Cruise like a Norwegian: Norwegian Cruise Line Review (Updated 01/2020)

Are you thinking about going on a cruise with NCL? We want to share our personal experiences with NCL cruises in this Norwegian Cruise Line Review!

“Cruises are for old people with too much money.” Well, that’s probably THE biggest (bogus) myth about cruises that exists. I was on my first cruise when I had just turned 18 (with AIDA cruises) and I definitely didn’t feel like being in a retirement home! In fact, this trip all the way back in 2007 has sparked a fire in me for cruising.

So in 2016, I convinced Markus to go on a cruise with me for three weeks, sailing from San Diego down to Santiago de Chile with Norwegian Cruise Line. Before, he had the usual prejudices about cruising as well. And while he still does not like all aspects of it, he got a different perspective on the whole cruising business. 

So when we were in Panama in January 2018 (during our round the world trip) we came across a last-minute offer for another NCL cruise in the Bahamas. “Cruise like a Norwegian” and “Free Open Bar” made us quickly book a flight to Miami and jump on one of the ocean giants again – this time the Norwegian Sky. 

And now let’s have a look at the experience and let me give you a full review of our Norwegian Cruise Line trip to the Bahamas!

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The Route (NCL Bahamas Cruise)

Our trip with Norwegian Cruise Line was four nights, five days itinerary to the Bahamas, starting in Miami. So let’s first have a look at our itinerary in this Norwegian Cruise Line Review!

Miami has overtaken Fort Lauderdale as the biggest cruise port in the world and is an attraction in itself. We decided to stay five nights in Miami before and explored Wynwood, Little Havana, and Miami Beach before we embarked on this cruise.

Miami is expensive – but luckily we still had hotel points and thus stayed for free at the Sheraton Airport Hotel

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Stop 1: Freeport (Grand Bahama)/Port Lucaya

But back to my Norwegian Cruise Line review: our route took us to Freeport in Grand Bahama first.

The port is a bit outside of the area you want to see (Port Lucaya), so you either need to book a land excursion with NCL or hop on a taxi to get there. We decided to book the transfer only to Port Lucaya – if you are more than 2 people it’s worth paying a taxi yourself instead. But the transfer was reasonably priced and easy to organize.

In Port Lucaya, we wandered around the shopping area first and then decided it was too touristy for us.

We then walked to the beach and were astonished to find the beach completely deserted! It was a beautiful beach, just straight from the catalog – and no one was around (bring sunscreen!)! There even was a hotel ruin – we are not sure if it was closed forever or just during that time. But the pool looked like it was closed for longer.

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Stop 2: Great Stirrup Cay (NCL Private Island)

Great Stirrup Cay is pretty unique along the Norwegian Cruise Line Carribean Routes as this entire island is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line itself!

What does that mean for you? Well, setting aside that the beaches are drop-dead gorgeous and very well maintained – you can use your all-inclusive status there! Meaning: all food and drinks are for free just like as if you were on the boat! (I will explain the “inclusive concept” of Norwegian later)

As the harbor is too shallow, you will need to hop on a smaller boat to bring you to shore – but that is organized by NCL and completely for free.

Basically, we spent the whole day jumping around in the crystal clear water, enjoying our unlimited drinks offer and taking some pictures.

Great Stirrup Cay is definitely an awesome stop! In fact, Norwegian Cruise Line was the first cruise line to buy an island in the Bahamas – other lines have followed their example though in the meantime!

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Stop 3: Nassau

The final stop on our route was Nassau, the infamous former pirate’s hideout in the Bahamas.

The really nice thing here is that the cruise ships dock directly in the city center – so you can just walk off the ship and explore Nassau on your own! In fact, we even returned for lunch on board and then went back off the ship again!

Nassau has a lot of nice shops and a super cute pirate museum.

And then there is the luxury hotel complex of Atlantis! You can book a day pass excursion to Atlantis with Norwegian Cruise Line as well.

But to be honest, we simply haggled for a taxi and sneaked into the hotel. 🙂 Just act as if you are allowed to be there and no one questions you. It was stunning to see the aquarium and everything! Too bad I can’t tell you about what is included in their day pass excursion though in this NCL review!

If you want to know more about this awesome hotel, check this awesome in-depth guide about Atlantis, Bahamas by TwoTravelingTexans.com!

And let’s be honest, you don’t hurt anyone just by admiring their buildings (which, in fact, are impressive). One day, I definitely want to stay here! We ended the day with a coconut cocktail on the beach – also recommended!

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The Ship (Norwegian Sky)

Time to have a look at the vessel we took in this Norwegian Cruise Line review: The Norwegian Sky! The Norwegian Sky is, in fact, the second oldest and second smallest ship of Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet. 

So does this make it a grumpy old tiny vessel? Well, not exactly! 😀 The Norwegian Sky is still a ship for 2,000 passengers and has a crew of 900 people! And since NCL regularly overhauls and refurbishes its ships, you will not think that it is old at all.

However, the Sky certainly can’t compete with the newer ships of the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus Class (Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Escape) which come with perks like water slides and climbing gardens. One day, I definitely want to sail those giants as well!

However, I knew the layout of the Sky very well already as it is the sister ship to the Norwegian Sun – the ship we sailed in 2016!

