Day 1- Key West:
Key West was our first stop of the cruise. We hadn’t booked any excursions and were just planning on walking around. We ended up docking on a Navy Base, so shuttles transported cruise guests to the downtown area. Once dropped off, we walked around some of the souvenir shops. Our shuttle driver mentioned something about “Truman’s Little White House”, so we decided to check it out. It was only about a two block walk from the shops, so that was nice. We didn’t want to pay for a tour, but they had a few free exhibits inside that we enjoyed. Turns out, a few U.S. Presidents used this house to conduct official business when visiting Key West. They also had a cool gift shop with tons of political items inside. We ended up heading back to the ship after walking around for around two hours and spent the rest of the day laying out by the pool.
Day 2- Sea Day:
Our second day was originally supposed to be a stop in Freeport, but due to damage from the recent hurricane the itinerary was changed to make this a sea day. With this ship being relatively small, it isn’t really built to keep guests busy on an entire sea day. We played a few games of bingo and laid out on beach chairs most of the day. But after spending most of the previous day doing the same thing, we were a little bored and ready to get off the ship on Day 3.
Day 3- Atlantis:
Atlantis was by far the best day of our week. Even though it was $30 more a person to book through the cruise ship, we decided that was the best option because we didn’t want to waste time figuring out where to go within Atlantis or arranging transportation. This day was absolutely incredible and I’ve shared an entire blog post about this day here.
Day 4- Great Stirrup Cay:
Great Stirrup Cay was an amazing experience, and the perfect way to end our vacation. GSC is a private island owned and operated by Norwegian. Because of this, all the food is included with your cruise and drinks on the island are included if you have the unlimited drink package. Beach chairs are set up along the beach and are available for use at no additional cost. Norwegian does offer excursions, but with everything else being included, it’s easy to just make this stop a no-cost beach day. We ended up renting a Clamshell for $30. It’s essentially a retractable shade that’s large enough to cover two chairs. We opted for it because guests who rent clamshells, are taken to a less crowded area of the beach where chairs are more spread out. We also liked the privacy and shade it provided.
Norwegian also lets you rent snorkel masks, flippers, floating mats, and life vests for an additional charge. We brought our own snorkel masks with us and ventured out in the early afternoon. We didn’t see a ton of fish, but there were a few colorful ones here and there. Another benefit of the beach is that there are a ton of lifeguards spread across the island keeping an eye on the guests, so you always feel safe out in the water. As far as food goes, there’s a regular buffet with options like pizza, burgers, hot dogs, and jerk chicken. There’s also a taco hut which offers fish tacos, beef tacos, or chicken tacos. The only bad thing about this day was that Matt and I each came home with at least 20 itchy bug bites that made the following days a bit uncomfortable. So, make sure you bring bug spray with you!
Priority Access:
With Priority Access, we were supposed to get a number of perks during our cruise. These perks included a $50 spa credit (which we learned once aboard had many restrictions), canapés delivered to our state room one night (we didn’t eat them), an express line when getting on the ship (had to ask several employees, but we did end up getting to move to the front of the line), and a waived breakfast room service fee. The basic breakfast room service of muffins, cereal, coffee, etc. is free for all guests. However an extended menu with two omelette options, hash browns, and french toast has a $7.95 fee that is waived for guests who paid for Priority Access. The main reason that we wanted the Priority Access was so we could have priority when taking the tender to Great Stirrup Cay on the last day. Wait times are usually pretty long (some guests said they waited over an hour in line) and we were happy we were on the first tender and got to the island early to claim a good spot. I think for $35 each, it wasn’t a terrible deal. But I do hope that they work out these kinks soon.
Going Home:
The flight that Norwegian booked for us to return home left Miami at 7PM. Because we didn’t want to wait at the airport all day, we decided to book a day pass to use the pool of a nearby resort. We used ResortPass and decided to spend the day at the Trump International Beach Resort in Miami. Their day pass gave us access to the large pool, hot tubs, beach, chairs, umbrellas, and towels. This allowed us to soak up just a little more sunshine before heading home.
Overall Impression:
Matt and I had a wonderful time on this cruise, but don’t have any plans to take another Norwegian cruise again anytime soon. We did really love our room, the unlimited drinks, and the stops this voyage had, but with the limited options for food and entertainment we felt like we were having to seek out amusement ourselves and it didn’t really compare to cruises we had taken on other lines in the past. However, we might consider a Norwegian cruise again if we found a deal that had us traveling on one of their newer ships with more dining and entertainment options. And, I do think this cruise would be a great deal for someone who has never cruised before. Even though the amenities aren’t as plentiful as other ships or cruise lines, the prices were unbeatable. No other cruise line that I know of runs promotions that give guests access to airfare deals like Norwegian does or offers their unlimited drink packages for free. While it may not be everything we were looking for, this cruise would be ideal for a group of friends wanting to take an affordable spring break trip (with unlimited alcohol!) or for a couple or family that has never cruised before and wants to try a cheaper option for their first trip.
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