Bahama Cruise

          Seven days in the Caribbean you almost can’t have a bad experience. Great weather, good food, and plenty of fun and relaxation. This was our third cruise with Norwegian and we will definitely be doing another one. I have a lot to share, so this blog will be separated into sections so that you can skip to what matters to you. 

The Ship, our stateroom, and is priority access worth it? 

          We cruised on the Escape, which is one of Norwegians breakaway plus class ships. We did a shorter cruise on the Getaway in 2022 which is a breakaway class; the difference is huge. The breakaway plus is slightly larger ship than the breakaway class but has the same bars and restaurants. The difference is that you don’t feel as crowded on the breakaway plus ships and the service is better.; plus on the Getaway there was a line for everything. 

          We chose a large balcony room, the room size is the same as any balcony type room, but the larger balcony is worth extra cost for us. A regular balcony room has just enough space for 2 chairs and a small drink table. The large balcony had room for 2 chairs, table, and a lounger. We like to have coffee on the balcony every day so they extra space makes a difference for us. We have previously stayed in the club balcony suites, the difference there is a larger bathroom (double sink and bigger shower). Our next cruise we will do a Club Large Balcony room. 

          I see a lot of posts asking if the priority access is worth the price; this really depends on person traveling. We paid $224 for priority which has 3 main benefits. First, priority line for embarkation which only matters if you are trying to board during a ‘peak’ time of day. We try to get a boarding time of 10-11am which is a very busy time. So, the shorter line makes a big difference as we usually only have 3 or 4 people before us. Second, priority tenders which is important if you have any tender stops and especially if you have multiple tender stops. For tender ports you must sign up for a tender and these fill up fast. The priority group gets the first tender and first seating on all subsequent tenders, we don’t like to schedule much so we get priority whenever we show up. Last, priority for disembarkation which gets you off the ship with the first luggage tag group. If you have a tight deadline for flights or anything that day this will make all the difference. We like that we can disembark whenever we want to, just because you are in the first group does not mean you have to get off with that group. Also be aware that the port traffic gets backed up very quickly, so either plan to be off the ship with the first couple groups or wait till the last as traffic will be a stand still. When we disembarked there were 2 other cruise ships also returning the same morning; so that puts 15,000+ people tring to leave the port all at once.

Extras on board

Many take advantage of the Free at Sea with Norwegian which has the following built into the price of your cruise; unlimited drink package (service fee of $140 per person will be charged), 2 specialty dining meals, 150 minutes internet, and $50 shore excursion credit. However, there are plenty of additional options to purchase as well. 

Additional dining

          On a shorter cruise the 2-specialty dining meals are plenty as there are great complimentary dining options. However, we have found that on a 7-day cruise two additional specialty dining meals are worth it. The additional two meals are about $80 per person; or $40 per meal (plus a service fee). These restaurants are reservation expected and they only release 20% of the seating before the cruise. If you try to book and there are no options just wait until you board the ship, we had no problem getting everything we wanted booked the first day. We also noticed that expect for Cagney’s none of the restaurants were ever full, so if you have a small party, you can probably get a table anytime without a reservation. The Norwegian ships have multiple specialty options, we enjoyed dinner at the following:

• Bayamo by Ocean Blue – this was our favorite meal of the entire trip! The seafood was perfectly cooked with amazing flavors. I could have happily eaten here twice. 
• La Cucina – first night dinner with our whole group. The Italian was delicious, and the service was great.
• Cagney’s Steakhouse – we have eaten here on other cruises and always enjoy a great meal. Some will say this is the best steak, but honestly the quality and flavors are comparable to Outback Steakhouse not a Ruth’s Chris. If you go in with that expectation, you will have a great meal.
• Teppanyaki – this was just like any other shared table Japanese restaurant. The chefs are skilled and put on a good show, but the seating management is lacking. We were seated with no service (drinks or anything) almost 20 minutes.
  

Internet Package

          We use the 150 minutes of “free at sea” very quickly, so we have one person in our cabin purchase the unlimited plan then we just share the internet access. This costs about $180 and we are usually doing vacation things and don’t need internal access all the time. I do check work daily and the connection is more than good enough for email, but not strong enough for VPN. If you do not pay for the unlimited, make sure you log out of the internet on your phone every time you are done so that you can make those 150 minutes last as long as possible. Your phone does a lot of updating in the background that will eat through those minutes before the end of day one if you are not careful. 

