Tag Archives: Belize

MSC Meraviglia Becomes Biggest Ship to Call in Manhattan

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MSC Meraviglia

The MSC Meraviglia made history in the early hours of Monday morning, October 7, as she became the largest cruise ship to dock in New York City as she berthed at the north end of Pier 88 at Manhattan Cruise Terminal. 

“We are so thrilled to welcome MSC Meraviglia, a truly beautiful ship, to the U.S. as she marks another major milestone for MSC Cruises in the North American market,” said Ken Muskat, EVP & Chief Operating Officer of MSC Cruises (USA). “Due to significant demand, for the first time in MSC Cruises history, we now have four distinct ships sailing in the region as MSC Meraviglia joins MSC Seaside, MSC Armonia and MSC Divina. With each ship offering its own unique design and guest experience inspired by our European heritage, we look forward to providing travellers with even more choice and variety to best fit their vacation needs.” 

Meraviglia in New York

Designed to sail in all seasons and climates, the MSC Meraviglia will begin her North America program with three cruises from New York, including two itineraries to New England and Canada and one repositioning to her new homeport in Miami.

On her first Caribbean sailing, departing from NYC on October 28, the MSC Meraviglia will be the first ship to call on Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, MSC Cruises’ new g private island destination in the Bahamas opening November 9, 2019.

From November 10, 2019, through April 5, 2020, MSC Meraviglia will sail two different seven-night western Caribbean itineraries visiting ports in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Belize, Honduras and The Bahamas. 

MSC Meraviglia

Following her inaugural season in Miami, MSC Meraviglia will then return to Northern Europe for summer 2020, from April to September.

Upon returning to the U.S. on October 2020, the MSC Meraviglia will once again do three 10-night sailings from New York to Canada & New England before then homeporting back in Miami for seven-night Caribbean sailings.

Norwegian Sun to Offer Cuba Cruises from PortMiami

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The Norwegian Sun is set for a short Cuba program from PortMiami

Norwegian Cruise Line put new cruises on sale to Cuba and the Caribbean aboard the Norwegian Sun round-trip from Miami, Florida.

“We are thrilled to reveal Norwegian Sun’s new fall 2018 itineraries, which will be the first time our brand has featured a call in Havana, Cuba on seven-day and longer cruises,” said Andy Stuart, president and chief executive officer for Norwegian Cruise Line. “These new itineraries offer a remarkable breadth of experiences for guests with a culturally immersive full day and evening in Havana, complemented by several visits to world-class destinations across the Caribbean and beyond.”

The Norwegian Sun will sail six new seven-day cruises from Miami departing on Sundays from September 9 through October 14.

Port calls include Havana, Cuba, Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian’s private island in the Bahamas; Costa Maya, Mexico and Harvest Caye, Belize. The ship’s nine-day Cuba and the Caribbean cruises will expand upon her seven-day sailings and also include additional visits to Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras and Cozumel, Mexico.

There’s also a 13-day Cuba, Caribbean and Panama Canal sailing on Oct. 30, with calls in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; Cartagena and Santa Marta, Colombia and Oranjestad, Aruba, among others.

Norwegian Cruise Line has also added a new five-day cruise to Cuba and the Bahamas from Port Canaveral on September 3. The new cruise will round out the ship’s season sailing from the Space Coast with an afternoon visit to Key West, Florida then heads to Havana for an overnight visit, followed a call in Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.

Belizean bliss at Norwegian’s Harvest Caye

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Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island, Harvest Caye, just off the coast of Belize, contains 11 mahogany-trimmed villas that can be rented for the day for $499. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst
 
Harvest Caye, a 78-acre island a mile offshore from southern Belize, might be the best in class in the cruise industry’s growing portfolio of privately built destinations in the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

Completed by Norwegian Cruise Line over the course of 31 months, the island has a combination of standout features.

To start with, it has a dock big enough to accommodate a megaship such as the 4,000-passenger Norwegian Getaway, the result of dredging more than a million cubic meters of sea bottom to make a channel.

Not having to tender to a private port makes everything safer, faster and more convenient for guests.

Also, while it feels like an island experience, Harvest Caye is only a 15-minute boat ride from mainland Belize, where available tours include the Mayan archaeological ruins, a tropical spice farm, a savannah ecotour by boat and a rainforest river tubing and rafting excursion. Prices for these experiences top out at $109.

 
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On the island, a nature center displays boa constrictors, scarlet macaws and toucans, the national bird of Belize. Run by Tony Garel, an award-winning naturalist recruited from the Belize Zoo, it is the only such center in a port owned by a cruise line.

One popular zoo feature is a screened butterfly house filled with bobbing, iridescent blue morphos.

 
A branded restaurant adds another dimension to Harvest Caye. The tropically themed, two-story LandShark Bar & Grill was designed by Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Holdings and is operated by local food purveyor Provisions Belize. The restaurant overlooks a 15,000-square-foot pool that, unlike those on most cruise ships, comes with lifeguard supervision.
Harvest Caye’s most visible feature is a 136-foot-tall lighthouse-like structure called the Flighthouse, an anchor for two ziplines, including the 1,300-foot Superman, in which riders fly prone, swooping low over the beach like a jet coming in for a landing at the airport. When both ziplines are running, guest services director Dan Drahozal said they can serve up to 192 people a day.
When a ship arrives around 8 a.m., guests will be greeted by a band playing drums and singing songs from the Afro-Caribbean Garifuna subculture in Belize. On the beach, 2,500 blue-cushioned loungers await.
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To beat the brutal summer heat in Belize, Harvest Caye is outfitted with an abundance of fans, misters and shade umbrellas. A low canopy also protects the pier walk from the ship to the entrance.
Several free-standing locker towers provide storage around the island for $5 a day. Harvest Caye’s shopping village is lushly landscaped with a variety of tropical plants and mostly local vendors, rather than the chains that crowd other ports of call.
Finally, it’s worth noting that many of the Harvest Caye buildings, including the 11 villas that rent out for $499 a day, are trimmed in tropical hardwood milled by a Mennonite community in Belize. It gives a richer-than-expected look to the beach architecture.
“Mahogany is widely used in this country because it’s so abundant,” said Dustin Bowen, CEO of Provisions Belize, “whereas in the [U.S.] it’s scarce and expensive.”