Today is a rainy day at sea, at least until the middle of the afternoon.

On my way to the elevators, I see dirty dishes stacked up in the hallway. Unfortunately, this is an all too common sight. We asked our room steward, Dominick, whether or not people who order room service should call room service back to pick up the dirty dishes. He said that, since the room stewards are usually the ones who deliver room service orders, the room steward should be called by the guest to pick up the dirty dishes. However, there may be a problem with that arrangement. NCL has gone to one service of the cabin per day (except in The Haven which still has two daily). If you order room service after your room steward has finished for the day, it is up to the crew working at Room Service to pick up the dirty dishes. Dominick tells us that pick up seldom happens, thus the dirty room service dishes stacked in the hallway.

This morning we head to Deck 6 for Morning Trivia and catch the end of a Dance Class. There are lots of activities hosted by the cruise staff on Norwegian Aqua.

A couple of days ago I visited the Pulse Fitness Center located forward on Deck 16.

*Pulse Fitness Center - Deck 16 Forward*

Pulse is one of the nicest, most well-equipped fitness centers I have seen on a ship. There are lots of treadmills and other cardio equipment.

Several stations offer free weights, barbells and kettle bells.

TechnoGym circuit training machines are a nice addition, and check out the views you get while working up a sweat.

You have to walk through Mandara Spa to get to Pulse. The Spa appears to be very modern and well equipped offering every type of spa treatment imaginable. Reservations are required for the Spa.

For lunch today, we decide to check out the Surfside Cafe on Deck 17 aft (Pool Deck).

This buffet is smaller than what you might find on comparable-sized ships, probably because there are so many other dining venues such as Indulge Food Hall. In spite of its size, Surfside offers a lot of variety.

On our visit, a carving station was offering Porchetta, which looked amazing. The pizza was also very good.

There is a huge selection of desserts, and just outside of Surfside Cafe is a soft-serve ice cream machine.

At the far aft section, you will find Surfside Grill where they serve burgers, hot dogs and some other sandwich choices.

In addition to eating, there are so many activities scheduled on a sea day that you can be active from morning to night. There are game shows, trivia, shopping presentations, art auctions, wellness presentations, casino games and so much more. And there is always the Pool Deck with hot tubs and the mega slides. There is a pickle ball court, basketball court, kids’ splash area, shuffleboard tables and mimi-golf ($5 charge). Or, you can grab a lounger, relax, and enjoy the sun and ocean.

Tomorrow is our last day on Norwegian Aqua with a stop at NCL’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay. We can’t wait to see what has changed since our last visit there.

Day 6 - At Sea

Day 7 - Great Stirrup Cay (or not)

Day 5 - Tortola, B.V.I.