After losing my mom, Bryce and I thought it would be best if we took a mini-trip. While I love planning, I also needed a break where I had nothing to do, nothing to plan, and everything was already planned for me. Neither of us had been on a cruise, so we decided to book our first one on the Norwegian Sky. Covid restrictions had lifted so we did not have to wear masks BUT the cruise ship was still only operating at a 60% capacity. We got the unlimited drink package and booked our excursions and then lounged in a boat that wasn’t even full. We did luck out on beautiful weather, even though we went in the middle of hurricane season!
Keep on reading for our day-by-day adventures!
Day 1: Day 1, August 21: Embark
We left St. Louis this morning at 8:30am and landed in Miami around 12:30pm. We made our way to the cruise ship and we were able to board shortly after we arrived to the port. We checked in, checked out our room, got food and drinks, walked around, and filled up on some more food and drink and watched the sunset from the boat.
Day 2, August 22: At Sea
Today wasn’t too exciting. After we woke up, we sat by the pool until we went to see a sushi-making demonstration. After that, we went back to the pool to read and nap. One thing that Bryce and I discovered was a mojito bar. Apparently, mojitos are a “refreshing rum-based cocktail born in Havana. A traditional mojito consists of white rum, sugar cane juice, lime juice, sparkling water and spearmint. It is garnished with mint leaves and lime wedges.” They had all of the flavors of mojitos. They had a Bacardi mojito, a spicy passion mojito with Kraken black spiced rum, chile liqueur, and Chinola passion fruit. A pineapple coconut mojito had Malibu coconut rum and pineapple puree, the jalapeno cucumber mojito had fresh jalapeno and fresh cucumber juice. The raspberry guava mojito had fresh raspberries and guava puree, a Coco Mojito with just Malibu coconut rum and mint bitters, a Floridita with grapefruit juice, maraschino liqueur, a Saturn landing with Chinola passion fruit, a Brugal Ginger Mojito that was made with ginger ale, and a Wiki rum punch with Chinola passion fruit, pineapple juice, and lime juice. Our favorites were the spicy jalapeno cucumber mojito. The bar was very classy, and before we stopped in each day around 2pm, we stopped into the mini library and grabbed the daily Sudoku puzzle.
Day 3, August 23: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
We woke up early today to get breakfast before we did a sightseeing tour in the Dominican Republic. We got to walk around Puerto Plata and explore some chocolate, jewelry, and even saw how cigars were made at the La Aurora Cigar Factory. A few other highlights of the town included a pedestrian street with colorful umbrellas suspended above called Calle de las Sombrillas (Umbrella Street) and the Paseo de Doña Blanca (Pink Street) where the entire street is painted in a bright pink. After the tour, we went to the beach where lunch was also provided. Once we got back onto the boat, we hit the pool to cool off. In addition to a short nap and our daily trip to the mojito bar, we ate dinner, drank more drinks, and found some dessert to enjoy.
Day 4, August 24: St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
We were up by 6am to see the sunrise on the water. Our excursion for the day was St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Our first stop was a view from St. Thomas Zufriedenheit, a Danish plantation known for sugar and rum. It overlooks Magens Bay, which we went to after seeing the view. After our beach day, we went back to the pool, read some more, then did our Sudoku puzzle over mojitos at the Mojito bar. After dinner, drinks, and dessert, we went to the “Broadway Cabaret Show.” I was NOT impressed. While they did some medleys of popular Broadway songs, I had to ask Bryce why they were making songs from Les Mis pop-like, since they were also singing about people dying. He said it was an “off-off-Broadway” production.
Day 5, August 25: Tortola, British Virgin Islands
After breakfast, we went to Tortola on the British Virgin Islands. The water was so pretty and so clear and we could see to the bottom of the water. We swam and I finished a book that I thought was weird and didn’t really like. When we got back to the cruise ship after our excursion, we jumped into the pool to cool off. After a shower, nap, mojitos, and Sudoku, we had dinner and watched the sunset.
Day 6, August 26: At Sea
Another full day at sea. Bryce and I did our usual activities. We started with breakfast, went to the pool to read and take a nap, ate lunch, went back to the pool and read some more. We enjoyed our Sudoku and mojitos and then tried a French restaurant for dinner. For our second dessert of the evening, we tried a Cassava cake. It’s a Filipino cake made from cassava, coconut milk, and condensed milk. It also had a custard layer, which I liked. It was something new that we tried today.
Day 7, August 27: Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas
After breakfast, we went to the beach. We snorkeled. Then we read by the pool where I finished another book. Of course we did our Sudoku in the mojito bar. However, this time, Bryce talked to a regular. He was always in the Mojito bar and it sounded like he lived on the different cruise ships. However, he kept mentioning the “lady he lives with.” Bryce and I were amused with the phrasing, but it turns out, it is just “a lady he lives with!”
Day 8, August 28: Disembark
We disembarked from the ship at 7:00am and then headed to the airport. We had a long layover since our flight didn’t leave until almost 5:00pm, but I didn’t want to be late because we decided to rent a car and go sightseeing in Miami (others on the boat were in fact doing just this). I also finished my last book of the trip in the airport though.
All good trips have an end, and our time in the Caribbean had come to an end. We were spoiled with the 60% capacity and aren’t sure that another cruise will be as relaxing since things like the pool were busy every morning even without being fully packed. It was good to get back home and into the grove of a new schedule as I was also starting a new job in September.