It was an experience, but I doubt I will ever go on a cruise again. Just a little unnerving being out on the ocean like that. My first large cruise ship cruise. I have been on a paddleboat cruise in the Columbia River. That was very enjoyable.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Very well organized, very safe. We had to show our passports and cruise documents to 4 people before we were actually allowed to board the ship. Even though there were a lot of people, there was plenty of room for everyone. If you want to win any of the "early boarding prizes" you need to sit near the aisles in the big seating area and be ready. They asked for parking tickets, bathing suits, flip flops, etc. All it did was let you board early - big deal.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Excellent, everything was perfect, waitstaff excellent.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The swimming pools are salt water so you float. It's great for people who do not swim or do not swim well. They have Adult only pools, so make sure you boot out the kids when they get in it and start horsing around. They have their own pool.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Very good, just a lot of songs repeated over and over.
Children's Programs
Very few children were on the ship at all.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
No problems at all with the service and staff. I was quite impressed at the friendliness of everyone on board.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Very clean ship, constantly kept clean and painted on the outside.
I think the casino should be on a lower level, like 5, where there are no windows and people are not walking though it, then they can contain the cigarette smoke away from everyone else.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Very clean. The bed and pillows are very good and comfortable.
The toilet is weird, much like an airplane toilet.
I drank the water from the sink and had no problems. It doesn't smell or look bad.
Our room steward was very helpful and available. Only one weird thing is they would open your door when you were sleeping to put the next day's activities sheet in your room. That was a little scary at first, never quite got used to it.
Ship tip
Bring some kind of non-internet, non-cellular provider communication devices, like walkie talkies or something you can communicate with people on the ship, since you are in international waters and the wifi rate is $30 an hour.
There is smoking allowed on ship in certain areas, one is the casino on Level 7 of the Norwegian Sky, we had to go down a flight to walk around it and by the end of the trip you could smell cigarette smoke mixed in with all the putrid sweet smelling scents they used in various parts of the ship.
Certain songs are played over and over till you are good and sick of them. I tried to get them to stop playing so many near the end of the trip, and they had security follow me around!! Unbelievable!!
Port of Miami is beautiful - it's very nice to get away from a rough sea into the channel.
We stayed in South Beach a few days before we left on our cruise, that was nice too.
You cannot bring communication devices into Cuba. The exchange rates displayed on the monitors are not what you get when you actually exchange your money.
Old Havana has some very disgusting areas (defecation in stairwells, etc.), but also some very beautiful parks and other older buildings. Be cautious of people trying to lure you into dark areas or up stairs to buy Cuban cigars. We did not do an excursion since the prices were so exorbitant for what the excursion offered. We were also approached by someone who had a car and offered to show us around Cuban for 1 to 1.5 hours for $25 each, we declined.
Starting in December 2017, no travelers will be allowed to go to Cuba - the US Embassy will be closed by this date.
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