PHOTO REVIEW: Norwegian Sky to Cuba

Just returned from the Norwegian Sky 4-night cruise to Cuba with an overnight in Havana.

As I usually do for my reviews, after a brief synopsis I will make entries journal-style, day by day, as I wrote them at time of occurrence [except omitting real names in order to provide anonymity]. I feel this will provide a similar effect to a "live from" thread; a type I much enjoy reading here on CC. After the daily accounts, I will provide a synopsis of thoughts at the end as well. There will be a smattering of pictures included as well!

Any questions, feel free to ask. If you were also on this sailing, please share your thoughts as well. Thank you for reading and enjoy!

Background:

This trip consisted of myself [34 y/o] and a close friend [35 y/o] that I've known since we were both in high school. The schedule was Monday 10/30/2017 through Friday 11/03/2017, roundtrip from Miami. We had an overnight in Havana, Cuba [Tues/Wed] and a scheduled stop at Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas [Thurs]. We also stayed a night in Miami pre-cruise and another night in Miami post-cruise so that info will be included as well.

Day 0 - Boston, Mass. to Miami, Fla.

10/29/2017 - 11.55pm

Today I woke up at 3.50am in order to leave the house by 4.15am so I could get to E's house by 5. We took an Uber to Logan and made it with plenty of time for our 6.45am flight. The plane was not full but I still ended up in a full row; luckily I had an aisle seat so I wasn't too squished. There was an old Latino lady in the row in front of me who was not pleased with her window seat but yet refused the offer from the young man across the aisle to switch with her. She was clutching her Bible the whole time she was complaining which made the ordeal rather funny. Upon landing at MIA we took another Uber to the Hotel Gaythering in Miami Beach. Only $19 for the Uber compared to the $35 a taxi would have cost! This hotel has a terrific location on Lincoln Road that makes it very easy to walk many places. Also, there is a VERY lively bar in the lobby.

We had a nice lunch of tapas on Lincoln Rd. this afternoon and then some amazing tacos for dinner at HuaHua. Fried chicken tacos are DELICIOUS! The weather today was about 80F and tonight was a perfect 64F! Humidity was quite low so that pleasantly surprised us. All in all is was a nice stay in Miami. Tomorrow we board the Norwegian Sky.

Day 1 - Norwegian Sky Embarkation

10/30/2017 - 10.35pm

A very nice first day on Norwegian Sky. We left the hotel around 10am and took an Uber to the Port of Miami [$12] where we checked in extremely fast due to E's platinum status with NCL. However, we then had to wait about 45 minutes in the terminal before anyone was allowed to board. Luckily, his platinum status did still allow us to be among the first 20 people on the ship. We went straight to the buffet for lunch and it was a breeze to get food since we were there so early. The open-bar system on this ship makes getting drinks very easy. Even a person who rarely drinks, such as myself, could find themselves going overboard since it is all included.

The ship is in good condition considering it's age but the stateroom is the smallest I've ever had in 14 cruises. It's seriously TINY! I've had inside staterooms on other lines and none were even close to this small.

We met a great group of guys at the FOD meetup and 4 of them joined us for dinner. A couple from Alabama in their 50s and two friends [one from Orlando and one from Philly that met when they both lived in Oklahoma]. Tomorrow is our first day in Havana so we'll be getting up early to explore.

Photos of Norwegian Sky

Looking forward to reading more about your adventures on the Sky.

The ship looks pretty good for an older ship. I'm waiting until the NCL Sun comes to Port Canaveral to experience the Open Bar concept. PC is only an hour drive for me. Hate driving to Miami for short cruises.

Day 2 - Havana, Cuba

10/31/2017 - 7.41pm

Havana is just amazing. The architecture is beautiful and I found the city, at least Habana Vieja, to be cleaner than I expected. Sure, there was some crumbling of buildings but I've seen far worse conditions in other countries. We did a free walking tour that one of E's friends recommended and it was wonderful. We met the guide, Nek [short for some Greek name as he was baptized in the Greek Orthodox church even though he is not Greek], in front of the Capitolio building and he took us for a 3 hour walking tour of Habana Vieja past all of the major sites. He gave excellent commentary and encouraged questions. Of course the fact that he was pretty cute didn't hurt haha. All 8 of 9 of us in the group tipped him $20 CUC each which totaled more than he would make in a month if he kept his govt. job as a teacher. J and C from Birmingham, Ala. joined us on the tour as well as E's friend and his mom. There was also a German girl who barely spoke and a gay couple from New Zealand [A and J2] who we plan to meet up with tonight. They are not on the ship with us but rather are staying in Havana.

