This morning, Norwegian Aqua is docked in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. It is a beautiful day, albeit a little windy. We have been to Puerto Plata many times, so we decided to stay onboard and explore more of this beautiful ship.

The central lobby area of the ship is three decks (6, 7 & 8) with a clean, contemporary decor.

This morning, we decided to have breakfast at The Local on Deck 8. We were pleasantly surprised to find the restaurant was not crowded when we arrived. This could be because there are so many venues serving breakfast onboard Aqua.

I ordered the Corned Beef Hash with three eggs (instead of two) and a side of link sausage. Rickee ordered the buttermilk pancakes. I also ordered coffee and Rickee had a glass of orange juice.

The meal arrived very quickly, perhaps too quickly. Rickee’s pancakes were undercooked and she ended up sending them back and ordering two eggs over easy with toast.

My three eggs were nicely cooked over-medium, as ordered. The link sausage was okay, but I wish I had ordered the bacon instead. The corned beef hash was the only disappointment. It was small chunks of potatoes with small chunks of beef and some diced onions, but the beef did not taste like corned beef. It really had very little flavor. That’s a shame, because I love corned beef hash.

After breakfast, we head to Deck 6 for Morning Trivia. Surprisingly, we were the only ones to show up! On most cruises, you have to fight to find a place to sit at trivia. Nevertheless, we played anyway. The trivia questions were pretty hard and we did not do very well but we still won! We will try again.

After trivia, we head up to Deck 17 to check out the pool deck. Around the stack, you can see the Aqua Slidecoaster. I am trying to talk Rickee into giving that a try since she brought a swimsuit and I forgot to pack mine. The pool is large with an even larger soaking area surrounding it. There are large hot tubs on each side of the pool deck, and more hot tubs located around the ship. This ship has a LOT of outer deck space. So, if you enjoy spending time in the sun, you should not have any trouble finding a lounge chair.

You are never far away from your favorite beverage. The Waves Pool Bar is located just aft of the pool.

There are some creative and comfortable loungers poolside with umbrellas. Not sure why NCL chose light colored fabrics which are sure to show stains from suntan lotion and perspiration. Either use a patterned fabric, or plan to replace these covers after every cruise.

This afternoon, we wanted to get our walking in so we decided to do a few laps around the Oceanwalk on Deck 8. This is Norwegian Aqua’s “Promenade Deck” which also serves as outdoor seating for many of the restaurants. There are hot tubs and sun loungers lining the Oceanwalk. You can see our walk around Oceanwalk on our YouTube channel.

The VIBE Beach Club (below) offers cushioned loungers, a private bar and hot tubs. This is an adult-only area that is offered for an additional charge ($229 to $269 for 7-night cruise per person).

The hot tubs located along Oceanwalk were very popular today.

When we returned to our stateroom, we found a small tray of sweet treats waiting for us. I think this may have come as a perk with the Club Balcony Suite, as did the bottle of chilled sparkling wine. We had to obtain our own champagne flutes from one of the many bars onboard.

We spent much of the afternoon on our large balcony.

For dinner this evening, we tried Indulge Food Hall again. Each table has a screen where you can order as much as you want from eight different “food stalls”. My favorite is Tamara, the Indian kitchen, which has its own Tandoor ovens.

I ordered the Pakora, Garlic Naan, Basmati rice, Chicken Tikka Masala and Saag Paneer. All dishes arrived quickly and were very good.

After dinner, we walked through the shops and bought a small souvenir to take home with us.

Tomorrow, Norwegian Aqua will be docked in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Day 3 - Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Day 2 - A Day At Sea