagoon for water sports, dining venues, a lighthouse with two ziplines, and a pier so we can dock there. NCL employs 400 Belizeans on the island. There is a Jimmy Buffet’s Bar & Grill and a small shopping village also.
The island is just a half mile or so off the coast of southern Belize and there are boats running back and forth. Several of the ship’s tours will be on the mainland so it requires about a 40 minute boat ride to begin those tours.
Our position today just off coast of Belize.
Last Evening
Only our next door neighbors and Marcia came our for the Block Party. They are in the suite between us and Marcia. Nice folks from San Antonio.
Back to the Mariner Lounge after the Block Party for pre-dinner cocktail. This is Rambo next Marcia. He has been working on Regent cruises for years and years. Super nice guy.
At 7:00 we met Jenn Teegen and Kevin, her hubby, at the entrance to Compass Rose restaurant. I had requested to be seated at one of Mario's tables, which they did.
This is Mario with Jenn. Mario has also been working for Regent for many years. He is a favorite waiter for many of us long time Regent cruisers. Unfortunately, there was a large group seated at the big Captain's table next to us (no officers with with this group). They were so loud we asked to change tables. Certainly glad we did.
I had taken our nice champagne at noon so they could have it chilled for our dinner. John, the head sommelier is about to open it for us.
Rebecca and I always enjoy the panko coated shrimp as an appetizer. On past cruises we have ordered it as our entrees. Of course, we order a dozen instead of the two here.
I had chicken kiev for my entree. A bit too dry tonight.
Everyone else had the Szechuan beef stir fry and said it was delicious.
They call this dessert "malva pudding" with butter pecan ice cream on it. Oh, so good!!!!!! One of my favorites. Everyone enjoyed one except Rebecca as she does not eat desserts.
This is Jenn & Kevin with Gertie, our waitress. We have known Gertie also for many years. We really enjoyed our dinner with Jenn & Kevin. Jenn's corporate title is a long one: Director of Guest Engagement and Experimental Marketing.
After dinner we went to the theater for this production cast show. There are 12 young performers in the cast: 6 singer/dancers and 6 more just dancers. Most are from the US but two are from the UK and one is from Brazil. We enjoyed the show, but in my opinion, the singers were not quite as good as on previous cruises. Below are some photos taken during the show.
It was an action packed show with lots of great music. These kids put their heart and soul into the show for us. They will be doing another show tonight.
Today
As I worked on today's blog post I decided to run up to Deck 12 to take some photos while Rebecca was on the treadmill. As you can see the pier is a very long one to the island. There are some shuttles to take folks in.
Lots of mangroves around the island.
There are several tours here but most all involve water sports or the beach.
Deck 12 is the sports deck so I took some photos from up there.
There is a walking/jogging track above the pool deck (deck 11).
Pickle Ball court on back of Deck 12.
Golf driving cage.
Putt Putt
Below on deck 11 is the pool grill with tables below in this photo.
Pool bar and grill on other side out of view.
Hot tubs
On the front of deck 12 is the Observation Lounge with a nice view out in from of the ship.
I then went down to Deck 7 (the deck our suite is on) for some photos. On the back of the deck is the spa on one side and fitness center on the other.
Cardio area where Rebecca comes to use one of the 4 treadmills here.
There is a room for classes and spin bikes.
There are even some energy drinks.
Also on our Deck 7 just aft of the suites is the Casino and Boutiques. So here are some photos of them. The both are always closed when in all ports due to foreign customs regulations.
In case you run out of money in the casino there is this ATM. Or you get a cash advance down at Reception.
Across from the Casino is the Boutiques. Duty and tax free shopping. They have a lot of fine jewelry, perfumes, some designer clothes, some non-prescription meds, and personal grooming things in case you forgot to pack something.
Hallway along the boutiques that leads to the suites. Our suite is just 5 suites down from the boutiques and casino.
This is one of several stairwells that are used by the crew. Crew members are not allowed to use elevators. Ship's officers can use the passenger elevators however. Stairwell is spotless!
Mid morning after Rebecca returned from the treadmill and was getting cleaned up, I took our Dallas Morning News paper down to read in Coffee Connection. Marcia was there having her coffee so I joined her and we had a nice chat.
On the way back to my suite I stopped and chatted with Donna at the Restaurant Reservations desk. You would come here to make dinner reservations in Prime7 or Chartreuse.
The beautiful Caribbean waters.
At noon we dined up in La Veranda. Was wanting some lobster nachos but they do not have them on Mariner. So I decided on some spicy chicken wings. Tomorrow night we will be dining up in Sette Mari (Italian).
On my way into La Veranda I ran into the Food & Beverage Director and Beverage manager. I arranged a dinner reservation (normally no reservations accepted in Sette Mari) at 7pm for 10 people. During lunch I spoke with Armando and Chef Megh pictured above. Armando is the maitre d in Sette Mari so asked if he had heard about our plan for tomorrow night. He had. I then talked with the chef about how I wanted my veal parmesan prepared. I even had a couple photos to show him. He said no problem as he remembered me from the 2022 world cruise and how I like my veal parm. Great memory! Armando said he would come down to our table in Compass Rose tonight to see how many veal parms we needed. I know Marcia and I want one. It is not on tomorrow's menu so we have to special order it tonight.
This is La Veranda during breakfast and lunch but will be turned into Sette Mari for dinner.
As I walked past the Coffee Connection there was Peter (on left). He is one of my favorite bartenders and friend. He was just as happy to see me as I was to see him. He said he was bartender in the Horizon Lounge at night. I will have to go there some evening. The other bartender is Komang.
Ok, it is now 4pm so I will finish today's post now. AS A REMINDER, IT IS BEST TO CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM FOR BETTER VIEWING. I just dropped off our flight information at the Destination Desk as they are already planning for disembarkation when we arrive back in Miami.
Tonight's menu in Compass Rose.
Tonight is the Seven Sea Society cocktail party in the theater at 6:00. It is our favorite night for dinner in Compass Rose as miso glazed sea bass is on the menu. This is our favorite entree on Regent ships. At 9:30 there is another production cast show in the theater, "Tuxedo".
Tomorrow we will be in Costa Maya, Mexico.
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