After the tour we went to La Floridita for a daiquiri, and as it was one of Hemingway's favorite places it was packed. We had our $6 CUC drinks though and enjoyed a little of the music from the live band. We went to a local restaurant for lunch close to Plaza Vieja and had mojitos and ropas viejas. We happened to run into A and J2 [the kiwis] there so joined them for lunch. We then walked to the large indoor crafts market, Almacenes San Jose, to browse around but we didn't buy anything. Most stalls sold variations of the same stuff; even most of the artwork was similar with classic car motifs everywhere. We did each get a pina colada served in a freshly hollowed out pineapple for $3 CUC each. Then we decided to head back to the ship in one of the football-helmet shaped, tuktuk-esque coco taxis. It was $6 CUC for the ride and was quite fun. She [the driver] drove quite fast and wove through traffic.

Main sights visited in Habana Vieja:

*Plaza de la Catedral

*Plaza de Armas

*Plaza de San Francisco de Asis

*Plaza Vieja

*Capitolio ... & much more.

sorry...duplicate

Port of Havana

Port of Havana

On deck as we arrived in port

Habana Vieja

Habana Vieja

Onions for sale

Classic American cars everywhere

Capitolio

Coco taxis

Pay phones!!

Jose Marti statue at Parque Central

La Floridita (before opening for the day)

Thanks for sharing your adventure! My daughter and I are booked on the Sun to Cuba in May!

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At Plaza Catedral

Plaza Vieja

Daiquiri at La Floridita

Churros for sale

Old Lada

1950s Chevy Styleline De Luxe

Looking forward to reading more about your adventures on the Sky.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy.

The ship looks pretty good for an older ship. I'm waiting until the NCL Sun comes to Port Canaveral to experience the Open Bar concept. PC is only an hour drive for me. Hate driving to Miami for short cruises.

The ship was in great condition for her age. NCL is not my line of choice usually but I was satisfied with the Sky for the Cuba run.

I’m sure you will have a lovely time on the Sun. From what I understand they are very similar save for the decor. Do note that the Sun leaves at 6am on the 2nd day in Havana though. So while technically and overnight, there is no time on day 2 to do anything. The Sky stays until noon on day 2 so you can squeeze some more sights in.

Thanks for sharing your adventure! My daughter and I are booked on the Sun to Cuba in May!

You will have a blast! Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the rest of the review.

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Day 2 continued- Havana, Cuba

11/01/2017 - 4.45pm

Today will have two journal entries as I felt our night out last night deserved to be noted. We ran into Orlando and Philly after dinner so invited them to join us on our night out in Havana with A and J2. We all met at 10pm near the statue in Plaza Vieja of a woman riding a giant chicken. From there we decided to head to the Vedado neighborhood to see what the nightlife was like in the city. First we needed two taxis though as there were 6 of us. We walked up to the Capitolio building and a local guy kept trying to chat with us, saying he would help get us a taxi. Of course he wanted money and we can hail our own cab so we said "no thanks" but he was unrelenting. He following us the whole way, hailed two cabs for us and would not let us be so we just took the taxis and gave him $1 USD for each. Well, he flipped out the minute we gave him USD even though we only had large CUC notes that we were certainly not giving him. He would not let go of the car door so the driver could not leave. He got so annoying that our very nice taxi driver gave him $1 CUC and just took the USD so the guy would go away. He got a nice tip for his kindness.

Whilst our taxi was indeed a classic 1950s American car, it was not in pristine condition like the ones used for tourist excursions. It is quite an experience speeding down the Malecon at 70mph in a rusting, light-blue 1955 Oldsmobile whilst weaving through traffic. It most certainly felt like living in another time.

Once we arrived at the Hotel Nacional it was a short 5 minute walk to the Las Vegas Cabaret which apparently is famous for drag queen shows and male prostitutes. We were obviously there for the former though it was amazing to see how many young men were plying their trade along the sidewalk. Once inside we were seated right next to the stage. It was a great location but it was mostly because we got there around 11pm and the show didn't start until 1am! The waitress originally told us midnight but she was wrong. We were all pretty exhausted but we were already there and figured it is not something we would do again any time soon so we made the best of it. The show was actually really good and I was surprised at the number of abuelas there, most of whom were REALLY into it. Most of the show was in Spanish, with the two stars Imperio [allegedly "El Icon de Trans Cuba"] and Margot alternating, mostly by passionately lip-syncing Spanish songs but with a small amount of Spanish commentary/jokes as well. In between their numbers, two biological [at least we think] female singers did a couple English-language songs from Madonna and ABBA. All in all it was a great night even though we didn't get back to the ship until 3am!

