By Arthur Frommer

The recent tendency of the cruise lines to eliminate port stops in actual cities inhabited by local residents replacing those ports with stops in phony, artificial "private islands" or "private beaches" has now escalated. By creating a phony island for their passengers on Caribbean cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line has given us the phony island to end all such fakes.

It's called "Harvest Caye," and it's a separate small island developed by the cruise line, reachable by a 15-minute boat ride from the mainland of southern Belize. Passengers are disembarked on Harvest Caye, from which they walk under a canopy shielding them from the sun to the various facilities on this private island. If travelers want to experience the real Belize, they could take the boat ride to the mainland, but I would assume that this further trip primarily is for people signing up for an escorted sightseeing tour of the mainland. I am guessing that few passengers would board that boat and, after arriving, walk close to 3 miles to the Placencia Village on the mainland.

Rather, the facilities on the private island are designed to keep passengers rooted there, spending money at the various enticing comforts and attractions of Harvest Caye.

The island has hundreds and hundreds of chaise lounges, several villas for daylong rent, several restaurants charging for their meals, an entire shopping village, a giant swimming pool, a zoo (of all things) and every other artificial attraction meant to keep passengers from ever experiencing the nature and community life of Belize.

And what about Belize itself? Is it worth visiting? The answer to that would cause long-time visitors to Belize to sputter with indignation. Belize is one of the great ecological adventure areas of the world. It sports caves for tubing, waterfalls for swimming under, exotic birds and every sort of sealife manatees, particularly, and lobsters as well. Several organizations seeking to protect the unique and enthralling environment of Belize are apoplectic with anger over what developments like Harvest Caye will do to their cherished area.

The Norwegian Cruise Line passengers spending their day at Harvest Caye see and experience nothing of Belize they might as well have stayed at home and visited a heated day spa or steam bath. They have not experienced any kind of foreign travel, an experience that, to me, is one of the chief rewards of booking aboard a traditional cruise. I, for one, will avoid those cruises that substitute so-called private islands for actual real-life islands and communities.

Arthur Frommer is the pioneering founder of the Frommer's Travel Guide book series. He co-hosts the radio program, The Travel Show, with his travel correspondent daughter Pauline Frommer. Find more destinations online and read Arthur Frommer's blog at frommers.com.

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Frommer: Dumbing down the cruise experience - News Chief