30Nov2023 Thursday Fly from New Orleans to Fort Lauderdale on Jet Blue.
Silas drove us from home to the New Orleans airport. We spent the night at the Hampton Inn – Ft. Lauderdale Airport North Cruise Port
1Dec2023 Friday Boarding the Norwegian Cruise ship “Norwegian Sky”
Used Lyft for transfer from Hampton Inn to Miami Cruise Port. Boarded Norwegian Cruise ship “Norwegian Sky”. Our cabin number was 8307, an inside cabin aft forward dead center of deck 8 The cruise ship departed Miami at 5:30 pm. Had dinner at “The Crossings” on deck 5.
2Dec2023 Saturday Sea day aboard the ship traveling to the Dominican Republic.
We attended a Cruise Critic “Meet & Mingle at 11 am. Although an estimated 75 had signed up for the meeting, approximately 20 showed up and nothing of consequence was discussed. Breakfast was at the Garden Cafe on Deck 11, lunch at the “Palace Cafe on Deck 5, and dinner at “The Crossings” on Deck 5.
3Dec2023 Sunday The ship arrives at Taino Bay in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
The port appears dedicated to Norwegian Cruise Line ships. There was a water park right off the port with many shops aimed at the cruise passengers, a large swimming pool, and a “lazy river”. Our biggest issue with the area was the music around the pool was too loud. All chairs around the pool were taken but we were able to find hammocks and chairs away from the pool near the “lazy river”. The water in the pools was cool but we did spend some time going around the “lazy river” once. We spent all our time on shore in this area. Breakfast was in the Garden Cafe and dinner at “The Crossings”. We also discovered a nice quiet bar for cocktails called “The Local Bar and Grill” on deck 11.
4Dec2023 Monday The ship arrives in San Juan, Puerto Rico
The ship docked at Pier 3 which is outside of the old San Juan city center. We used the app GPSmycity to plot a walking tour of old San Juan. Puerto Rico, a USA territory, has all the conveniences in the USA mainland. Old San Juan is much hillier than expected for an island and many of its streets were brick instead of paved. We could enter using my Senior National Park pass. After visiting the fort, we stopped at a small restaurant/bar for a beer for me and a cocktail for Marinda. The city was in the process of being decorated for Christmas. We stopped at a restaurant called “Raices Old San Juan” on the walk back to the ship. Marinda ordered croquettes and I ordered a plate of Puerto Rican sausages, both were exceptional. Breakfast was in the Palace Cafe, one of the main “formal” dining rooms on the ship, and dinner at “The Crossings”.
5Dec2023 Tuesday The ship arrives at Philipsburg, St. Maarten.
We were pre-booked on a snorkeling trip with Capt.Bob speed boat/snorkeling/beach tour. After a rough ride, our first stop was at Isla de pinel (Pinel Island) a nature preserve on the French side of St. Maarten. It is a pretty beach with chairs available to rent and bar/restaurant which we didn’t visit. The second stop was Creole Rock for snorkeling. The rock is surrounded by mostly dead coral with some fish and turtles. Our next stop was at one end of Long Beach, beautiful water but nothing to see just some nice swimming. The last stop was at Maho Beach to watch the big jets take off and land right above the beach. Breakfast was in the Garden Cafe, lunch was sandwiches provided by the tour and dinner was at “The Crossings”.
6Dec2023 Wednesday The ship arrives in Basseterre, St. Kitts.
We exit the ship, walking through a typical shopping area seen at all ports until reaching the area where beach taxis can be commissioned. I got the price from one gentleman of $28 for one way to Discovery Beach our destination. A woman gave us a price of $7 per person one way with assurances that she would meet us when we were ready to return. She then set us aside to recruit other beachgoers to fill her taxi, this took about 20 minutes to gather a total of 6 passengers. Then, on the way to our destination, she began campaigning for all of us to go to Cockleshell Beach for an additional $3 per person. We stuck to our original destination but the others decided to go to Cockleshell Beach. She dropped us off at the Shipwreck Beach bar/restaurant which was a short distance from Discovery Beach Bar & Grill. At Discovery Beach, we rented 2 beach loungers for $20. The beach and water were excellent and we soon found that the individual who ran the Discovery Beach bar/restaurant made an outstanding rum punch and ginger chicken. When we left the beach to return to the ship, the woman who brought us to the beach informed us that she was looking for another driver (she may have filled her taxi with riders from Cockleshell Beach?). After being rejected by several other drivers, she was able to locate one who agreed to carry us back to the ship. The gentleman worked through GetYourGuide and was much more professional than the woman who we had first hired. Breakfast was in the Garden Cafe, lunch was previously mentioned garlic chicken wings and dinner was at “The Crossings”.