Giant chicken

Hotel Nacional at night

We were on the Sky in 2008 we loved it, small ship was clean and food was good. Wow love your pictures of Cuba, its as if time stood still.

We were on the Sky in 2008 we loved it, small ship was clean and food was good. Wow love your pictures of Cuba, its as if time stood still.

Thanks for reading. Yes, it truly is as if time stood still in Havana. I was so enamored with the city that I'm already itching to return and explore it some more.

Day 3 - Havana, Cuba

11/01/2017 - 11.52pm

Still having the morning in Havana, we went ashore to do some shopping. We walked to the old Partagas factory to buy some cigars in their onsite shop. They had a great selection so I bought two boxes, a decent one for myself for $75 CUC and a cheaper one to split up and give out as gifts to friends and colleagues for $45 CUC. They also sold Havana Club rum so I bought a bottle for mom along with some Cuban coffee they had for sale.

After that, we walked back towards the terminal but stumbled across an outdoor market hidden down an alley. I bought an old Catholic prayer book for a friend back home. It is in Spanish but is around 100 years old so he may find it special. I also got two prints of old movie posters for Cuban movies in the 60s/70s. They are 8" x 10" reprints but have a cute retro look. Then it was time to head back to the ship.

We met C and J on deck with another group from NH so made plans to all have dinner together at 7. We met at 7 at Crossings Restaurant and ended up having a leisurely 2 hour dinner. The lamb kofta starter was quite good, as was the pea soup [though not as good as the pea soup on Holland America Line]. The short-ribs with mushrooms over linguine was decent as well but not mind-blowing. Key lime cheesecake for dessert was quite good.

After dinner, the 7 of us went up to the Outrigger Lounge to chat over drinks. This is a really nice space with a very subdued Polynesian influence as seen in the woodwork. It's not too "theme-y" though and is well done; it's likely my favorite room on the ship in terms of decor and location [deck 11, all the way forward with frontal views]. After about 2 hours of chatting we called it a night and went back to the stateroom to sleep.

Fabrica Partagas

Barrio Chino gate

Cruise terminal building

Fabrica Partagas

 

Barrio Chino gate

 

Cruise terminal building

Thanks for the review & the photos.

I’m on the December 4th cruise

and wanted to know how far of a walk from the ship

to The Partagas Factory.

Thank you

Great photos! I love that there is a drag queen show, I would definitely go if I eventually make it to Cuba. Very cool that they do the all-inclusive drinks on this ship.

Great photos. We were in Havana on the Sky in August. How did I miss the giant chicken statue in Plaza Vieja?

Luv, luv, luv your pictures. Time may have stood still, but the architecture work is absolutely stunning.

I wonder what's the story behind the statue of the woman on the chicken.

Thanks for the review & the photos.

 

I’m on the December 4th cruise

 

and wanted to know how far of a walk from the ship

 

to The Partagas Factory.

 

 

 

Thank you

The Partagas factory is about a 15-20 min walk from the ship depending on how fast one walks and how many distractions pop up on the way. Haha. Havana Vieja is pretty flat so it’s not too arduous of a stroll. The building is right behind the Capitolio building.

Have a fabulous time in Havana. It’s such a magical place.

Great photos! I love that there is a drag queen show, I would definitely go if I eventually make it to Cuba. Very cool that they do the all-inclusive drinks on this ship.

Thanks for reading!! The drag queen show was a lot of fun but be prepared for a very late night haha.

Luv, luv, luv your pictures. Time may have stood still, but the architecture work is absolutely stunning.

 

I wonder what's the story behind the statue of the woman on the chicken.

Thanks!! I’m glad you enjoyed the pics. The giant chicken is a mystery to me as well. However, I must say we all had a chuckle at the fact she is riding a giant chicken as one name for a male chicken can have a rather naughty undertone.

Great photos. We were in Havana on the Sky in August. How did I miss the giant chicken statue in Plaza Vieja?

Thanks for reading!!

I missed the chicken the first time in the plaza as well. I noticed it during our second walk through. There is just so much to see there it can be overwhelming.