Norwegian Sky Review
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We chose this cruise because my husband wanted to try out a cruise and I wanted to see Cuba. We loved the cruise, the food was amazing, drinks unlimited, and service was great, with the exception of one rude security guard. We went to the same restaurant every night (the Palace) and we adored our waiter. The night before we arrived in Cuba, we were told that it might be awhile before we could disembark. Everyone on the boat was worried about the lag time, but it turned out not to be so bad. There was barely a delay at all. We were able to get off the boat very quickly. For those complainers- give NCL some slack. This is their first time doing a Cuba trip, it's not going to be perfect the first go-round. We opted not to do the NCL excursions in Cuba and do not regret it. However, we are in our 30's, adventurous, frugal, and I am bilingual. If I were older, I may have opted to do an air conditioned bus tour with NCL.
We did not plan anything in advance, we just got off the ship, a man on the street offered us a classic car tour for $60 for 1 hour, and we took it. We loved it. Granted, the driver didn't speak much English, so I translated for my husband. When we were done, we walked around Old Havana and went to several museums (Museo de la Revolución was really interesting). We asked for receipts everywhere we went, since the US government *might* ask for them later. Some advice- bring a water bottle. It is hot (like 90 degree hot) in Havana, and humid. You can bring an empty one and fill up with filtered water on the boat to save money. Also, bring a baggie full of nickels and dimes for tips (or more if you can afford it). Literally everyone in Cuba wants a tip. They don't care how much it is. Don't let any Cuban take your picture unless you're prepared to tip them. Don't go to the bathroom in Cuba unless you're prepared to tip the bathroom attendant. At one point all I had in my purse was a dime, and put it in the bathroom attendant's basket and she was very grateful. The tipping got a little old, and my husband and I were running out of money fast.
Another tip- it's easy to get on and off the ship, so go back to the ship for lunch and dinner to save some money. The port is right in the middle of Old Havana, so it's close to everything. Some people may want to try authentic Cuban food on the island, but the boat was serving Cuban food the entire time we were there. I didn't taste a difference between the Cuban food on the boat, and the food in a restaurant there in Havana. In the evening, we thought about going to one of the big shows, like Tropicana or Buena Vista Social club, but opted to save some money and find a local restaurant with live music. They are everywhere in Old Havana. We sat back and had a couple of mojitos and enjoyed the music. Mojitos are only $2.50 in Old Havana. The next day, we took a $10 cab ride to the forts and had a great time. One nice thing about Havana is that all of the museum admission prices are fairly low. I think we usually paid around $3 apiece. The most we paid was $8 apiece.
Cabin Review
Inside
It provided everything we needed. Very clean. We loved our steward. It's nothing fancy, but we weren't expecting fancy, so it was perfectly fine.
Port Reviews
Miami
very easy getting onto the ship from Miami. No issues
Havana
We opted not to do the NCL excursions in Cuba and do not regret it. However, we are in our 30's, adventurous, frugal, and I am bilingual. If I were older, I may have opted to do an air conditioned bus tour with NCL. We did not plan anything in advance, we just got off the ship, a man on the street offered us a classic car tour for $60 for 1 hour, and we took it. We loved it. Granted, the driver didn't speak much English, so I translated for my husband. When we were done, we walked around Old Havana and went to several museums (Museo de la Revolución was really interesting). We asked for receipts everywhere we went, since the US government *might* ask for them later. Some advice- bring a water bottle. It is hot (like 90 degree hot) in Havana, and humid. You can bring an empty one and fill up with filtered water on the boat to save money. Also, bring a baggie full of nickels and dimes for tips (or more if you can afford it). Literally everyone in Cuba wants a tip. They don't care how much it is. Don't let any Cuban take your picture unless you're prepared to tip them. Don't go to the bathroom in Cuba unless you're prepared to tip the bathroom attendant. At one point all I had in my purse was a dime, and put it in the bathroom attendant's basket and she was very grateful. The tipping got a little old, and my husband and I were running out of money fast. Another tip- it's easy to get on and off the ship, so go back to the ship for lunch and dinner to save some money. The port is right in the middle of Old Havana, so it's close to everything. Some people may want to try authentic Cuban food on the island, but the boat was serving Cuban food the entire time we were there. I didn't taste a difference between the Cuban food on the boat, and the food in a restaurant there in Havana. In the evening, we thought about going to one of the big shows, like Tropicana or Buena Vista Social club, but opted to save some money and find a local restaurant with live music. They are everywhere in Old Havana. We sat back and had a couple of mojitos and enjoyed the music. Mojitos are only $2.50 in Old Havana. The next day, we took a $10 cab ride to the forts and had a great time. One nice thing about Havana is that all of the museum admission prices are fairly low. I think we usually paid around $3 apiece. The most we paid was $8 apiece.
Great Stirrup Cay
We loved it. There are plenty of chairs, food, drinks, and entertainment on the private island. They cautioned us to eat lunch before we got off the boat, because they said they'd be serving a "light lunch" on the island, but their "light lunch" was not so light. They had burgers, pizza, hot dogs, salad, desserts, fruits, you name it. Beach is beautiful.