7Dec2023 Thursday The ship arrives in St. John’s, Antigua.
On leaving the ship, we were able to locate a taxi to take us to Turner’s Beach. The taxi drivers wore yellow shirts and the procurement of the taxi was considerably more professional than what we had experienced the day before. Turner’s Beach is actually the stretch of sand in front of Turner’s Restaurant. There we rented 2 beach loungers for $20. The beach was again excellent. We had lunch in Turner’s Restaurant. I had the local beer and a Heineken and Marinda had croquettes with a rum punch. Our taxi was waiting for us at the agreed time. Breakfast was in the Palace Restaurant, lunch was at Turner’s Restaurant (previously mentioned) and dinner was at “The Crossings”.
8Dec2023 Friday The ship arrives at St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
Today we booked our tour, St John Beach Break through Norwegian Cruise Line. We felt compelled to use Norwegian’s tour due to the time constraints placed on us by the short time we would be in St. Thomas (arriving at 6:30 am and leaving at 2 pm). Our tour began when we exited the ship. Everyone on the tour was collected and walked to a ferry for the trip to St. John’s Island (about a 30-minute ride). On St. John’s dock, we entered a “jungle (open air) taxi” which brought us to Trunk Bay (also about a 30-minute ride). We arrived around 10 am and were instructed to meet back at the “jungle taxi” at 12 pm for the ride back to the ship. Trunk Bay is a beautiful beach, but 2 hours is not enough time to appreciate all the beach has to offer. Breakfast was in the Garden Cafe and dinner was at “The Crossings”
9Dec2023 Saturday The day was spent “At Sea”, traveling from St. Thomas to Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.
The weather all day was overcast so nothing was happening around the pool. Marinda took the opportunity to play bingo and I attended a “Future Cruises” presentation. In the evening we had reservations at Cagney’s Restaurant, the ala carte steak restaurant onboard the ship. We were allowed one appetizer, one soup or salad, one entree, and one dessert. I chose tuna tartare for an appetizer which was minced tuna shaped into a patty. For my salad, I had the lettuce wedge and for an entree, I chose the ribeye steak, medium rare. The steak delivered was closer to medium than medium rare, so we requested a replacement steak properly prepared, The replacement steak was rare but a very poor cut of meat (I’d estimate about half was fat and grizzle therefore inedible). Based on a recommendation from a gentleman at the next table, I chose what was called “OMG cheesecake”. I would not use “OMG’ to describe the cheesecake, it was a large serving but unremarkable otherwise. This was not the best experience we have ever had at a “Cagney’s” on a Norwegian Cruise ship. Breakfast and lunch were both enjoyed in the Palace Restaurant.
10Dec2023 Sunday The ship arrives at Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.
Because of our gold latitude status, we were able to board the first tender from the ship to Great Stirrup Cay. The Sky was the only ship docked there that day so there were plenty of available chairs. Food and drink were all included as this is essentially Norwegian’s private island. The water was great and the weather was perfect. Breakfast was at the Garden Cafe and dinner was at “The Crossings”.
11Dec2023 Monday Last day of the cruise, the ship docks in Miami.
Left the ship shortly after 9 am. No problem going through customs. Upon leaving, began searching for the best way to get from the cruise port to Ft. Lauderdale’s airport. We had plenty of time so we really didn’t want to spend all day in the airport. While searching for transportation, Marinda walked up to a Norwegian employee to ask how we might get to the airport. The employee said we could catch a bus commissioned by Norwegian which was taking several other cruisers to the airport. The bus was waiting and needed two more cruisers (which happened to be us) before leaving. We jumped at the opportunity and by chance our only costs were tips Marinda handed to the Norwegian employee and the bus driver. At the airport, we had several hours to wait before we could board the airplane and had to endure nonstop Christmas music (put me off Christmas music for the rest of the holiday season). Our return flight was uneventful and Lorelei was able to drive us from the airport to our home. Breakfast was at the Garden cafe one last time, lunch was a shared “Bang-Bang” shrimp at the airport Bonefish Grill, and dinner was a shared sandwich at the Jack Nicholas airport restaurant.
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