So, let’s quickly sum up, what you will find on this NCL ocean liner:

• Two swimming pools
• 5 hot tubs (secret tip: the one on the front of the ship is unknown to a lot of passengers and pretty awesome)
• 2 main restaurants, 3 specialty dining restaurants, numerous bars and cafés
• Spa and Fitnesscenter, Basketball course
• Entertainment Theatre, Shops and Casino

If you want to know more about the ship, it is probably best to hop over to NCL’s website as they plan to overhaul the Norwegian Sky soon again as well!

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The experience of cruising the Bahamas with NCL

So now, after all the “cold hard facts” in this NCL review, let me give you a little bit of a personal perspective on our trip there!

As I claimed in the beginning, it is a myth that cruises are only for old, rich people. Neither was our cruise uber-expensive not were there only old people.

If you want to find a cruise with a younger crowd, there are some cruise lines that generally attract a younger audience (in the Carribean, I would name NCL, Royal Carribean, MSC and Carnival Cruises first. AIDA and TUI cruises are a specifically good choice for Germans as their main language on board is German.)

The second thing to consider is the route the ship is sailing. In general, Carribean cruises attract a younger crowd. And last but not least, the cruise ship is a factor – a climbing garden is definitely not aimed at retirees. 

So, in our case, we did have a lot of seniors on board (I mainly attribute it to the Sky) – but there were also quite a few young people on board! Already the first afternoon we met two awesome Canadian guys. And on the evening other young people started joining our group in the hot tub.

And “Team Hot Tub” reunited as well the next days and the group grew to a size of at least 20 young people from all over the world! 

The thing that makes this kind of experience special is that you do not only party together at night – we also sunbathed at the same beaches and had formal classic dinner together. And we all had such an amazing time onboard that we are still communicating in a Whatsapp group and are even planning to go on another cruise together again!

Markus and I definitely enjoyed these five days onboard the Norwegian Sky and the Bahamas are really an awesome destination. We did not feel like we saw a lot of these beautiful countries – but this is somehow in the nature of cruises (and probably the only downside we both still see). But then again, it was only five days and the Bahamas are very expensive otherwise.

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Cruise Like a Norwegian – what does NCL mean?

There are a few things that make NCL special and thus I would like to explain what they mean by “Cruise Like a Norwegian” or their recent slogan “The Norwegian Edge” (I first thought it’s a new ship, but it’s not) in this Norwegian Cruise Line Review:

Freestyle Dining

One of the things I absolutely adore about Norwegian Cruise Line is their dining concept. While a lot of cruise ships mainly come with buffet restaurants, NCLs dinner is à la carte.

And it is a pretty awesome menu with a starter, a main course, and a dessert. The menu has some items that stay every day and a second part that changes daily. And in general, the taste and the presentation is definitely really good! This is a daily dinner that I would expect to cost around 50$ in most places – and it is completely for free!

Norwegian Cruise Line also has specialty restaurants that you have to pay extra – but given the fact that the main restaurants serve such an amazing à la carte menu made them somewhat unimportant to us.

And last but not least, there is also always a buffet restaurant that is open in the afternoon as well. So don’t worry, you will never be hungry with Norwegian Cruise Line! (And you will probably gain weight – this is a cruise myth that IS true for most people)

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Legacy Premium All Inclusive (Replaced by “Free At Sea” now!)

Most cruises come with a lot of extra costs: Land excursions, beverages, and tips are usually not included and can easily double the cost of your cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line is different in this case: While land excursions still are a costly extra, on most of their cruises the “ultimate beverage package” is now included. 

And this really includes almost everything – premium wines, cocktails, and exclusive spirits as well! In the words of their “Terms and Conditions” – every beverage up to a glass price of 15$ is included. In reality, this means that basically everything that is not a 200$ bottle whiskey will not cost you any penny (adding to the weight gain problem though).

Another thing that is included in “Premium All Inclusive” is the tips and service charges. Normally, those costs are added to your room bill automatically – and that’s usually around 15$ PER DAY PER PERSON (Update 01/2020: Norwegian Cruise Lines now charges you tips and service charges, even with “Free at Sea”!). Keep this in mind when comparing cruise prices. The only other cruise lines I know that include those fees are AIDA and TUI cruises.

Last but not least Norwegian Cruise Line now even added 60min of free internet during your cruise to their concept! 60min is not a lot – but if you ever checked the horrendous prices of internet onboard a cruise ship, this is definitely a nice addition (Update 01/2020: You can choose internet as part of your “Free at Sea” offerings). Still waiting for a cruise line to make internet free completely (in my dreams…)

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Norwegian Cruise Line Review – Would we go again?

So now let’s get to the final question this Norwegian Cruise Line Review: Would I go on a cruise with NCL again?

Yes, absolutely! 

While I would probably choose one of the newer and bigger ships next time, I grew very fond of Norwegian Cruise Line over our two cruises. Especially the dining concept is something we absolutely love. Markus and I even invested in our next cruise with them already (you can buy credit for future cruises with 50% discount onboard), so I am not only saying it – we already decided! 

Unfortunately, their European routes tend to be on the more expensive side compared to their very reasonably priced Caribbean cruises, so I might give another cruise line a try first though! I will let you know once I decided! (Update 01/2020: We booked a new Carribean cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines in March 2020!)

If you are about to do your first cruise, then you need to check this awesome guide article about cruising for first timers!

Have you done a cruise yet? How did you like it? Tell us about your experience in the comments! And be sure to subscribe to my newsletter as I will publish more content about cruises soon!