Norwegian Sky Cruise to the Bahamas

I recently went on my very first cruise. It was on the Norwegian Sky, embarking from Miami and visiting three islands in the Bahamas.

On top of the ship looking at the port of Miami.

The first island was Grand Bahamas Island. We didn't book any excursions there, so we just visited the straw market in Freeport and went snorkeling at the beach near the market. Unfortunately, the reef there appeared half dead, so we didn't see much variety out there in the water. There was a guy on the beach selling fresh coconuts, so we bought a couple of them and sat drinking coconut juice and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Our ship docked at the island of Great Stirrup Cay.

The second island was Great Stirrup Cay, the cruise line's own private island. The snorkeling there was much better. The beach was very crowded though, so we had to venture off a little ways in order to find a quieter, less crowded spot to lounge around on the beach.

The third island we visited was Nassau. We had an excursion booked, which was to swim with dolphins at Blue Lagoon Island. I have to say that this was probably my most favorite part of the trip. I'll admit that it was a little creepy at first to be swimming with marine mammals that are as big as me, but after awhile, it was great fun. The dolphins we swam with were movie stars with film credits such as Flipper. They were so well-trained and were quite the jokesters! Touching them feels awesome--they were like soft leather. I especially enjoyed the foot push, where you lay on your belly in the water as the dolphins push your feet and propel you so fast that your body rises up out of the water as if you're flying. It was a lot of fun. Sadly, a couple months after doing this, I watched a documentary on dolphins and I felt kind of bad about these dolphins that are kept in captivity. I wonder how content they really are with their life....

As far as the ship itself, there were many things to do. We attended a comedy/magic show one of the nights; it was very funny. We also attended a variety show and another show featuring numerous Broadway tunes. We made use of the fitness center, the basketball court, the ping pong tables, the swimming pools, and the hot tubs. The biggest party on board the ship was the White Hot Party, which was pretty fun. However, it seemed to die down quickly. We also made sure to go to each of the restaurants aboard the ship (except the specialty restaurants which were not part of the cruise fare). I thought the food was very good. They had the best melons ever, especially cantaloup. I don't think I've ever eaten as much melon in my life as I ate on board the ship! The only thing about the food was that there was not as much variety (the restaurants all tended to have the same sort of food with a few exceptions here and there). Drinks, oh my god, they were so expensive. Thank goodness we're not big alcohol or soda drinkers!

Without a doubt, the best thing about the ship was the service. The workers were so friendly and polite. Any time one of them passed me, they always smiled and gave a greeting. This never failed, and it just made the atmosphere cheerful and warm. They were very efficient at their job and always approachable. It seemed like they worked all the time too! I started wondering when they got their breaks and whether they got paid fairly well for what they did. I noticed most of them were from other countries (not the U.S.). It made me wonder how they got recruited to work on the ship. I hope they are well-compensated! The workers on board the Norwegian Sky really made the cruise experience great!

Sunset on the Atlantic Ocean

Overall, my first cruise turned out to be better than I thought. I had anticipated getting really sea sick and feeling rushed, but it was a nice, relaxing vacation. I will definitely look into cruising again in the future. Hm...maybe a cruise to Europe? I've always wanted to go to Europe.......