This morning Norwegian Aqua, along with sister ship Norwegian Prima, are positioning themselves off the coast of Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s private island. Guests are obviously excited to take the tenders ashore to spend a day on the beautiful white sand beaches. The kids onboard probably can’t wait to visit the epic water park with massive slides. This private island offers NCL guests beach barbecues, private villas (at additional cost) and all sorts of other amenities. For many, it is the highlight of the cruise.

As other guests prepare for a day at the beach, my plan is to take a late tender over just to get some photos and video of the island. Before that, we decide to have breakfast at The Local. We get seated outside at Ocean Boulevard and the weather this morning is beautiful, even if a bit windy.

Rickee ordered three eggs over easy, and two of the three were over easy, the third was over medium. This seems to be a recurring theme when ordering three eggs. Every time, it seems like one of the eggs gets overcooked. Weird. My three-egg ham-and-cheese omelette was good. Another recurring quirk is they never seem to deliver the fruit unless they are reminded. The coffee in The Local (and the main dining room) is good. However, they are not good about bringing refills.

As the guests anxiously await for NCL’s tenders to arrive from the island, we can see nearby CocoCay where two of Royal Caribbean’s mega ships are docked and unloading guests for a day at their beach.

The photo below shows how close Aqua guests got to Great Stirrup Cay. The Captain came over the PA and announced that the weather forecast was going to prevent tendering to the island due to high winds and rough seas. So, why did Royal Caribbean guests get to have their island experience and not NCL? CocoCay has a dock, Great Stirrup Cay does not. However, it appears that NCL may be rectifying this because, from the ship, it appears that there are cranes and pilings that look like a dock is being constructed at Great Stirrup Cay.

*Not-So-Perfect-Day at Great Stirrup Cay*

Instead of a near empty ship to enjoy, we now are weaving our way through throngs of guests who are scurrying to find sun loungers on the open decks. After our daily walk through the crowded Oceanwalk, we return to our stateroom and to our large forward facing balcony. As the ship is now underway to Miami, there is a fair amount of wind pummeling our balcony. We can avoid the wind by slumping down into our sun loungers.

*The view from our balcony sun loungers*

This evening, we are not very hungry but I need a little something, so I thought I would try the “famous” chicken wings at The Local. You can only get these on the bar side of The Local, not the restaurant side. I have to admit, the wings were epic good. Some of the best wings I have ever had, certainly the best I have had on a cruise ship. I ordered mine with the sweet chili sauce and they were amazing.

After my wing fest, we head to the Aqua Theater to watch the show “Elements”. Of the three shows we attended, this was our least favorite, but it was still a very good show and one you should not miss. “Elements” is a visual feast of illusion, music and modern dance.

Tomorrow we will be back in Miami and we will disembark Norwegian Aqua.

Day 7 - Great Stirrup Cay (or not)

Video - Club Balcony Suite Review

Day 6 - At Sea