          In addition to the internet there is an option for texting in the NCL app. If we are traveling with a larger party, we pay for this as well, $10 per person, so that we can coordinate with the rest of the group. The texting is not great and honestly not sure if we will do it again. Those in our party that didn’t have the unlimited internet had a lot of problems staying connected to the ship Wi-Fi which is required for this to work (have at least one tech savvy person in your group to help with this).

Thermal Suire 7 Day Spa Pass

          This was the first trip we added this and it was pricy but worth every penny! We paid $299 per person for unlimited access to the thermal spa which included steam room, snow room, salt bath, sauna, sanarium (like the sauna but lower temperature), hot tub, whirlpool, heated loungers, and cushion loungers all with an amazing view. The spa is located directly under the bridge with floor to ceiling windows, so you can sit in a lounger and enjoy the best view on the ship. If you have kids or enjoy the party atmosphere of the pools this will not be a good expense for you. We do not enjoy the pool crowds and much prefer the relaxation of the spa. A few others in our group paid for this as well and we all spent time every day in the spa; some just enjoyed the loungers’ others used the sauna and hot tub. It is a quiet place to don’t plan on big group discussions, but chatting with one or two people was very common.

Macallan Tasting

          The ship has both wine and whiskey tastings (about $22 a person) which are nice on sea days. When we went to Alaska, we did a wine and cheese pairing, so this time we did a Macallen whiskey tasting. My husband enjoys collecting bourbon and whiskey, so this was something he really wanted to do. The tasting samples were very generous, and my husband enjoyed both mine and his (good thing no one is driving). Be aware that you have probably already had a drink or two and the duty-free shops are open during the tastings, we came very close to buying some (which was not something we had planned to do). 

There are plenty of extras we choose not to do (golf, ropes course, art auctions, etc) so before you cruise take some time to see what is on board and plan (ie budget) to do a few of those things. 

Entertainment

One of the reasons we enjoy cruising is all of entertainment on the boat, this trip did not disappoint. 

Howl at the Moon

Dueling pianos. Go on a night when you are in a ‘party’ mood, make some suggestions, and sing with the talented musicians. The first few nights this is packed but wait until day 4 or 5 and there will be plenty of seating.

Comedy Club

We have found that there are usually 2 comedians with different target audiences. Try them both and don’t be afraid to leave if you are not enjoying it. The first comedian was a little too vulgar for us but the second was hilarious. These nights do tend to stay full as the comedians only do a few shows so plan to be there 30 minutes early. 

The Choir of Man

This was in the main theatre and they did 2 shows that week. We have seen this show on previous cruises and still booked it to see again and the show did not disappoint. The show targets an adult audience so I don’t think I would bring young kids and a few parents did choose to leave for that reason. It was not anything vulgar but it could be just over the line depending on the age of your kids.

The Supper Club

This was new for us as the previous cruises (both Encore and Getaway) didn’t offer this. This is just what it sounds like, meal and a show. This is not a specialty dining so there were no extra fees, but it was a set menu. During the cruise there were two shows you could reserve for, we only did one, and there were a few times that room was used for movies or other entertainment (check your freestyle daily). Our entire group enjoyed this. 

Shore Excursions

Last but not least are the shore excursions we choose to do.

Puerto Plata, Dominican Repubic

Explore in a Classic Car. This was a fun way to see Puerto Plata, but make sure you are near the front of the line for this one. This was an NCL excursion, so it is a big group, but there were about 10 cars to pick from. We were not first so we didn’t get the t-bird but there are plenty of good options. Since most of the cars are 2-4 people it feels like a much smaller group. This was about $150 a person and we enjoyed the day. 

St Thomas, US Virgin Islands

We opted to do an excursion we found through trip advisor; Half Day Luxury Catamaran Turtle Snorkel and Beach with Someday Charters, it was about the same price of $150 a person. This was hands down the best excursion we have ever done! It was just 12 people on the boat, we were able to snorkel over some reefs and a shipwreck and got to swim with sea turtles. The charter provided great people that were knowledgeable about the area and very helpful (especially for those that had not snorkeled before). They promise you will see the turtles and we definitely did; we were able to see 5-6 and get close to them. 

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

We did nothing formal here, just walked around town and did a little shopping. It was a morning stop (6am -2pm) and we enjoyed the relaxing morning.

Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas

This is Norwegians private island and was a great relax on the beach day. This stop we had a tender and because we were priority we got to the island with group 1 and were able to get loungers with a great view close to food, drinks, and bathrooms. I recommend no excursions at this stop. 

Another great vacation done. As always, plan, budget, and pay BEFORE you travel; no one wants to come home to a big bill. No matter was else you do, do not put vacations on a credit card or borrow for them. 



11/25/2023-12/2/2023