Cruise to the Bahamas

Last week, Dave and I went on our first cruise. We took Norwegian Sky from Miami to the Bahamas - Freeport, Nassau, and Norwegian's private isle, Great Stirrup Cay. We flew to Miami on Saturday and spend Sunday and Monday morning with friends, who live in Atlanta.

Dave, Inga, Collin, & Amina - South Beach, Miami

On Monday afternoon, we boarded the Norwegian Sky and at 6:00 pm we were off.

Sunset over Miami

The first stop was Freeport, Bahamas. Our snorkeling excursion was canceled due to the weather - too windy - so we took a local "taxi" to Lucaya Beach and nearby shops. We had lunch at a local pub and browsed duty free shops before returning to the ship for an afternoon siesta.

We departed Freeport around 5 pm and after traveling all night, arrived Nassau first thing in the morning. There we signed up for sea and see excursion that included a tour of the "city", a boat ride along Nassau and Paradise Island (where Oprah and Tom Cruise, among others, have fancy homes), and an underwater exploration of the local reefs. That was by far the coolest thing. The boat looks normal from the top, but underneath it is like a little sub with windows on both sides so you can see coral, fish, and we even saw a nurse shark sleeping on the bottom. Afterwards, we browsed local shops and markets.

Colorful homes on Paradise Island, Bahamas

Henry the barracuda

On the third day, we anchored off Great Stirrup Cay and took a boat to the island. We send a few hours relaxing on the beach, walking along the shore, and enjoying the BBQ and drinks that Norwegian had for us on the island. After a few hours, we felt we had enough sun, so we took the boat back to the ship.

Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas

In the evenings, we enjoyed shows on the ship, good food, and playing craps at the casino.