NCL Sky
4 Day Havana (Overnight) & Great Stirrup Cay Cruise - May 6, 2019
After eyeing the cruises to Cuba for awhile, we decided to book a short one for 2019. Our budget wasn’t very big after a year filled with two destination weddings for friends, but we found the perfect 4-day itinerary on NCL Sky that included an overnight in Havana, Cuba.
Itinerary
Monday - May 6 - Miami, FL
Tuesday - May 7 - Havana, Cuba
Wednesday - May 8 - Havana, Cuba
Thursday - May 9 - Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas
Friday - May 10 - Miami, FL
Embarkation Day
After stepping on board the Norwegian Sky we went straight to the dining room to have lunch. This is something we love about NCL! After lunch, we did the spa tour then walked around the ship for a bit. The NCL Sky was refurbished earlier this year and you could tell, everything looked so fresh and new. We then went to The Local Bar & Grill for some mojitos. This would end up being one of our favorite spots on this cruise ship.
Once they announced that staterooms were open, we headed down to our room. Due to a limited budget, we booked an oceanview stateroom for this voyage. We always try to book a balcony, but the balcony rooms were almost $1000 more for a 4-day cruise, which didn’t seem worth it to us. We were in room #8259 and found it plenty spacious enough for the two of us.
Soon it was time for the Muster Drill. After the drill, it was time for sail away, but it would be a rainy one this cruise. We headed over to the spa raffle and won a $100 spa credit! We decided to put it towards a couples massage the morning of our port day in Great Stirrup Cay.
Before dinner, we went to Sugarcane Mojito Bar for (you guessed it) mojitos! Then we went to the Crossings Main Dining Room (MDR) for dinner. The Premium Plus Beverage Package was included for everyone sailing on this ship, which included certain wines by the bottle. We ordered a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape to pair with our meal.
When we arrived back to our stateroom after dinner, we had a letter from Onboard Management letting us know that they would be replacing our bathroom door the next day while we were out in port, and they were giving us a $100 onboard credit (OBC) for the inconvenience. I personally didn’t see anything wrong with our door, and we would be off the ship until late afternoon the next day, so it wasn’t a bother, but I’m not one to turn down free OBC!
Havana, Cuba
We got up early for breakfast and to collect our disembarkation ticket. After double checking that we had our Passport and Cuban Visa (required to get off the ship) we waited for our disembarkation group number to be called. After exiting the ship and going through the immigration process we went to meet our guide, Isbel. For our day (and night) in Havana, we booked a private tour through Blexie after reading glowing reviews on Cruise Critic.
On our tour we visited the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, Romeo y Julieta Cigar Factory, Fusterlandia, Jose Marti Memorial, and Plaza de la Revolucion. Our driver even let Jay drive the classic car for a little bit! Isbel and our driver took us to El Tablao de Pancho for lunch where we enjoyed some delicious ropa vieja and mojitos (I’m sensing a theme for this cruise).
After lunch, we started our walking tour of Old Havana where we visited the El Capitolio, which is designed after the United States Capitol. Next was the Grand Theater of Havana, El Floridita, the Bacardi Building, Havana Cathedral, Museo de la Revolucion (which is housed in what was the Presidential Palace) and so much more. Before heading back to the ship, we stopped by the Museo del Ron Havana Club to purchase some bottles of rum to take home. We said goodbye to Isbel and thanked him for the great tour. We confirmed the time to meet our driver for the evening, then got back on board the NCL Sky.
First, we showered and got ready, then we went to the Palace MDR for dinner. The menu even had a special A Taste of Cuba menu which included a Cuban themed appetizer, entrée, desert, and two cocktails. After our meal, we got back off the ship and met our driver for the evening. He dropped us back off at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba where we enjoyed some pre-show drinks, a Cuba Libre and (yep) a Mojito. Then we were seated in the Cabaret Parisien and got ready for the show.
We really enjoyed the show, with the gorgeous costumes, spectacular singing and amazing dancing. Our driver was waiting for us and ready to take us to the Malecon for a night out. But, after the long day, we were absolutely exhausted and asked him to take us back to the ship. We had a wonderful time in Cuba and we can’t wait to come back to visit.
Havana, Cuba/At Sea
The ship left Havana, Cuba at 6am this morning, so today was really a sea day. We went down to the Crossings MDR and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. After our fill of eggs and bacon, we went to the shops and found one of Jay’s favorite colognes. Then we headed up to the Spinnaker Lounge.
At 11:30 we went to the Bliss Ultra Lounge for the How to Run A Floating Hotel talk with the Captain, Chief Engineer, General Manager, and Cruise Director. After the talk, Jay went back to the stateroom for a nap, and I went up to The Local Bar & Grill to read. For lunch, I had pizza at La Cucina Italian Restaurant. At 4:15 we met back up at Bliss for some Game of Thrones trivia.
Tonight we had 7:00pm dinner reservations at Cagney’s Steakhouse. This was one of our favorite restaurants on the NCL Pearl and it didn’t disappoint on the Sky! At 10:00pm we went up to the pool deck for the White Hot Party.
Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas
After an early breakfast, we went to the spa for our couples massage! From the window in the spa we could see Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s private island, which we would be visiting later this morning, and CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island. We enjoyed our massage, then went back to the stateroom to get ready for a beach day.
We took a tender over to Great Stirrup Cay and found some beach chairs near the Patron Beach Bar. We swam for a bit, then got back in our chairs to dry off. We had lunch at Abaco Taco then headed back to the water. After drying off a final time, we headed back to the tenders and back on board the Norwegian Sky.
We cleaned up then went to The Local Bar & Grill for pre-dinner drinks. We enjoyed our final dinner on board in the Crossings MDR then went to the theater to see the Showdown. After the show, we went back to our stateroom to pack. It’s always such a sad sight to see all the suitcases lined up in the hallway.
Miami, FL
We woke up to our ship back home in South Florida. We went up to the buffet for a quick breakfast, then grabbed our bags and got in line to disembark the ship. While sad that our cruise was over, we already had our next cruise booked and had a lot to plan for it. Next September, we’ll be sailing on the Carnival Mardi Gras transatlantic cruise from Southampton, England to New York City. Until then, happy cruising!
