2020 NCL Cruise Days 1-3

 I know it has been almost four years since my brother Tom and I went on this ten night cruise through the Western Caribbean, but I wanted to add it to this BLOG so I have a record of it with a few notes. Think of it as a historical record.

Yes, Tom had just turned 65 and I figured a cruise would be great for him and for me too. Normally, I go on Royal Caribbean (RCL), but I found this unusual longer cruise departing from our local port Cape Canaveral. I had been on a few 7 night cruises but never a 10 night one, and Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) was sailing the Norwegian Breakaway from January 22 to February 1, 2020.

These ships that are 16 decks and holds a few thousand passengers have a lot of places to visit. I wished I had kept a diary of things Tom and I did but all I have are basically the photos here and a folder of the daily cruise line handouts. of course, checking out the ship is always a high priority for me and even before we left the port, we found the 18+ Pool bar on deck 16 called the Spice H2O Bar. They have a large screen TV and interestingly, there was a picture of Trunk Bay located in the US Virgin islands.

Incidentally, I took this next photo only four months after the NCL cruise ended. I went and visited my friends Peter and Gail who were living on the Island of Saint John, where Trunk Bay is located.

Although the weather was crappy and it was raining on departure day, I was happy because we were going on a 10 night cruise. I took this picture of the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) at NASA which can be seen from the ship when in Port Canaveral.

One thing I always like about a cruise from the Port is the view of my favorite restaurants from a different perspective. Normally, I am sitting at the bar watching the cruise ships pass, but sometimes I am on the other end. The first place we passed is Gator's Portside. I have taken people here to watch cruise ships. Usually in that little Tiki hut on the far left, which is a bar.

The place in the foreground is called Fishlips, I hear the tugboats captains may have a drink there before (or after) duty calls. In the middle (blue building) is the Rising Tide, one of my favorite Port restaurants. 60 beers on tap and great food!

The next place is Grill's Seafood and Tiki Bar. Another favorite that serves breakfast. The buildings on the left are the cruise terminal and parking garage for RCL (Royal Caribbean).

This is the RCL terminal. I have been out of here a few times.

This is the gambling boat owned by Victory Casino Cruises. The big building is the parking garage for the newest terminal, built for use by Carnival Cruise Lines.

I have shared many a photo I have taken from this area, Jetty Park. I usually take bird and turtle pictures along the walkway and fishing pier on the left.

Tom and I made a reservation at one of the many restaurants on the ship. Some are complimentary while others have an added fee to dine. This one was free, but Tom and I were not needing candlelight dinners to set the mood so most of the trip we would use the buffets which change the menu every day.

That was the end of Day 1. We had a balcony room so we could sit outside while we were cruising. The weather was not being too cooperative even as we entered the Bahamas. Our first stop on Day 2 was suppose to be at Great Stirrup Cay. As you can see by all the whitecaps, the water was pretty rough. Our stop uses tenders to get the people from the ship to shore. It was too rough for that so the stop was canceled.

This photo is of the RCL ship at Coco Cay. They were having the same problem in the past so they built a pier which allows the ship to dock and no longer need the tenders. They got there day ashore, we got a day at sea.

End of Day 2, we had a beautiful sunset. Day 3 was a scheduled day at sea.

There were plenty of activities on the ship, lots of people were at the pools and trying to get some winter tans (burns?) before heading back North. They did have a game of "Deal or No Deal" that was fun to watch. Lots of music, drinking and eating.

On Day 3 we were at sea and I saw some island off our starboard. I took pictures of the land and finally figured we were sailing between the Haiti and Cuba. Cuba is a very big island.

Other than a bunch more pictures of Cuba, I did end Day 3 with another sunset.

My next post will be about the fourth day of the cruise...